Today’s marketplace is rapidly evolving, leaving many organizations struggling to adjust to new policies, leadership, initiatives, and technology. With an increasing need to take immediate action to meet industry demands, many organizations find themselves reacting to change events rather than anticipating change impacts. Insufficient change controls may lead to a legacy of failed initiatives, whereas a proactive approach to change can help set your company up for growth and resilience.
If your organization is struggling to stay current in an ever-changing world, it may be time to adopt a change management strategy.
Why change management?
Change management is a systematic approach for leading the people-side of change. It’s focused on developing and providing effective resources for team members to engage, adopt, and apply new initiatives. This targeted approach turns obstacles into opportunities that translate into organizational transformation. The products of effective change management can be measured in:
- Overall organizational improvements.To make process improvements a reality, your organization must establish robust policies, procedures, and communication strategies. The change management framework demands continuous review of workflow impediments to help established processes maximize returns without draining resources. Procedures are strategically designed to support seamless, effective communication so your organization can achieve its goals, mission, and values.
- Improved employee satisfaction. Your organization's most valuable asset is its people; acknowledging and addressing change consequences is a powerful step to providing your team with the support they deserve. Your staff will be empowered to approach change with confidence if they are offered effective tools and resources, and your team may be less likely to experience burnout, a real problem facing our modern work environment.
- Increased project success. A team that is educated about upcoming change events is more likely to maintain (or exceed) production expectations while delivering quality products and meeting project deadlines. Research has shown that initiatives are six times more likely to successfully meet objectives after adopting effective change management practices. Project success can translate directly to profits by decreasing the potential for efficiency loss. Maintaining or increasing profit is just one of the many benefits of well-managed change.
- Preparation for the future. Your organization can prepare for the future by establishing a culture of change readiness. Change management is structured around analyzing built-in evaluation metrics to best anticipate future needs and areas of weakness before they become problematic to the business.
Costly mistakes
Your organization is at risk of losing profits, investment opportunities, and internal resources if it is unprepared to handle change effectively. Incorporating change management strategies may help your business avoid the following costly consequences:
- Increased risk of project failure. A majority of projects fail outright—often due to employee resistance resulting from unclear expectations or past experience from failed change initiatives.
- The cost of employee disengagement. Change events require sufficient resources to properly manage the impacts. If your team seems to withdraw from change initiatives, it could mean that your organization is lacking resources or is not communicating effectively. Studies show that employee engagement has recently improved, but there is still an estimated annual loss of $7 trillion globally because of disengagement.
- Burnout due to change fatigue: Burnout is on the rise. Many employees report frequently feeling burnt out. Most say they “sometimes” deal with burnout. In fact, job burnout accounts for billions in healthcare costs every year in the U.S.
Ready for change?
If you are ready to adopt a culture of change but don’t know where to start, P&N’s Change Management Team is available to help. Our professionals are committed to creating a clear path forward with strategies to help guide your organization or project toward sustainable success.
Let our team manage your change so change doesn’t manage you. Contact us to discuss how we can support you.