When Do You Use Change Management?

“When do you use this stuff?” That’s a question that someone asked me years ago about change management. Some leaders think the time to use change management is when launching a major project, transformation, or other large organizational changes. It’s true, every project involves change and will benefit from leaders who know how to practice change management.

But that’s not the only time you need change management. Your organization is constantly evolving, making small adjustments every day, and it’s those smaller changes, the ones that never become a project, where you build your organization’s capability to handle the big stuff. That’s why change-ready organizations practice change management. It is embedded in the way they handle every change.

Below are four areas that can get overlooked when it comes to change management. But where integrating change management practices will help you create a change-ready organization.

Four Areas to Practice Change Management

When your business is going through change, and you want to retain good employees. Even the very best employees may struggle with change. Change management can help keep good people engaged and committed to your vision.
- Practicing change management is respectful to your employees and your team. It tells them that you care and understand what they’re going through is stressful, and working with them as they make the transition.
When your business is expanding. Activating a change management strategy in the early stages will help to keep you on track for success. Change management can also help get things back on track if an expansion isn’t going as expected.
- Listen for signs that people are struggling with the transition or having difficulty letting go:
  - “It used to be so easy to get things done around here. Now it has gotten so complicated.”
  - “We’re losing sight of our roots/history…”
  - “I don’t know why we’re doing it this way.”
  - “This might work for XYZ company, but we’re different.”
When your business is moving to a hybrid work model, and your employees aren’t sure it will work. Change management can help you understand what you need for success. Understanding the human dynamics of change, you can support your team and employees as they adopt new working methods. You will know how to avoid the risks of working in a hybrid environment and set your team up for success.
When failure is not an option. Your business’s future depends on the speedy implementation of new technology, a reorganization, or significant business process change. In that case, an effective change management strategy can help you avoid costly rework and delays. When you practice change management, you spend more time realizing the benefits and less time convincing people of the benefits.

By practicing change management every day throughout the organization, you will have employees who can embrace change without resistance. You will also build higher levels of change capability. But more importantly, you will have told your team you respect them. Change-ready employees and organizations don’t push through the resistance. They prepare and work from a readiness mindset to support and encourage their leaders and employees. Using change management every day is a practice it’s not something that’s one and done. It takes time to build the capacity, commitment and readiness of all parties.

Would you like to learn how to take change management from a task to a practice and create a change-ready organization? Fill out the form below.

Four Areas to Practice Change Management

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