Let’s face it; leading organizational change can be a tricky terrain. Research shows that about 7 out of 10 major change initiatives in traditional organizations fail. A few common issues that trip them up include poor communication, not enough planning, and ignoring employee resistance.
To increase the chances of success, leaders need foresight to anticipate problems before they occur. Besides, they need care to connect with people and bring them along while also enhancing their skill to navigate tricky transitions.
In this article, we’ll share typical change management challenges as well as actionable best practices to overcome them. Let’s dive in!
Poor Communication
Clear and ongoing communication is one of the core success factors when implementing organizational changes. Regrettably, managers often make missteps that hinder effective communication around change initiatives.
For example, they may fail to fully explain the reasons behind the change or provide enough specific details about how processes will transform. In other cases, they overwhelm employees with complex information that is difficult to absorb and apply. These communication breakdowns leave staff feeling confused, anxious and disengaged from the change process.
How to overcome this hurdle?
To communicate change successfully, managers need to bring employees along by thoroughly explaining why the change is occurring and how it will eventually benefit the company and staff. They should break down complicated details into digestible chunks and use simple, accessible language in all messaging.
Managers also need to encourage two-way dialogue so employees have opportunities to ask clarifying questions, voice concerns, and give input on the change.
Resistance from Employees
Organizational change inevitably disrupts established routines, roles and systems. This can shake up the status quo and can make employees feel threatened or uncertain about the future state. As a result, many resist or even actively undermine change initiatives.
What’s the solution for this?
To address resistance, managers first need to actively listen to employees’ concerns, validate feelings about the disruption, and empathize with anxieties raised by the change. They also need to involve staff early on in the change process rather than just imposing it to foster more buy-in.
More importantly, they need to deal firmly yet compassionately with anyone attempting to obstruct or derail the transition.
Lack of Planning
Change leaders often fail to plan thoroughly for the people, process, and technology elements of organizational change. Insufficient planning leads to confusion about responsibilities, delays in implementation, wasted resources, and poor outcomes.
How to overcome this challenge?
For starters, managers need to assemble a planning team with representatives from across the organizational units and levels impacted by the change. This team should conduct a comprehensive assessment of how the changes will impact staffing roles, workflows, budgets, and resources.
The team can then develop detailed work plans for the change initiatives with realistic timeframes based on internal capabilities and constraints. They should also build contingency plans to deal with unexpected roadblocks or complications down the line.
Poor Leadership
Change initiatives easily falter without skilled leadership at the helm. Remember, employees look to managers for vision, engagement, motivation and accountability during tumultuous transitions. So when leaders lack vision around the future state or fail to communicate it in compelling ways, the purpose behind the change gets muddled.
What’s the solution here?
Effective change leadership requires articulating an inspiring vision of the change outcomes and how they will benefit the organization. As such, change leaders must role model the mindsets and behaviors underlying the desired changes. They also need to provide the necessary resources and support to guide staff through uncertainty.
Another effective strategy here is to maintain accountability through the process by setting clear expectations, monitoring progress, and addressing poor performers. Finally, it’s important to recognize and celebrate small wins to help motivate employees through the challenging transition period.
Lack of Follow-Up
After the initial launch of organizational changes, many leaders shift focus too quickly rather than following through to reinforce and sustain changes over time. Oftentimes, this leads to backsliding into the more comfortable status quo.
How to overcome this hurdle?
To sustain change, leaders must actively monitor and reinforce new processes until they become habit. A good place to start is by auditing processes periodically and refreshing training as needed. What’s more, any lingering staff resistance issues must be addressed through ongoing communication and engagement.
Finally, the company should come up with updated policies, processes, job roles and incentives to help embed the changes at the organizational level.
Conclusion
Leading successful organizational change is far from easy, but also not out of reach for determined leaders. With diligence and skill, the common obstacles we’ve outlined can be overcome to drive real transformation.
Managers who plan rigorously, dedicate themselves to clear communication, offer empathy and support to employees, and stay closely involved through the process can find the payoffs are well worth the effort.
While change takes patience and perseverance, you now have strategies to build staff alignment, maintain momentum, and ensure changes stick. Lead courageously and keep these best practices front of mind to guide your organization confidently into its best future. Good luck!
OTS News on Social Media