Each company in the world needs to make some changes to improve the performance of the business. When we talk about small changes, they need to happen almost every day. Different situations that happen during the work require from the employees to adapt to the current moment. However, when we talk about organizational change management, things are a bit complex.
Every entrepreneur needs to analyze things before deciding on this sort of change. This especially counts if you are not experienced enough for this sort of things. That’s why it is necessary to go through some sort of training before making these changes. For example, you can find those types of training at impactfactory.com and other similar websites. We encourage you to check them up.
Anyway, we would like to highlight some basic things that you should know. We believe that they won’t be a lot helpful, but it is good to know them in theory.
Because of that, let’s find them out together.
Determine the Changes Precisely and Adjust Them to Business Goal
It is more than important to know what exactly you want to change. Believe it or not, we have noticed that many businesses skip this step. They make the mistake already at the beginning.
Keep in mind always that changes that you want to make need to somehow improve your business. If they can’t improve everything, then they need to have a positive impact on at least one part of the business. That’s why those changes need to carry your business in the right direction ethically, financially, and strategically. If you skip this step, then you won’t be able to determine the true value of the change.
More precisely, through this question, you will find out two different things. The first thing that you will find out is what exactly you need to change in your working environment. After that, you will understand why you need to make that change.
Answer on these two questions will help you adjust your decisions to the goals of the entire company. We talk here about short-term and long-term goals at the same time.
Try to Predict the Impact of Those Changes
We know that you are not a psychic. Many things in the business world are unpredictable. Things are changing quite fast and that’s why many businesses disappear quickly.
Anyway, this is not something that should scare you. The changes you want to make will bring something new to your business. However, it is necessary to dedicate enough time to make a good analysis. These changes won’t only affect one organizational level. They will have an impact on absolutely every employee in your company.
Keep in mind that you need to be involved in these changes. You need to provide some sort of instructions or training for your workers. Only in that way, they will be able to understand the ideas you have.
Because of that, we suggest you divide things. Try to find out on which parts of your business those changes will have the strongest impact. In that way, you will know where support and training are necessary the most.
Improve a Communication Strategy
Okay, after going through the first two steps, you mustn’t skip the third one. Communication is the key when we talk about managing changes. This means that communication needs to go in two different directions.
You need to be clear about your goals and ideas. If there is a need to spend days explaining things, then do not hesitate to do that. Think about every single detail that you need to explain. It would be good to get a piece of paper and write down everything you should share with each organization level. You can go even further and determine which things you need to say to the current employee.
Anyway, the conversation in the opposite direction is equally important. You need to hear all the things that bother each employee. If they have millions of questions, then prepare yourself to give millions of answers. Imagine that you do not listen to the things that your employees have to say. For example, they maybe have a different opinion about a certain thing. Even if their opinion is wrong, you need to listen to them and explain to them why they are wrong.
Despite that, you can’t leave your employees to adapt to the changes on their own. The changes are your idea and, as we said, you need to fully involve in them.
Be a Motivational Support
It is not a secret that some members of your team will need more time to adapt to the new changes. Yet, that doesn’t mean you should criticize them because of that. On the contrary, you need to be their biggest support.
When we say “support”, that doesn’t only include giving technical instructions. It also includes motivational support. When you see that your employee is struggling to accomplish certain tasks after the changes, then you should find the best possible way to motivate him. Many people would pick the option to raise salaries. They usually think that this is the most effective way of motivation.
Yet, money won’t be as effective as you think. A word of support usually has a stronger impact than money. You should say things such as “I am glad you are trying hard” when you see that the employee truly invests a lot of effort.
Measure Everything
Finally, it is necessary to understand if your changes were good or bad as soon as possible. Many entrepreneurs do not invest a lot of effort to measure absolutely every detail. They usually measure things that are more “visible”.
But, why should you measure everything?
Some changes that you make you can re-change. If you see that your business is not making progress because of certain details, then you can change them. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the entire change was bad.
Anyway, do not ever forget the business goals that you have. If you are a step closer to them after the changes you made, then there should not be bigger problems. Yet, if you are stagnating or even making worse results, then you need to re-adapt those changes once again.
