The Harder Side of Change (3) - How

Change management plays a crucial role in an organisational context, as it involves the supervision of transformational processes within an organisation. Investing time and energy to understanding the what, why, and how of change management will allow organisations to avoid consequences of inadequately managed change.

The How of Change Management

The next step is to understanding change management is the correct measures required to implement change. Understanding what change management is and why it is important in an organisational context assists with successfully executing change. However, understanding how to accomplish that goal requires having a thorough perspective of effectively managing change – and individual perspective as well as an organisational perspective. Although change management is generally seen to be managing the social aspect of change, organisational goals and targets are imperative to the continuance of the organisation. Hence, both individual and organisational perspectives are crucial in implementing effective change management.

To initiate effective change management, the individual perspective is important as it is the understanding of how organisational personnel experience change. Change is considered to be successful when a few particular criteria are fulfilled. The awareness and desire to participate in the changing process is a necessary starting point for organisational transformation. Having the required knowledge is also important as it educates organisational personnel on the ability to implement action plans according to the framework of change. Reinforcing change also helps with maintaining and sustaining change to ensure that organisations do not revert to previous practices. These strategies are an effective way of initiating change, lacking of either which would threaten the change process.

On the other hand, the organisational perspective of change management involves activities and plans which are utilised to support individual change. Organisational change management is the set of actions required to build the necessary disciplines of the individual perspective. Effective communication and sufficient senior management sponsorship helps build awareness and desire to change amongst organisational personnel, whilst practical training and coaching plans provide the relevant technical prowess and ability on how to change. Resistance and crisis management plans also help with reinforcing new policies within the organisation, and ensure that change positively impacts the organisation.

Knowing what change management involves and its importance is the first step in the transformation process; understanding how to implement the change is a different concept altogether. By being proficiently familiarised with the individual and organisational perspective of change management, projects eventually deliver the intended results, and change is effectively managed and applied throughout the organisation.

Inspiration: The Harder Side of Change: The What, Why, and How of Change Management

Image Source: glocalthinking.com

Benjamin Lee Cheng Han | Benjamin is a student of International Relations at the University of Nottingham, currently exploring unchartered realms in the Public Relations field. Writing is clearly his interest – a decisive contributor to his foray into the public relations industry. To date, he boasts the proud record of having tamed one of the office cats, and drinking expired tea from the pantry.