More than two thirds of major change programs fail.
Despite this, it is
vital for businesses to change and adapt to be successful. Rapid developments in technology are bringing
equally rapid change to the organisational landscape. Effective change management is critical in
successful businesses, resulting in meeting or exceeding objectives, remaining within
scope and completing projects on or ahead of schedule.
Unfortunately, far too
often change is thought to be a static process. Without an effective change process, 70% of change interventions fail (Keller
& Aiken, 2008). It is not enough to simply install a change intervention, it must be implemented.
Consider the
installation of a new customer relationship management (CRM) application. If one morning employees fired up their
computers and found a new system was available, how likely would they be to use
it instead of defaulting to their existing systems and processes? Proper implementation demands a much longer
commitment. It requires an alignment of business processes and communication about
new ways of working.
Constant change comprises consistent upskilling for employees, to ensure
technology and practices are utilised effectively. This change highlights the importance for employees
to adjust to the digital age of ‘agile’ practices and globalisation.
HR managers are now required more than ever to leverage change management
tools to assist in meeting market demands.
Prosci's ADKAR, (see diagram below) developed by Jeff Hiatt, is a
popular model for organisational change.
If you have ever watched someone make a change successfully in their
life or at their job, you have seen ADKAR in action. Think about the first
thing someone needs to make a change: an understanding of why the
change is needed in the first place.
This is where the
ADKAR model can facilitate change in employees and help them adapt.
Awareness
Awareness refers to an employee’s understanding
of the nature of change. This might
include why change is needed, the risk of not changing, the drivers of change
and the value to employees. The number
one reason for organisational change resistance is a lack of awareness about why
the change was being made (Washington, 2005). Informing employees early about
what and why change is occurring is crucial.
What would a change manager do at this stage?
Inform employees about why
change is occurring, as well as the risks of not changing. This information should come from an organisational
leader or credible source. Employees need to be informed of the burning platform that is creating an
onus for change.
Take our example of new CRM software. The benefits of effective
implementation are likely to save the organisation money, as productivity
increases, relationships are strengthened, and the integrated system reduces
the likelihood of errors. Inversely, a failure to change is likely to push the
organisation out of its present market share, as global competitors outperform
in their capacity to reach (poach) potential customers.
Desire
Desire refers to the willingness
of employees to support and engage in change. This can be more challenging to facilitate,
because sustained desire is typically intrinsically
motivated. Do not assume that building
awareness will create desire for change. Desire is influenced by the nature of change,
an individual’s personal situation, their perception of the organisation and
their own internal drivers.
What would a change manager do at this stage?
Change managers have a wealth of techniques to convince staff to change
their behaviour, including creating a sense of urgency, outlining the ways
change will benefit individuals and providing evidence of failures due to a
lack of change. Those involved in
previous projects can understand the frustration associated with discarding a
large portion of work due to shifting demands. Thinking back to our CRM, demonstrating to employees
how this new software will save them time is an easy way to build desire.
Knowledge
Knowledge is all about having the information, training, and education
necessary to know how to change. Employees require knowledge about behaviours,
skills, job roles, techniques, processes, tools, and systems. This may be difficult for some employees,
based on their expertise, capacity to learn, peer support and access to
educational
resources.
What would a change manager do at this stage?
Ensure all relevant training and information is formally provided to
employees to enable the change. Instructions
should be straightforward, clear and readily accessible. For a CRM, workshops may be useful, but the
digital age has provided opportunities for L&D teams to leverage online
training at a more micro level. Google provides troubleshooting at a moments
notice, so training can be more focused on the big picture. Let employees explore best-practices
collaboratively to further customise the system to their needs.
Ability
Ability requires putting knowledge in to action and executing the required change. It is not enough to tell employees how to change;
they must be able to do it to a sufficient standard.
What would a change manager do at this stage?
Ensure all relevant training has been adhered to at an acceptable standard.
If more training is required, then this
should be repeated until the employee has satisfactorily demonstrated the
skills. With our new CRM example, we may
need to assess employees higher level skills for the software
Reinforcement
Once change has been actioned, it is critical to sustain the change. This can
be achieved through both internal and external motivators. External motivators include recognition,
rewards, and celebrations of shared success. Internal motivators are intrinsic, and can be
satisfied through achieving goals, working with others effectively, and taking
ownership over work (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
What would a change manager do at this stage?
Check in with employees at regular intervals to see if change has been
maintained. If employees have done this effectively,
recognise the strides they have taken to bring about and sustain a successful
change. For a CRM, it would be vital to
check that employees are embracing the new ways of working. A few stray employees who stick to prior
procedures can undo all the hard work invested into change. If capabilities have diminished over time, it
may be necessary to revisit some stages of the ADKAR model.
Given that more than two thirds of major change programs
fail, consider ADKAR as a guiding principal the next time you lead your
organisation through change.
“If you want to make
enemies, try to change something.”
Woodrow Wilson
Enabling effective change is made significantly easier when your employees
are receptive.
Psychometric assessments like the BusinessPersonality Reflections® can greatly assist in implementing change that sticks.
Containing 73 personality scales that can be provided bespoke to your selection
or development needs, the Openness to
Change scale can quickly measure which of your employees are most likely to
excel in the constantly shifting digital age.
Openness to Change
Openness to change measures an individual’s ability to adapt to varying
situations, and their capacity to adopt new and different ways to manage tasks
or solve problems. That is, an individuals’
willingness to accept new ideas or procedures as opposed to those which are
familiar. The Openness to Change scale
identifies individuals’ ability to be flexible in their thinking and solve
problems effectively.
Due to the ever-changing and increasingly innovative workplace, an
employees’ ability to adapt and change where necessary is vital to an organisation’s
long-term prosperity.
A sample item for the Openness to Change scale that may be seen on our
questionnaire could be:
“I enjoy pushing traditional boundaries”.
Openness to Change has been shown to improve a range of positive workplace
outcomes. Wanberg and Banas (2000)
conducted a longitudinal study examining employee openness to organisational
change, finding job satisfaction was positively associated with openness to
change. Meta-analyses conducted by Marinova
et al. (2015) identified job characteristics such as complexity, autonomy and
task significance were predictive of change-orientated behaviour in the
workplace, which in turn produced better workplace engagement. Further, Chawla and Kelloway (2004) found
staff retention was similarly positively associated.
Seppala and colleagues (2011) also found employees high in openness to
change had higher levels of organisational citizenship behaviour, a construct
defined by an employee commitment to their organisation beyond their
contractual tasks. That is to say, a
propensity to change acceptance is seen more in individuals who want to go ‘above
and beyond’ for their organisations.
Individuals who score highly on the Openness to Change scale tend to think
critically, drive innovation, and at times question, challenge, or offer
improvements to established procedures. Also,
highly scoring individuals are more likely to experiment and develop novel
methods of processes, policies and procedures.
You may consider using the Openness to Change scale in your selection and
development processes if you want to identify individuals that:
·
Are flexible, open, and critical in their thinking;
·
Effectively problem-solve;
·
Strive for innovation;
·
Challenge convention and improve the status-quo.
Organisations can greatly benefit from employees that are open to change.
Such workers will likely think critically, remain at their job long-term, and
contribute to their organisation in ways beyond the average employee.
Get started with the Business Personality Reflections® today by enquiring now, or learn more about our services.
