Thoughtful organizational change management strategies require a lot of deep insight, followed by strategic planning and skillful plan implementation.
Every organization continually strives to do better, respond faster, and drive profits higher – and that means change is constant. But sometimes it takes holistic, organization-wide change to bring about real results. Demanding too much of individual staff members or departments is a recipe for an overworked and overwhelmed staff. Employees who are forced to adapt too quickly often spend time remembering the acronyms of new initiatives than actually working on them. To successfully drive change, avoiding overreach is essential.
Systems to manage organizational change are no stranger to most current company leaders. In fact, the 1970s saw the first rush of organizational change management. It has continued to this day through management software systems and various theories of project management. Below is some advice to help you get the most out of the money you spend on implementing changes within your organization.
Organizational Change Management Strategies
Know Your Weakest Link
One of the best ways to avoid overreach is to remember that you are only as strong as your weakest link. If one department is racing ahead, the others will struggle to catch up and impede progress. Make sure to give extra attention to departments that are lagging behind the others.
Strategic Planning – Flip the Script
Now that you’ve identified your weakest link (or links) figure out ways to support them and bring them up to speed. It’s not that they’re poor employees. They could simply be stretched too thin as a result of the changes you’re trying to implement. In all organizational change, some groups are affected more than others.
Organizational Change Management is All Inclusive
To avoid creating obstacles for you and your company, make sure you take the schedules and responsibilities of every department into account. Only with close attention to detail will you be able to avoid duplication of effort and prevent tasks from falling through the cracks.
Kick Your Plan Implementation Into High Gear
Now that you have your plan ready to go, your team needs support. Working with a third-party consultant like The Change Leader will allow you to support your team without becoming overwhelmed. Having a new perspective often improves efficiency and speed while identifying potential problems before they occur.
Ensure your Program Office has the Full Picture
Unless there is a program office or a program manager that has the full picture of the changes that are occurring, it is likely that the various change efforts will trip over each other. Be sure that there is at least one person (or a team of people) that understands where the projects intersect and how to avoid project roadkill.
Working with The Change Leader
Avoiding overreach while maintaining team culture and integrity through a period of change is a challenge for any company. We’re happy to help. At The Change Leader, we want your company to remain cohesive, productive, happy, and efficient regardless of the scope of changes being conducted. For more information on our solutions to organizational change, please visit our Higher Ed Consulting Services page.
