Change management is the process of organizational transformation into something better and more productive and management of that transformation. In today’s world, it is seen as one of the important aspects of the business world because without constant innovation and developments, a business cannot cope up with competitors. But changing environments and trends require effective management of these transitions. For this reason, organizations and business people have come up with the phenomenon of change management; how to effectively and efficiently manage change so that it has a positive impact on the employees and the organization.
Effective Strategies to Manage Change
What makes an organization successful is its ability to keep evolving according to the needs of the organization. However, when this change is taking place, at the outset, it is important to identify the kind of change it is. Once the organization knows at what level the change is taking place, and what kind, it can develop strategies in the view of that. Why do you need to strategize? This is because most employees are resistant to change (Paton, 200). Employing effective strategies decreases their resistance to change.
During the transformational phase, that is, when the new procedures are being implemented, employees must be communicated at all stages. Every time they experience something new, they must be talked to and explained the situation. This is important so that the employees feel that they are a part of the change and that they are not left behind while for example two separate departments are being restructured and merged into one (Paton, 2000). This communication makes them adapt to the change and enables them to decide that they have to implement this change for their and the organization’s success.
Imposing a change is something that gives rise to difficulties. Organizations should try to involve employees in the change process. By doing this, the organization makes the employees feel empowered and responsible. In turn, the employees trust the organization and take the process of change management as a personal challenge and work to effectively administer it. Building trust in times of uncertainty and change is difficult (Woodruff, 1996). By open communication, building guiding teams, and setting short teams easy to achieve aims during the transition phase managers can lessen the mistrust.
The role of a leader cannot be neglected during the process of change management. The aim of the leader during a change must be to increase employee involvement and make them a part of everything throughout the change process or the transitional phase (Felkins & Chakiris, 2001). Increased employee involvement is important to decrease employee resistance. This, consequently, leads to decreased insecurity and instability. Because transitional change implies that the future is unknown, the leaders should try to make the future known instead. Senior executives should be invited to talk to the middle and lower-level employees, about the benefits a change or development will bring.
Conclusion
Change is critical and inevitable for every organization. It is important to carry out if an organization wishes to stay in the competition and respond to its evolving organizational needs. Continuous communication, building trust, visionary leadership, empowering employees, and not imposing change are the key methods of successful change management.
References
Felkins, P. K. and Chakiris, B. J. 2001. Change Management: A Model for Effective Organizational Performance. Published by Productivity press.
Paton, R. and McCalman, J. 2000. Change management: a guide to effective implementation. 2nd edition. Published by Sage publishers.
Woodruff, D. M. 1996. How to effectively manage change. Web.