The economic market is
changing almost by the minute as customers demand higher and increasingly
adaptive customer service initiatives. Technological advancement is shortening
people’s attention span, and patience is ever-decreasing as technology speeds up
transactional events to the extent that delivery is expected instantaneously.
Change within an
organisation refers to the actions that alter a significant component of
its operations. A change might include its culture, internal processes,
underlying technology, infrastructure, corporate hierarchy, or any other
critical fundamental organisational aspect. The drivers of organisational
change are many and varied, but may include the following:
- Organisational mergers and
acquisitions.
- Economic downturns.
- Expansion into new markets.
- Growth opportunities.
- Challenging trading conditions.
- Shifts in strategic objectives.
- Technological developments.
- Government policy and economic
trends.
- General legislative changes.
Organisational change should
be thought of as a spectrum. At one end, high-performing organisations
undertake adaptive changes. At the other end of the spectrum, low-performing
organisations go through transformational change projects in which fundamental
change is pursued. Typically, there are three change scenarios:
- Adaptive: Involves small and
incremental changes to address evolving organisational change needs.
Typically, these changes are minor modifications and adjustments that
high-performing organisations fine-tune and implement to execute business
strategies.
- Innovative: Usually occurs on an ad-hoc basis
and may be irregular, but results from new ideas, products, or the need to
take advantage of fleeting opportunities where speed is of the essence to
maximise the benefits of change.
- Revolutionary: Transformational changes tend to
be extreme. They are more significant in scale and scope, involving a
dramatic and sudden but occasional departure from the typical business
pattern, such as launching new products or services or expanding sales
internationally.
Achieving organisational
change requires a relentless commitment to see change as an evolutionary
process that must include those affected most by the necessary changes. Most
organisational change initiatives fail because of low-performing Directors and Team
Leaders who:
- Fail to understand the need for
change.
- Lack of an understanding of the
dynamics of organisational change.
- Refrain from seeing themselves as
change managers.
Successful change projects
require a multi-level approach to ensure their success, from support at the
Director level to ownership by those most affected by the change and,
crucially, continual support for change by all organisational Directors, Team
Leaders and staff.
A failure to adapt to
changing environmental and economic market conditions will eventually lead to
the organisation failing financially. Some will slowly fail as the economy and
marketplace shift over decades, while others may be driven out of business in
months.
Low-performing organisations
must see that change is a fundamental part of the business life cycle and must
be proactively managed. The organisation will be owned by the shift to minimise
the financial advantages of change in lost revenues as it fails to adapt. In
contrast, high-performing organisations seek to own and manage change
proactively to maximise the economic benefits of change.
Organisational change
increases growth opportunities by allowing staff to acquire new skills, explore
new opportunities for personal growth, and exercise their creativity. The
demands made of them through change provide an opportunity for their self-development,
benefiting the organisation through innovation, fresh thinking, and increased
staff commitment.
Effective organisational
change attracts new customers and increases customer engagement and
satisfaction, promoting increased market competition and growth. With a
proactive stance concerning change, high-performing organisations keep pace
with the competitive forces of an evolving marketplace and economy. A failure
to adapt to change may lead to the following organisational disadvantages, most
seen in low-performing organisations:
- Poor financial performance and
losses.
- Reduction in organisational quality
standards.
- Lowering customer service levels.
- Missed opportunities for growth and
increased sales.
- Lower staff productivity rates.
- An inability to hire or retain
staff.
- Increased staff absence.
- Low morale among staff.
Complex organisational
change issues may present unexpected challenges and obstacles for
low-performing organisations. They may need help as they require an increased
ability and political will to adapt and change. Change management means
expecting the unexpected and proactively taking action to deal with change.
A change management strategy
emphasises the importance of planning and communication when dealing with
change. Directors and Team Leaders must involve staff from all levels of the
organisation to get them on board with new ideas, initiatives, and processes.
Short-term, achievable change management goals and easy wins must be
incorporated into the change management processes to encourage staff
enthusiasm, engagement, and morale.
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