Process of Change Management-1

Change Management Process

There is only one thing constant in our lives and that is “Change”. No matter what one does, or how old one is, change is inevitable. The moment one stops changing for the better, the time calls for the departure. While change is such a common factor, we hardly know what it is and how they are better managed to make the outcome more precise and tangible. For organizations, Change is always characterized by a factor of fear that somehow creates the notion of not changing. They are always the majority in an organization. People are better off with what they have tangible in their hand rather than having to wait for something that is undefined or intangible. Fear makes the change process fail in most of the organizations. Change Management Matrix (Kindly double click on the image to view it better) In any organization, change starts at the very bottom of the channel and moves upward. But for the change to take its roots a conducive environment should be made available and the seeds of change has to be sown first with very clear intents and an understanding of its impacts organizationally. The change has to be supported by the top management to ensure that the environment for change is created and maintained at all levels. Now let us look at the process of change and how best to manage the process. The Need for Change: The process starts with the realization and pressure for change. There will be tangible signs and indications everywhere, that will lead to one point and that is the need for change. Failing targets for business, declining productivity, too many bottlenecks, too many complaints from the customers, and declining revenues are a few to be mentioned. Once the pressure point has reached the critical mass or even before, one would need to pause for a moment and look at the root causes for the blame. This has to happen through a combined session of all managers of the company gathering around for a brain-storming session leading to a general plan for a quick diagnosis of what the problem areas are and their root causes. This segment would require about 2-3 weeks completing. The session would reconvene after the Diagnosis period is over, with the managers of the concerned departments presenting their diagnosis results documenting the underlying causes for each problem and their perceived remedies. The outcome would be a series of “if-not- but” scenarios based on observable evidences. Clear and Shared Vision This is a critical segment for Change Management. The creation of a shared vision on what are the changes required, achieving what tangible results and how it is going to be achieved. This is again a Brain-Storming session lead by the Chief Executive Officer or the President of the organization leading the pack of managers from the critical departments being affected by the Change. The critical outcome of the meeting is to see that the Managers understand what needs to change in the department, what are the implication of the intended changes and finally the method and resources required for the change to take place. These meetings are often very cold at the beginning marked by individual fear of the unknowns. The role of the tip would be to alley those fears and cast them out from the minds of the managers. The outcome should be “we are all in this together for our business to grow”. If the fears are not removed out of the system, then the project is bound to fail at the end, as the managers are key players in the process and if they become the resistors of the process, then say goodbye to the Change Management process. This write-up is from Mr. Rial Ahsan is the CEO & President of DMS, e-mail A poll is also done on this topic which has got interesting results and comments for the readers here.