What is organisational change & change management?
While change is often understandable, it’s still not easy – for all involved. Employees, leaders, and even executives can feel the pinch of organisational change. When undergoing organisational change, it is important to consider the reactions and challenges that will be faced by those impacted and consider the necessary support and resources that can assist people in the transition.
Organisational change can seem scary, but it’s essential to understand that it’s designed to evolve an organisation for the better or respond to current needs or pressures. Your company may have merged with another, changed priorities, or had a new executive leader take the helm. On the other hand, change can arise when an organisation isn’t performing at its best or hit hard times. As such, they may need to bed the hatches so that the company can withstand the coming storm.
For managers, this time can be especially daunting and will need an empathetic and caring touch. Therefore, the next five insights will be key for an effective communication and change strategy.
Creating a Change Management strategy to effectively handle organisational change
At Converge, we often see organisations prepare well for change from a systems and processes perspective, but less so from a people perspective. Did you know: a UK survey from Oak Engage found that 23% of employees felt excluded from the change management process. Similarly, Oak Engage expressed that 37% of employees surveyed said they were resistant to change. Our own data also highlights that change is the number one psychosocial risk facing employees indicated by hazard identification surveys. However, when employees were involved in the planning process, there was a 24% increase in successful implementation – according to Gartner. Therefore, there are many considerations that need to be factored in when developing a change strategy. Below are five considerations for organisations and leaders to manage the psychological impact of change.
1: Change Strategy & Communication Plan
During this integral first step, you are effectively building the foundations of your change strategy. Initially, you should look at your strategy holistically, including how you will communicate change with your employees, the process and stages of the change, and how you will support your leaders with delivering messaging. You will also need to answer inevitable questions, and signpost the types of support you will provide – psychological, career transitioning, etc. As we all know, this can be an incredibly unsettling time, so it’s essential to have the foundations set before moving forward with your strategy.
2: Leadership Support & Development
Once your strategy is ready and you have a clear path forward, now it’s time to prepare your leaders. Leaders are often the ones who will perform the heavy lifting and guide your employees through this time of change. They may also be involved in the change process themselves and need to navigate a multitude of factors. As such, workshops and learning programs, supervision, individual coaching and more can be a great way to prepare them. At Converge, we offer a range of leadership development programs that will help with this process.
3: Psychological Support
Here comes one of the trickiest aspects of your change management strategy: supporting your employees. If you’ve announced changes to job roles and titles or you’ve made the difficult decision to conduct redundancies, this can place a heavy burden on your staff.
So, offering psychological support can help your employees navigate their next steps and discuss their experiences. This is especially important during the notification meetings, where you should emphasise that support is available if they need it. Consider offering on-site visits or virtual sessions delivered by a trained and expert counsellor – which Converge also offers. It’s crucial that you pre-prepare for this phase and have support available from the get-go.
4: Ongoing Support during Transition
While organisations often provide support upfront to their employees, it is important to consider the ongoing support needs through the change process. This could be supporting your employees and managers with regular onsite support, learning and development workshops, and career development. Always have your employee’s best interests at heart during this process by giving them the tools they need to cope with this challenging period.
5: Career Transition Support
As highlighted earlier, organisational change is becoming more of an ongoing and continuous process. As such, there isn’t always a natural end point in a change process. Individual’s roles may be impacted by restructuring and this may continue to impact them directly and those that worked with them. It is crucial that you consider this and support the impacted employees taking their next career steps as well as those that remain.
One area that can offer considerable support is career development workshops and outplacement support. These can include resume writing, interviewing techniques, job-seeking assistance, job applications and more. It’s also important to understand that employees who remain with the organisation after the process may feel a sense of “survivors’ guilt,” so be ready by reviewing our tipsheet.
Converge is here to support you every step of the way
At Converge, we can support you through the entire change management process. Get in touch now to learn more about our consulting services and how we can support you with your change strategy. We’re also here to offer many great services to help you create a supportive workplace through EAP. Take a look at what we can offer your organisation!
