Introduction to change management

Change. It’s inevitable. Though many people fight like mad to avoid change, they can’t. If you look fifty years back at anything, it has changed many times – people, fashion, cars, the street in front of your home. Like death, taxes, and time, you can’t escape change.

What’s really important is how you manage change. Managed well, it can be healthy for you and your company, leading to improved profit margins, happier and more productive employees, and a stable and growing company. Managed poorly, it can lead to poor morale, loss in production, and ultimately the possibility of bankruptcy or selling out. No wonder so many people are afraid of change! But with a good introduction to change management, you may find yourself looking at change in a completely different way.

Managing change

The first thing you need to determine in any introduction to change management is what in your company will be changing. Are you downsizing? Outsourcing? Changing your IT system? Reorganizing the company? Selling it to another company outright? Or are you expanding the company? Expansion and profit can be just as stressful as downsizing and bankruptcy. Once you know all the major types of change your company will be undergoing, you should brainstorm all the different items you’ll need to address: accounting changes, human resources changes, laying off or hiring employees, changing locations, spreading yourself and your employees thinner.

Once you have a good grasp on what you expect to see changing in your company (and that is “expect” because your list is never, ever quite accurate! It – changes.) you’re ready to start introducing your upper-level management staff to the details of what’s going on. They already know that change is coming, whether you tried to keep it secret or not.

Your staff’s introduction to change management

When you change anything about your company, you will need a team of advocates. You know the compelling reasons you need to change; now you need to teach your management team how to handle these transitions and ensure that all problems are addressed smoothly.

You will probably need to teach an introduction to change management, as change does not come naturally to everyone. For this, you should consider hiring an outside consultant. Change is hard. Sometimes it’s easier to hear the news from someone you don’t work with every day. And because you are certain to be emotionally vested in your company, you may not be able to clearly explain what you expect from the coming changes. A good consultant can also give you insight into other things you should consider with change that might not have occurred to either you or your management team.

Any good introduction to change management instructor will be able to tell your management staff what to expect and how to handle questions from employees. Take a train-the-trainer approach: you or your consultant should thoroughly educate your managers on handling your company’s changes, and test them afterward to ensure they are clear on the processes.

Next, listen to your management team, and listen carefully. They will see problems with, ramifications of, and improvements on your change management plan that would never occur to you. At the end of your introduction to change management session, have an intense and relaxed brainstorming meeting. Put papers up all around your conference room, and encourage people to list issues. Encourage creative thinking. Talk about how each department will influence the next one. Think about the company’s shareholders, if you have public stock. And think about the reactions of your employees. Some will embrace change. Others will dig in and do everything they can to keep things the same. You may have union issues or other special organizational problems. The most important thing you can do with this session is get a handle on how things may need to be addressed.

Once you’ve outlined the change you’re expecting, you should organize a team to implement your company’s changes. Your smooth transition will only be as smooth as your transitional team can make it. The obvious source for most of your transition team is your human resources department, but don’t limit yourself. You may have staff who have shown themselves to be more capable managers during times of change, and you should have a voice from each department on the team. Don’t forget your non-management staff, either; they will be able to give you insights into morale and everyday efficiency that will prove invaluable during the stresses involved in introducing change to your company.

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