How you manage the Change?

General perception is that people hate change. I don’t think so, people don’t hate change; they hate the way change is handled and how you are trying to change them.  The first reaction of the change is resistance. The fear of loss makes people anxious. But when you make the change as fun, then people show their commitment towards the change.

I personally see the change in different perspective. It is nothing but finding the problem and fixing it. It is not only about us, but for our customer and every change leads towards our customer value proposition. When you are dealing with younger generation, there is a need to channelize their energy. They want more and they are demanding. Their aspirations are high. Most importantly they are flexible enough. The change is one of the engagement drivers for them.

You have to make the story for effectively managing and implementing the change. It starts from creating a value proposition. The best way is to “brand” the change positively. Employee communication plays a crucial part while discussing about the change. We always see the change in three stages, viz, Pre- Change, During Change and Post Change. All these stages have to be monitored carefully and off course there is a proper procedure.

Opinion makers play important role while implementing any change. Before the project, we should always start speaking positive about the change. People normally are more interested to understand “what is in it for them.” This “wiift” should be communicated properly. New change means new learning opportunities; growth and off course career development. When they understand that the change will open new doors for them, they compete with each other to be the part of change.

During the change, motivation has to be kept intact. As an employee, people expect something from the company.  If people believe that their needs are taken care of, they involved whole heartedly in the change process. 

Every change is a learning process and off course if we have success, we have to recognize the people involved in the change process.

To summarize with I will say change is the opportunity to learn and grow. To make it successful follow the procedure as under:

1)      Spread positive message about the change.

2)      Identify opinion makers and trouble makers and manage them. Opinion makers can play the role of ambassadors. Train them how to communicate the change.

3)      Make it project. Change should the formal process and make it as a project. Nominate project manager and create a team.

4)      Brand the change project through teasers, posters, flyers and through intranet.

5)      Communicate milestones to all employees.

6)      Tackle questions properly.

7)      Celebrate small successes.

It is not the rocket science. After all your experience is your teacher, learn from the past mistakes.