Are you ready for change?

Sonia Renzo explores people development and how it can help your organisation to manage change in the current climate. 

Over the past few years with the downturn in the economy, many organisations have been forced to go through rapid change in order to survive.   

Downsizing, re-evaluation of products, services and markets have become the norm rather than the exception for organisations of all sizes operating in the private sector including manufacturing, banking and retail. 

The public sector is also being hit hard – the reduction in funding has led to local authorities, the NHS and public services such as police forces all having to deliver more with less. 

However, although the recession has been the biggest factor over the last few years in bringing about rapid change, there are other internal and external factors that can trigger change. For example, planned expansion through the introduction of new products or services; moving into European or international markets; mergers and acquisitions; all of these changes need to be managed very carefully in order to be successful. 

There are some people who thrive on change but the vast majority of people, if they were being completely honest, would admit that they are frightened by change. So employers need to gain the buy-in and ownership of their employees to minimize any resistance to the change that is being experienced.

But what can employers do to achieve this buy-in? Communication is key!

In a nutshell, employees need to be fully aware of why change has to happen and that they understand it’s not just change for change’s sake. Indeed, change ultimately needs to happen to help the organisation stay ahead of the game or even survive.

There also needs to be a clear vision and strategy for change, which is communicated in a way that inspires and motivates employees to contribute.

I always remember the example of President Kennedy visiting the space centre at Cape Canaveral and asking a cleaner sweeping the floor what he was doing -  the man replied ‘I’m helping to put a man on the moon’ . This was a clear indication of the buy-in and ownership of an employee to what the organisation was trying to achieve!

But it’s not enough to have a clear vision and strategy, the organisation needs to consider the learning and development needs of the organisation, teams and individuals too so that they ensure people has the capability to implement change. 

Often, when looking at cutting costs, one of the first things to go is the budget and time allocated for learning and development. Not only a short-sighted approach, a failure to invest in the development of the workforce can also have a serious impact on organisational performance – leading to reductions in quality, efficiency and customer satisfaction if people don’t have the right knowledge and skills to do their jobs effectively.

Overall, if you are asking employees to fully contribute to change it is essential that they are given the opportunity to make suggestions, be involved in decision-making and also feel empowered to change the way their job is done for the better. They also need feedback on their performance, providing praise for a job well done, but also making them aware of the things they need to work on. 

How well this is done is very much reliant on the knowledge, skills and behaviours of line managers.  So it is essential that they are clear about what is expected of them in their people management role and that they have the capabilities to do this.  

Over the years I have seen some excellent people managers but I’ve also seen some poor managers. Often managers are poor because they are not clear on what is expected of them and haven’t received the development or support they need. In many cases, such managers may not have bought into the change themselves and with this backdrop how can they motivate and inspire their teams to embrace and work with change too?

In the CBI Education & Skills Survey 2008, it was identified that ‘Investors in People is a particularly useful framework for businesses undergoing significant change’. Essentially those organisations that have fully embraced the good practice of Investors in People should be more ready, willing and able to implement change than those organisations that haven’t.  

Key considerations for managing change through people development are:

• Clear vision and strategy
• Effective Communication
• Understanding and fulfilling learning and development needs
• Effective  leaders and managers
• A culture of involving and empowering employees

All of which are an integral part of the Investors in People framework.

Sonia Renzo is an Associate at idg, official partner for Investors in People in the North of England. As an Investors in People assessor, adviser and trainer Sonia has 19 years experience in organisational and people development, working with organisations of all sizes and sectors. 

If you would like to explore how people development and working with the Investors in People framework can support your organisation to manage change, click here or contact idg for more information.