Change Management
Business constantly faces the need to change. This may be in response to competitive pressure, a result in new products or services, changes in the economy or government regulations or to gain a competitive advantage. In most instances, management focuses on change as if it is an event and not on the process of change. As a result, all too often, the desired change fails.
We have all seen major projects cancelled in the final stage: large studies shelved and not implemented upon completion and even seemingly small changes cause giant ripples throughout the organization.
Especially if you wish to make changes to return your business to a pattern of growth, change is necessary. The question is how to make change a successful process?
The following are some of the key issues and considerations for implementing change successfully:
- Sponsorship – who supports the required change and at what level in the organization?
- Process – has a well-defined process for the change been developed?
- Roles – have all the key roles required for a successful change process been identified along with the people in the roles?
- History – what is the history of change in the organization? Has change been successfully implemented before?
- Resistance – how and why will this change be resisted? What are the plans to deal with resistance when it happens?
- Communication – what is the plan for communications during the change process?
- Cost – what is the cost of changing versus not changing?
The growth of your small or medium-sized business may be dependent on your ability to successfully orchestrate change. A trusted business advisor who is experienced at managing organizational change can be a critical element in your success.
For a free initial meeting contact Tom Long at telong@SolidOakConsulting.com.
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