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.”