Change is inevitable in the business world. In 2020, when a global pandemic hit the world, many businesses suffered and underwent major organisational changes. While it is over now, it gave business leaders a lesson that even if they planned everything, nature could always throw an unexpected change. However, not every time is nature responsible for causing organisational changes.
Due to rapid technological advancement and high competition, business leaders are pressured to keep their organisations’ strategic plans relevant and equipment updated. Otherwise, a competitor will take advantage and gain higher profits. Therefore, organisations are bound to embrace change. Organisational change is pursued because it is believed that transition will help the business reach new heights of success.
However, only if it is managed properly by the business leaders. Otherwise, it will become a double-edged sword, resulting in lost employee productivity and engagement. Managing organisational change is a challenging task that many business leaders cannot fulfil. Do you fall into a similar category? Executive coaching is what you need to resolve your problem. With the help of executive coaching, many business leaders have managed change in their organisations efficiently.
Is this question, “How can executive coaching help me manage change more effectively,” popping into your mind? Read on to find an answer!
Top 5 Tips for Managing Organisational Change Efficiently By an Expert Executive Coach
Executive coaching has become a booming industry for all the right reasons. In fact, many organisations have made it compulsory for their business leaders, CEOs, and managers to take executive coaching to improve their leadership skills. However, unfortunately, not every business leader has the time and resources to opt for executive coaching.
Do you fall into a similar category? Here are a few tips on how to manage organisational change effectively given by Simon Ellson, an expert executive coach at ActionCoach:
Establish a Clear Vision
If business leaders want to manage organisational change effectively, they will have to establish a clear vision for their workforce that is inspiring and easily understandable. The vision should highlight what will change and remain the same and why the change is crucial for business success. Business leaders need to ensure that employees not only hear or read the vision but also understand it clearly.
Here are a few things you can do to establish a clear vision for your employees:
- Create a clear picture of how organisational change will help achieve business goals and affect employees individually.
- Hold regular meetings to discuss the vision and encourage employees to ask questions about it.
- Discuss the change with employees individually, formally or informally, to get to know their reaction and how they are coping with the change personally.
Leverage the Change Management Timeline
Organisational change is a time-consuming process that requires a strategy before, during and after its implementation. To manage organisational change effectively, here is what you can do throughout the timeline:
Before the Change:
Ask questions to determine how prepared employees are for change. You can also conduct surveys to know their reaction to change. Once you know the employee readiness level, you can set and communicate their personal goals that will be directly related to the planned change initiative.
During the Change:
Keep track of employees’ progress and actions in support of change initiatives. During daily or weekly meetings, highlight the crossed-off items from the to-do lists and appreciate the deserving employees’ hard work and continued commitment.
After the Change:
Conduct surveys to assess the degree to which the transition has been successful. Based on the responses, you can determine whether further action is required.
Support Your Workforce
If organisational changes are not easy for business leaders, they negatively impact employees too. When an organisation undergoes change, employees experience different feelings, including fear, anger, anxiety and fatigue. Once they clearly understand the vision behind the organisational change, most employees may feel better. However, there will still be some struggling to cope with the change.
Instead of being aggressive or harsh to them, business leaders need to offer them the support they need. Here is how business leaders can offer support to struggling employees during an organisational change:
- Arrange workshops or training sessions to help employees get the hang of new technology or test their new skills in a risk-free environment.
- Arrange one-to-one meetings to understand your employees’ concerns and offer solutions to mitigate them.
Keep the Doors Open for Communication
Communication is crucial for the effective management of organisational change. Business leaders should communicate the vision behind the organisation change clearly and firmly. However, communication must not stop there, as it is definitely not a one-time process when managing change.
Instead, a business leader should keep their doors open for communication until the change initiative is successfully implemented and employees get comfortable with it. When managing change, a business leader should engage employees in various two-way communication methods, such as surveys and meetings, to gather as much feedback as possible.
Moreover, business leaders need to take their employees’ feedback seriously. By doing so, they will make employees feel valued and appreciated. When employees feel valued, they will embrace the change and become valuable assets to the organisation.
Prepare for Roadblocks
It is important for business leaders to understand that problems are bound to occur. Everything cannot always go according to the plan, no matter how well-prepared they are for managing the change. Despite establishing a clear vision and maintaining good communication, some employees will show a significant amount of resistance to a change initiative.
Therefore, business leaders need to prepare for these roadblocks and have various strategies prepared to deal with them. Once these hindrances are identified, they should implement the strategies and not hesitate to take hard decisions if required.
Conclusion:
Organisational change management has become a crucial skill for business leaders to have. However, not everyone is born with expertise in managing organisational change. If you are struggling to manage organisational change even after following the above-mentioned tips, Contact ActionCoach today at 01305 566150 or email westdorset@actioncoach.co.uk for the best executive coaching sessions!
