We Need To Be Better At Change Management!

Editor's Notes

• #3: Read instead of bullet 2: However, the way we commonly understand and approach change management is really part of the problem. The truth is that common methods, traditional strategies, and “they way we have always done it” aren’t really working. We need to see that how we manage change needs to evolve.
• #4: Read After Slide: There were decades of businesses and organizations developing and shifting to meet the times, the technology, and the evolutions of the workforce. However, by the mid 90’s, most organizational change was not considered successful. Which is shocking.
• #5: Read before slide: However, it is really not getting any better (Read Slide) Read After Slide: 13 years after John Kotter’s results, and we still were not getting any better at managing change. But think of what happened between 95 and 2008. The internet starting showing up in every home and business, Google was created, digital advertising became a thing, social media was invented, we got smartphones. You know all of the things that completely changed how we do business. All of these huge, dramatic shifts in the business landscape came at us, but when organizations tried to change and incorporate them, we were still only 30% effective.
• #6: Read Instead of Slide: Fast forward another 12 years, and things have barely gotten better. We are outright failing our change management half the time, and we are only considered successful 4% more often. All of this time and efforts to improve change management and we are still not getting the success we need. I think a clear, real life example of this; is how unprepared pretty much every business was for the changes brought on by COVID, and why everything has been so hard. How we thought of, were taught, and were expected to manage change has not been successful. But, we always seem to get through it, which I think is part of the problem. It’s like we can stumble and suffer through, and eventually the new change will not be new anymore. Which is why some organizations are not learning from the trials and tribulation of their last big change. So if only 1/3rd are successful that means that 2/3rds of all change is still happening, but taking way longer than it needs to, not meeting goals, burning out employees, not being properly adopted, and perhaps most importantly, its going way over budget. The need to getting ahead of the next big change is something that we don’t always prioritize. Maybe it’s because we don’t think the next change will come.
• #8: Read before slide: Well the truth is, change is inevitable. Change was abundant pre covid too. Even then… (read slide) Read After Slide: So let’s see where we are with all of this. Change Management has only been successfully implemented about a third of the time in at least the past 25-30 years. But 96% of businesses were actively going through change even pre COVID, and what we can assume was 100% of business since 2020. So, I guess the next question is, does successful change management actually make much of a difference?
• #9: Well…. Yeah. (Read Slide) Sounds pretty good eh. Can you imagine the last time you went through an organizational change, new leadership, new technology, new process or systems, and the change went better than expected, was on time, and cost less than you thought? But, if most of our change is not having these results, where are we going wrong?
• #10: (Read Slide) Read after slide: When we think of change, say the change that comes with incorporating DEI initiatives, where many organizations focus their efforts is in creating statements and policies around their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. They state goals and collect data to track their progress, they revise their recruitment tools and protocols, they mandate new information and rules company wide, and they create teams and committees to champion diversity and belonging in the workplace. But for many organizations, these steps are barely moving the needle. Largely its because these are the exact type of traditional change management approaches that we know are only successful 30-34% of the time. The narrow way we view incorporating the change is a big part of the problem. Why we place more focus on the tasks and the process has a lot to do with how we think about and define Change Management. Do not read: say implementing a new employee management system, where we often focus on is announcing the new system to people, changing the current processes to adopt the new program, migrating the older procedures to accommodate the new structure, and creating the policies that will incorporate the use of the system. These are the traditional approaches to change management that we already know are not working
• #11: Read before slide: Most organizational change management is lead by or heavily influenced by 3 main areas; Project Management, Technology, and Accounting. And how they define change management greatly impacts how the organizational change is prioritized and implemented. Read instead of slide: (Click) In Project Management, Change management refers to the tools and processes used to manage change within a project and its team. - This definition is from Wrike (a leading project management company) (Click) In Technology, Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of an organization's goals, processes or technologies. – This is the wide cited definition in the tech sector. We copied this from TechTarget. (Click) And last, in Accounting, Organizational change management (or OCM) focuses on systems and processes used to advance change in organizations. – This is directly from CPA Canada. When most organizational change happens, it is heavily influenced by Accounting, Technology, and Project Management. Which prioritized the tasks and processes.
• #12: Read after bullet 1: This is largely how organizational change is understood. The practices, policies, and procedure are what is changing, and how we understand managing change is dependent on how well these structures and tasks are implemented. Read after bullet 2: The problem is that we think that the policies and processes are the only things that change, but in reality, its more than that. Read after bullet 3: It is the people that have to use the policies and processes that are the ones who are really changing. We mistakenly have a “if we build it, they will come” attitude to change management. That is why things, like the DEI example I gave earlier, are often not as successful as they should be. We think if we create the goals, define the policies, and implement the tasks; then the employees will gravitate to them. But most of the time, that is not the case. Our mistake is thinking that just if we build these new systems and tasks, the employees will use them and be more effective. So, they are what we prioritize. But, where most of the real work, the real change that creates success comes from is the people accepting and implementing the new way of doing things.
• #13: Read instead of slide: In fact, when the US Conference Board completed a survey and found that the vast majority to concerns and challenges when it comes to organizational change management have almost entirely nothing to do with the policies and the paperwork. They are almost entirely about the employee’s challenges, the people. This is it, this is why we can’t seem to break past 35% successful implementation of organizational change in the past 25+ years. The common strategies and focus of most change management are aimed at the paperwork, and largely ignoring the people.
• #14: Which means we need a far more people centered approach to managing change. (Read Slide) Preparing and engaging the people is how we create a more successful implementation. If there’s one thing you take away from this talk – let it be this. The evolution of change management must be recognizing that you will not have successful process change without getting the people on board. We need to give both of them the recognition they require.
• #17: Read instead of slide: The best thing that you can do is to book a free follow up chat with us. (Click) If you’re in a supervisor or manager role, We can help you identify what changes you can make within your authority level to improve the workplace culture. If you’re an HR professional we can identify where you fall on the Hierarchy and assist with organizational assessments that will create a plan for the entire organization. If you’re an owner or executive we can provide coaching and training to your leadership and management teams so that your company will continue to Strive. Our chat with you is just a conversation to find out your specific needs so we can provide you the best advice to get started. (Click) We are so confident that our expertise and strategies can lead to the change you are looking for, that if you end up working with us, we offer a satisfaction guarantee. So, to make sure you don’t miss out, James will share the link to book your free follow up chat. Thank you and I hope you found something in this talk that can help you improve your workplace today. Possible Question: