Has your organisation recently undergone a major shift in its strategy or adopted new business models? Implemented new technologies or processes? Committed to a culture change? Or are you implementing a new organisational structure?

All of these represent major change, and organisational change management is the system, process or method used to implement change in order to achieve the most successful and sustainable outcomes.Companies can’t grow or thrive without change, or without adapting to changing circumstances.

Whether the change within your organisation is adaptive or completely transformational, it has the potential to be disruptive, expensive, inefficient or short-lived, depending on the effectiveness of the organisational change management. A lack of effective change management can lead an organisation to fail. Good organisational change management:

·      helps you achieve your desired organisational goals

·      speeds up the implementation of new initiatives

·      helps all employees to realise the benefits of the intended change

·      enables adoption faster, more completely, and with less stress on workers

·      enhances your ability to achieve your business outcomes and ROI

·      maximises the value of change

So - what do you need to effectively implement change? How do you engage employees across every level of your organisation? How do you develop the skills required, and how do you support your people adopt new ways of working?

While the systems, process and methods used to implement change are important, arguably more important is your organisation’s collective leadership.

Managers at all levels play a critical role in supporting the change management process.

Numerous studies have shown that an employee’s direct supervisor has the greatest influence on their behaviour, which means activating the entire collective leadership of an organisation to support the workforce adopt new ways of working, in order to achieve the desired change outcomes.

While most managers are good at managing their day-to-day business, few are highly skilled at leading change. This is not surprising; for most managers the skills required to lead change sit well outside of their expertise and many have little change leadership experience.

Ultimately, for a change management program to be successful you need both a robust Change Management process and activated leadership.

It’s important to remember that the job is only just starting when the change is deployed; outcome assessment, monitoring, on-going staff training, and the adjustment of business practices, methodology and goals are all part of the ongoing process that all levels of management must be effectively engaged to lead.

Matae is an industry first Change Management Platform designed to provide both the processes to manage change, and the tools to activate leaders. We’d love to have the opportunity to talk change with you in more detail.