How to make your Organisation Change-ready

If using a packaged change program that has been successful in similar organisation does not guarantee that it will succeed in yours, is there a better way to achieve change-readiness? A better solution would seem to be to directly use sound generic management processes without the limitations and prejudices imposed by the packaged change programs. In particular, I have found that everything that any organisation needs to do to be change-ready can be included in processes for strategic and business planning, organisational and job re-design, cultural change, performance management and management development. However it should also be remembered that most organisations do not need them all of these processes and many will have at least some of them in place. When I am asked to help an organisation through change, my first task is to review what they currently have in place, and then design a change program that is tailored specifically for them. The program contains only those new processes or improvements to existing processes that are necessary. When I leave the organisation it therefore has processes in place both for managing change now and for ensuring an ongoing state of change-readiness. I have outlined the role that each of these processes play within the program below. You can access papers that are more detailed by clicking on the links provided. Strategic Planning Strategic Planning ensures that an organisation is doing the right things. In the context of a change program, a strategic plan explains what the organisation is changing to. Once it has determined what are the right things to do, it devolves accountability for doing them right to one or more business plans. In large organisations, strategic plans may be prepared at different levels in the organisation and/or define the role of particular functions across the whole organisation. Corporate Planning is the highest form of strategic planning. Smaller organisations do not need this many plans, and often have one plan only, which is both a Strategic and a Business Plan. The strategic planning process first identifies ‘critical stakeholder needs’ and environmental threats to success. It examines current organisational competencies, values and resources to determine the development needed to respond to these needs and threats. Strategic Plans usually contain a vision and/or mission, values, objectives and broad strategies. The strategies define products and/or services to be delivered, markets to be served, and technologies (both hard and soft) that will be used to deliver them. The hard technologies e.g. automation or new information management systems are beyond the scope of this paper. The most important of the soft technologies are organisational re-design, job re-design and cultural change. I will come back to products, services and markets later under Business Planning. More about Strategic Planning Organisational Re-design The purpose of organisational re-design (or re-structure) is to ensure that people are employed within a structure that both enables and encourages them to make the full range of their expertise available to the task of implementing of the organisation’s strategies. Both large and small organisations and units within large organisations can benefit from a re-design of their structure. Good re-design aligns an organisation’s with the strategies it is pursuing. It does not necessarily cause downsizing. More about Organisational Design Cultural Change Many organisations are re-designed or restructured, on the assumption that this is all that is needed to achieve major change. If the organisation’s culture is inconsistent with the vision and values in the Corporate Plan, and the culture is left unchecked, ‘spring-back’ occurs – that is, people simply continue to act as they had under the old structure, regardless of their new titles and reporting lines. However, once a culture is successfully changed, the new volunteer mindset it creates relieves management of a piecemeal struggle to reform possibly hundreds of management and/or work practices. This represents an enormous saving of valuable resources. More about Cultural Change Business Planning If strategic plans explain what the organisation must achieve, business plans explain how they will achieve it. The strategic plan and consequent organisational re-design will have ensured that the business can be viable. However, it will be the business (unit) manager’s responsibility to structure and manage his or her business successfully. Business Plans may be used inside the organisation to provide direction to staff and outside the organisation to justify bids for funding by proving the commercial viability of a business. They should contain strategies for marketing, operations, human resource management and financial management. Business Planning for Small Businesses Business Planning for Large Organisations Performance Management Change ready organisations integrate performance management into a cycle of planning and performance measurement that extends from corporate, through business unit planning down to individual performance agreements and appraisals. This integration is achieved by common goals in business plans and the business manager’s performance agreement. His /her performance agreement should also include relevant managerial competencies for achieving these goals, career development and performance improvement strategies and commitments by his her manager to provide organisational support. A performance management system will be most effective if appropriate consequences follow the achievement (or not) of performance goals. It should also be objective, valued by both employees and managers and trusted to be fair. Designing a Performance Management System Introducing Performance Management during change Management Development The skills needed by managers in change-ready organisations are those that will enable them to manage staff, to build constructive relationships with their fellow managers and strategic partners and to help their company to achieve its strategic goals. Motivation and leadership skills are essential for effective staff management. Change-ready managers are not afraid to use punishment, but have also learnt to use rewards to motivate their staff. Good leaders understand when it is appropriate to delegate, and by how much. They lead change by example; modelling the new behaviours that they expect of their staff. Change-ready managers build constructive relationships with their fellow managers, suppliers and customers. They communicate well and contribute as equal team members. Because change-ready managers need to make strategic decisions, the have developed an ability to step back and see the big picture. More about Management Development For further assistance visit the Change & Perform website or contact the principal Kerry Feldman