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10 Tips for Implementing Change Effectively
I was recently looking at the readership stats on a website that publishes some of my articles. I was surprised to see just how popular the ones on implementing change are. So popular in fact, that they have been accessed three times more than any other article.
Now I know that change is a big issue for business, but I hadn’t realised that it was so much more important than some of the other people-related topics I have written about like delivering bad news well or making meetings more productive and enjoyable. So with change being so critical to business success, here are my top 10 tips for implementing change effectively.
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Understand why you want or need to change. If you don’t, no-one else will… Effective communication is one of the key factors in the successful implementation of change.
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Get the right people in place to lead the change. What skills do you need? What attitudes are you looking for? And who has them? Use a tool like Belbin team roles to help you identify who has the attributes you are looking for.
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Devise the vision and strategy – what needs to be done and when. If you are sponsoring or leading change it’s hard to remember that everyone does not have all the knowledge that you do. So using a simple method of identifying what needs to happen when and updating it regularly allows others to understand the impact on them.
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Explain the reasons for the change to your people. Give people the opportunity to ask questions and to challenge what is happening – throughout the process. This helps their understanding of why things need to change. The more open the process the more trust will be built as the project proceeds.
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Get everyone involved in how the change is implemented. They will help you identify the real impact where it matters most – at the front line. Find out who’s implemented that type of change before and give your people the opportunity to visit or see for themselves what pitfalls have been encountered and how things have changed for the better.
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Get rid of obstacles that stand in the way of achieving your vision. For example, get rid of old systems and procedures that no longer serve a purpose. Remember that people will hang on to the familiar and do what they’ve always done if they have the opportunity to! This will disempower the saboteurs - people who stand in the way of progress.
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Identify some short term wins – nothing motivates like success! Changes, like providing new PCs before the implementation of a new IT system, can help people see some benefits from the change, and at an early stage.
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Encourage risk taking, new ideas, activities and actions. Involving people along the way helps them to understand what’s in it for them. Remember that there are lots of examples from history of many failures before a great success, so encouragement from you could lead to more benefits than you ever expected.
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Recognise and reward people who made the wins possible. Differentiate between those who are championing the change and those who aren’t. You want to encourage the heroes rather than the saboteurs. And those who are not either (the sheep!) will follow those with the loudest voices.
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Keep asking questions to check out the progress you are making. Talk to people involved in the project often – and not just those who are accountable for the delivery of the project. By talking to anyone affected by the project you will be demonstrating that you are interested in people’s views and discover what is really happening.
Follow these tips and watch your change project succeed.
And a very useful book on implementing change is Managing Transitions by William Bridges – you can get it from Amazon .
And if you’re in HR, you have an important role in providing knowledge and expertise on the people aspects of change. Take a look at CoachingforHR.co.uk to see how we can support you to deliver that even more effectively.
If you’d like support to achieve your goals in 2009 visit our website , send me an email or call me on +44 (0) 1763 245 323 for an initial, no obligation discussion.
Are there particular topics you’d like to see covered in future newsletters? Please let me have your suggestions.
And who else could benefit from reading this too?
Till next month,
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