Change Management: Work People

Organizations don’t change, people do. As the year begins, those who follow the news can perceive several changes of direction coming from the governors who have just assumed their posts.

The approach is different, the music has changed and, with it, a new rhythm is established bringing the need for adaptation.

What is Change Management?

Think about some personal goals, such as quitting smoking or losing weight. To be successful you need to change habits and integrate new activities into your daily life.

This means changing in order to achieve an established goal. In organizations, it is not very different.

When an industry undertakes a certain project for performance improvement, in order to be successful it is necessary to revise processes, adjust functions, change the organizational structure or specific leadership, and integrate new technologies, to name a few of the implications.

This means change.

But there is one thing: the people who need to implement these changes are the people. And people, by nature, do not like change. Organizations don’t change, people do.

Change Management is the discipline that guides how individuals are prepared, equipped, and supported to embrace change in order to boost success and organizational results.

Reasons for pursuing excellence in management

It can be said that organizations change almost continuously.

After all, not embracing change can mean becoming obsolete, uncompetitive in relation to the market.

In general, new projects and initiatives are launched to improve performance, increase competitive advantage, correct routes, and, of course, business profits. These initiatives can be varied and have one common denominator: people.

The new projects and initiatives will impact the activities and work execution of each employee.

Processes and workflows, the command structure, behavior, among others are included. Among the reasons for better change management are:

1. To thrive in a constantly changing environment. These changes are occurring with increasing speed, with greater complexity, and impacting diverse sectors of the company.
2. Deliver the people-dependent part of Project ROI. Part of the return on investment may simply depend on installing a solution. However, the outcome depends, more often, on the individual contribution in changing the way they work.
3. Improve the chance of project success. Data from Prosci and McKinsey prove that change management, effectively applied to a project, significantly increases the success rate.
4. Mitigate risks inherent to change. When the focus of the implementation of a project is on meeting technical requirements rather than on the adoption and effective use of the proposed solution by the participants, risk is generated with costs of rework, redesign, new training, and, in the last case, project abandonment.
5. Value employees with effective actions. Proactively engaging and supporting people during change processes is leadership’s demonstration of its value to the organization.

Just as people are the ones who change, they are also the ones who resist change.

There are individuals who are more or less willing to adapt to new realities.

Therefore, the clarity of the organization’s objectives, its communication, and the leadership’s actions to involve the participants in the process are fundamental.

Popular models to implement change management

Change management is a current theme in Administration. There are several authors and reference and application models.

The choice for illustrating this article is the model created by Jeff Hiatt, founder of Prosci, the ADKAR, which focuses on the change aspects of people in organizations.

This model is based on the best practices in various industries around the world over the last 20 years. ADKAR stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement, explained below:

• Awareness – Awareness of the need for change;
• Desire – Desire to participate and support change;
• Knowledge – Knowledge about how to change;
• Ability – Capacity to implement change and behavior;
• Reinforcement – Reinforcement to sustain the change.

The model is suitable for new or ongoing projects that have not produced the desired effects, allowing one to identify where there are deficiencies.

It provides structure and practical guidance, both planning and execution, for leaders who want to motivate change in others.

The relevance of change management in a factory floor

Production costs can be a determining factor in generating business results. Included in this equation are the cost of maintenance, labor, and spare parts to keep the machines available and operational.

With the change of pace and the introduction of new practices and technologies, such as the DynaPredict Solution for the continuous monitoring of assets to ensure their reliability, availability, and reduce costs, it is necessary to work on change management of the people involved in the processes.

This is because a new, safer and far more productive way of working is being introduced into the process and continuing to do as it has always been done, is no longer an option.

Change Management is also part of Industrial Management.

A wide-ranging topic, which was covered in another text and receives this complement. Enjoy!