What Every Business Should Know About Operational Change Management
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Internal communication is paramount for successful operational changes, and external communications can benefit a customer’s understanding of new products or approaches they might be seeing. For all businesses, change is necessary to respond to internal shifts, customer needs, and competition. Implementing change in a business can be a fragile process because employees (and leadership) can be tied to a “way of doing things” and be resistant to implementing necessary changes; they also might not be stepping back to see the big picture. Hence, a block to businesses achieving growth and success is them being able to execute change with an aligned and agile team.
Found from a recent survey by Oak Engage, 43% of employees believe their employer is not prepared to effectively manage workplace change. This sense of ill preparedness is often what leads to the many failed change initiatives and an increased need for formalized change management. Operational change management refers to the structured approach businesses adopt to plan, enforce, and sustain changes within their organization. It helps to minimize stress, confusion, and complications throughout the process of implementing the change but is no easy feat. It is one thing to be able to recognize the need for change and the answer to it, but in reality, “implementing change is a skill in of itself and one that requires dedication and a lot of patience”. With the right practices and strategies, you can be prepared when managing operational change.
Elements of Approaching Operational Change
Prepare and align! Making sure that there’s a vision of the change and how to implement it, along with team alignment around it, sets the stage for success. Here are three tips:
Pinpoint the need for change. Routine market and customer research will help your business stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest. When companies fall behind in ensuring their work surrounds the company’s competitive advantage(s), they lose marketplace footing. Make sure that quarterly the team is checking in on how that value is being communicated and captured. Pinpointing the need for change and making adjustments to compete in ever-changing landscapes helps keep your company in growth mode.
Set a clear vision. With an understanding of what needs to change, a clear idea of the end result and the role of team members are a must. To begin any progress toward change, those presenting it must be able to articulate compelling objectives for the whole team or business to welcome it. Additionally, keeping initiatives aligned with overarching strategic goals increases stakeholder acceptance.
Craft your plan. The success of your vision's delivery and execution team is dependent on your team member alignment, your understanding of market shifts, and clarity around what your customers are expecting. A change management plan should include metrics that will determine the impact of the change, communication guidelines, and implementation strategies. Adaptability in a plan is needed as progress is made and new considerations come forward.
Tips for Successful Operational Change Management
Let’s Go! Once your vision is clear and your strategic action plan includes inputs from employees and has been vetted by leadership, don’t forget patience and persistence. Here are key tips to navigate this process:
Monitor progress.
To effectively manage change, it’s critical to routinely track progress, so adjustments can be made to the plan accordingly, successes can be celebrated to boost morale, and goals met. Having incremental steps within your plan so you have clear checkpoints to monitor progress is helpful.
Welcome employee feedback.
Adjustments to your execution plan as you begin to implement can benefit from the thoughts and ideas of your employees, especially those closest to the operational hurdle. Additionally, acknowledging employee concerns and giving them a sense of control will help them feel more comfortable moving forward with the change.
Prepare for challenges.
It’s important to develop mitigation strategies for challenges such as employee push back and operational disruptions. Such strategies should include evaluating potential risks and their possible impact on the change initiative and implementing proactive measures to address them.
Train your employees.
Make sure your teams are aware of the changes and the expectations of what new opportunities are to come (and the potential hurdles they should report).
Keep consistent and clear communication.
The key to all successful business operations is communication and cross-departmental collaboration. Changes and objectives should be communicated to your relevant stakeholders, including how they fit within the company’s strategic plan and quarterly goals. Consistent communication also includes reiterating your goals and reasoning for carrying out your change initiative at key stages in the change management process.
At EnticEdge, we know operational change is made easier with team alignment and value proposition clarity. If you are ready to push your business forward, reach out to us and we can help you by facilitating a value mapping session and advise your company through essential adjustments and intentional growth.
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