“Change Management” has become a sensitive word for many people. Changing your business environment and processes starts with your employees and unless they are comfortable with a new direction, the effectiveness and outcome of your changes will be in jeopardy. Your business systems need to adapt to keep pace with your environment, your product evolution, and ultimately, your growth.
Continuous improvement is an essential attribute to a systems based business. Change is inevitable and you can transform the culture of your business to be highly responsive to it.
1. Change becomes permanent through socialization
Nurturing a “change culture” within your organization means that change will become a normal part of the daily actions of your employees.
2. Involve employees in the process of change
Employees should take a leading role in developing the changes in the systems they use. Incorporating the best of their ideas into the process will ensure they are comfortable with new expectations
3. Time your changes carefully
Making changes in the middle of large projects will create more stress than if they were made during a less active period.
4. Teach employees the benefits of change
Positive changes are good for everyone in the business, though it may be hard to stray from the status quo. If the benefits are made clear to your employees they will be much more receptive to the process of change.
5. Encourage employees to initiate change
Once systems are in place, your employees must become responsible for improving them.
Change Management is a Drive to Continuous Improvement
In order to remain competitive your business must change and your employees play a key role in the transformation. By empowering employees to spot issues and report or even fix problems as they appear, you can spend more time planning for future growth and less time managing issues.