The Power to Change

The Power to Change

Posted On Friday, April 08, 2011 (Source: ET Casual)


M&As, upsizing, downsizing and even resizing …have all made change inevitable in organizations to maintain their strengths, capability and competitiveness...

Transformation is here to stay. From the social, political and cultural circle, to business and entrepreneurship, the winds of change are blowing strong. But amidst all this, there’s the real bit: resisting the change that’s intrinsic to human nature. Thus, business bigwigs, eager to bring about corporate transformation, need to use effective change management tools to bring in that win-win situation at work.

THE PLUSES
People in organizations often adapt to change normally. This is because change can bring developments in certain aspects. Change can:
* Make work easier
* Pave the way for future innovations
* Improve people’s lives.

DRIVING THE CHANGE
Internal or external drivers are the factors that force changes.
Internal drivers include:
* Evolving business requirements
* Organisational restructuring
* Revising corporate strategy, business objectives
External drivers include:
* Developments in technology
* Economic trends that hit profitability
* Need for electronic or technical services

AGENTS OF CHANGE
* Commitment : Corporate culture is known to be slow-changing, so leaders need sky-high commitment to face questions and to be able to answer the doubts of employees
* Communication: Leaders who keep communication lines open and free from fear of retaliation will be the leaders who see the fastest corporate transformation. People are going to make mistakes, and leaders seeking to find solutions rather than expediting punishment, will build trust among employees
* Creativity: The difficult most of the three C’s because creativity is not normally part of a business culture. Examples of creativity in the field of change can be found by looking at benchmark organisations.

THE SUPER SIX
Go for these six easy-to-do-steps and see a new look company:
Motivation: Before employees are really motivated to work at change, they must be convinced of personal and professional benefits to themselves, as well as to their organisation.

Cultural change persuasion, negotiation and learning:
Go for persuasion, negotiation and learning with a user-friendly approach. Employees get to vent, to express their own ideas and to make mistakes. Managers involved in the process must remain positive and approachable, and have an encouraging approach.

Reward success: Success builds on itself. By rewarding success, you will create internal champions from among those who are higher risk takers and more aware of the value of the new outcomes. They will become your role models and persuaders. Others will follow them easily.

Promote workshops: Conducting teambuilding and management development workshops to promote change, get input on needs and work with different management styles are the need of the hour.

Change management: While smaller companies and organisations might be able to just start the process, in larger organizations it may be necessary to create a proper stage with a kick-off program involving as many people as possible.

Alignment is necessary: Too often, alignment behind a company’s goals, objectives, values and beliefs is taken for granted. This is fatal. The top most levels must agree on the values and desired cultural changes. Then they must communicate these down the line.
Change can be welcome and refreshing. Change when channelised in the right direction can lead to continued growth of your company.
So dial C for change!

EXPERT SPEAK
Dr Sougata Ray, dean and professor of Strategic Management at IIM Calcutta says, “The environment has become increasingly dynamic with growing alignment to the global economy. There are greater discontinuities because of technological innovations. Organisations, therefore, need to continually adapt to this changing environment. The ability to scan the environment on a continuous basis, to anticipate discontinuities and respond to these by being more flexible and agile is the need of the hour. Organisational rigidities should be strictly avoided. Increasing the diversity of the workforce and integrating them through social functions is one of the ways through which this can be achieved. Traditionally, such an initiative was largely centralized. This has to be decentralized.”

Sujoy Banerjee, president, HR and organisation development, McNally Bharat Engineering Company Limited, says, “What is relevant today may become obsolete tomorrow. In that context, the requirements in terms of people management, technology management and business process management is important to be in touch with the global reality. We do talent acquisition, constant management development through education and reward and recognize performance to retain talent. The importance of creating a culture which is an integration of international practices and Indian ethos cannot be ruled out either.”

The WOW factor

Source: The Telegraph, Kolkata (April 12, 2011)

In the race to check attrition, companies are adopting a humane approach to retain stellar performers

Your firm hasn’t been doing too well. There is a global problem in the industry and things are unlikely to improve. As a marketing man you want to move to another sector that is booming in relative terms. In one pocket is an offer that gives you a 25 per cent pay hike. In another is a resignation letter.

It’s been nice working in the current company. Your immediate boss is a good sort. The CEO is even better, though you don’t know him as well. But you can’t sacrifice your career simply because you are happy at work. Hadn’t they taught you at business school that it was the recipe for complacency and stagnation? (B-schools are often wrong. Today, more and more people are realising that a happy workplace may not take you very high on the corporate ladder but it doesn’t lead to an early deathbed or hospitalisation either.)

Sitting and planning how you will break the news of your departure to your boss, you get a letter. That’s curious: who’s into this dead-tree stuff in this era of email? You open it and find it is from the head of the personnel department. Have they given you the boot to save on costs? Thank God you were ready for it. No matter how good you are, it is always difficult to get a job when you are unemployed and you really can’t keep things like that a secret.

“V..U.,” reads the letter. “A raise, a promotion and so many other things.” It goes on to explain the circumstances (which you already know) and assures you that you are valued (which had never been stated so explicitly before). “Don’t go,” ends the letter, signed by five of your closest colleagues.

There is a strange clash of approaches here. The first thing that strikes is that someone has been keeping an eye on you. By itself that could cause irritation; big brother is watching. Second, this is a personal and emotional appeal which has come from the personnel department. In that sense it is both official and unofficial. What happened to the popular image of the soulless corporation?

It’s a small thing,” says Mumbai-based HR consultant Shashi Rao. “But these are the initiatives that work. They cause employee delight. They prove to you that work is not all about robots and reason.”

In an earlier generation, business was not bothered. Theory X ruled the workplace along with assembly line mass production and dehumanisation. The customer was the first to get a better deal though, if truth be told, that is happening only now. Today, several people in the book trade — the professors and consultants who write management tomes — have climbed on the bandwagon. The WOW factor has become part of management jargon.

Wowing the employee comes next. Unfortunately, company managements and HR departments are very shortsighted. When attrition levels are high, WOW rules the world. When you have to tighten belts, WOW goes out of the window. Pink slips resurface.

What has now started to come into the world of WOW is the boss. eHow has a section on how to wow the bosses. Several articles on the Internet tell you how important it is and how it can help your career. “Eventually success is all about going the extra mile,” says Rao. “It doesn’t matter who you are doing it for.”

“Tu-whit; Tu-whoo,” wrote Shakespeare. And perchance to wow.

The small things in life

Little touches to make your team feel good

Learn and use the names of all the people in your team even if that means hundreds of names

When the team succeeds, send an email to your boss outlining that success and cc every team member

During all hands meetings, recognise those whose efforts deserve mention

Reward teams that go above and beyond to meet deadlines with something that includes their significant others. The goodwill you gain by including them will lubricate that next big push

Keep a white board with major projects and needs listed. Check them off as they are completed

Draw attention to that board when you bring your boss or visiting dignitaries through the office.

Create an ideas box. Nothing stirs the imagination more than knowing contributors will be heard. Make an event out of reviewing and discussing the ideas to give contributors acknowledgment that makes them feel valued. You may be pleasantly surprised with the quality of those suggestions if you take them seriously

When you see a picture on someone’s desk, ask about the people or event. Don’t be shy about interacting with individual contributors two or three levels down. It is those very people who make the company run.

A great piece on Attrition (The Telegraph, Calcutta)