What is Change Management?
Change Management is a set of processes enabling a company to remain agile and facilitate its employees'adaptation to change.
Its aim is to change mindsets and facilitate adoption of the new business model without losing efficiency.
The emergence of this term is due to the need for companies to remain flexible and adaptable in the face of an ever-changing market and competitors.
As far as both the human and technical aspects are concerned, there's a lot of talk about Change Management in the context of digital transformation, as this requires a complete rethink of the way the company operates, by changing working practices.
When does change management arrive?
There are many different reasons for implementing a change management project.
- Organizational restructuring
- Buyout, merger
- Continuous improvement of working and management methods
For each of these reasons, working methods and general organization are going to be turned upside down. The aim of Change Management is to support the adoption of new processes and the reorganization of services, without losing efficiency.
Who accompanies change?
Whether it's management, HR or line managers, everyone has a role to play.
The idea is not to position oneself as an evangelist, imposing change on employees by convincing them that it will be beneficial. On the contrary, each player in the change process must be a facilitator at his or her own level, able to understand and support employees in the face of any obstacles they may encounter or questions they may have.
In all cases, to maximize the chances of success, change management must involve close collaboration between these different players.
How do you manage resistance to change?
Change in an organization automatically implies change in the people who make it up.
But change creates stress and fear, for the simple reason that people are naturally comfortable with routine. It's a human reaction that needs to be taken into account.
Resistance to change can be both passive and active.
To avoid this, you need to make your employees understand that change is beneficial for both the company and them, without imposing your own vision. You have to make them understand that it's in their interest to participate in change, rather than to remain in the current state.
To succeed in convincing them of the merits of change, it is therefore important to assess the potential resistance of each individual and anticipate reactions. And since every employee is different, there's nothing like individual briefings to make it easier for them to confide in us about their fears. Sometimes, however, employees are reluctant to openly express their opinions on the subject.
An interesting solution is to use an external service provider or change management tools that provide a framework conducive to communication and exchange, enabling each employee to express themselves freely and share their point of view without fear of the reaction of their hierarchical superiors.
Engaging employees to facilitate change
For every change, an intellectual journey must be made.
This process is primarily the responsibility of the person initiating the change. However, we mustn't forget that this process must also be carried out by the people concerned. So it's important to communicate this clearly.
When we talk about communication, we tend to focus on "how to get the message across". But communication is also about listening, and it's very important to remember that it's easier to convince someone when they have the opportunity to express themselves and the feeling of being listened to.
Change management must therefore be carried out with a view to involving employees in the process of change. This is what we call participative management.
In addition to generating new ideas, employees will be much less resistant to the new practices implemented, since they will partly come from their recommendations.
Involving employees in change with ChallengeMe
As we saw earlier, the best way to involve your employees in change is not to show that they are undergoing it, but rather that they are building it!
The ChallengeMe platform enables your employees to become agents of change, by offering them a place to express themselves in a completely transparent and anonymous way.
They can then give their opinion and communicate their expectations and fears.
For the manager, this enables him to capture the real feelings of his team and adapt the way he leads change. What's more, the image he reflects back to his staff can only be positive, as he shows them that he values their opinions.
Supporting change: conclusion
Any change requires time and ownership on the part of those involved.
The fact that results are not immediately visible is no reason to sound the alarm. It's up to the manager to be patient and to listen to his or her colleagues in order to support change management initiatives.
Taking the human factor into account is essential, if not a priority. Managing change in this way maximizes the chances of success.