OUR CHANGE SERIES: The importance of checking in on change

Checking in on change.

All change management projects change. This may sound counterintuitive when an organisation has invested time, resource and money into a change programme to manage the change required in the business.

However, businesses don’t stand still; they grow and develop and sometimes the organisation outgrows the change initially required. Changes in leadership, delays in construction, alterations in business strategy, growth in employee numbers; these can all have an impact on the change programme. Reviewing the journey and post-delivery of a change management programme is a fundamental part of ensuring successful sustainability of change whatever happens along the way.

In this article, we look at why checking in on the change you have implemented is so important and what to do if more change is required.

Impact analysis and why checking in on behaviour can result in a more effective Change Management programme.

Six questions every change manager should be asking.

Asking ourselves a series of questions helps us to determine whether any further changes need to take place, or whether we need to rethink a tactic:

1. Are employees using the workspace in ways we intended? Do revisions to space / usage need to be made?
2 Are we finding there are more questions than answers coming from employees?
3. Do we need to revise and relaunch some communications tactics to share more information? If yes, which ones have worked the most effectively?
4. Do employees seem motivated? Does this drive to change seem sustainable? If not, what else do we need to do to keep the motivation?
5. Is the behaviour we want to instil sustainable? If not, what else can we do / change to make sure it lasts?
6. Are senior leaders still engaged? Do we need more seniors to support and encourage the changes we want to achieve?

These questions allow us, as change managers, to focus where more change must be made to ensure all new behaviours in the workplace are sustainable.

Impact analysis - formalising project evaluation.

Conclusion.

As change managers, we are hired to facilitate change. This means evaluating the process and looking for indicators for problems, or issue hotspots, and to intervene and make changes which may not have been in the original plan.

Constantly evaluating a change programme is the only way to ensure it remains effective. As change managers we will challenge the plan, challenge the outcome, modify and adjust where necessary and constantly ensure that the change is the right one for an organisation.

Impact analysis is a key tool for an organisation when undergoing a change programme, helping change managers articulate or understand how the various stakeholders are going to be affected by proposed changes, or as a reflection of how groups have been impacted so far. By evaluating change and checking in on the achievement of the goals, it enables a change manager to identify if more work needs to be done. Used effectively throughout a project, it can be the lever that ensures that change and behaviours are sustainable long after a change management consultant walks off the premises.

– Is your organisation embarking on a period of change? Do you want support in managing this change? Contact us at info@moveplangroup.com
– For further information about our change management programmes, visit our services page.