We support your change with Change Management

Change Management: Definition

Change management is a systematic approach to introducing and implementing change in an effective and smooth way within an organization. This systematic process helps manage the impact of new business processes, changes in organizational structure, or cultural shifts within an organization. It involves structured processes and activities carried out at an organizational, team, or individual level to facilitate the transition from a current state to a desired future state.

In a business context, change management can be used for a variety of changes, including organizational restructuring, implementation of new technologies, process improvements, changes in corporate culture, strategy shifts, and more.

The main objective of change management is to introduce change in a way that minimizes negative impacts on employees and the business, reduces resistance to change, and increases employee acceptance and engagement. Effective involvement, communication, training and support can motivate employees to support the change and integrate it effectively and profitably into their daily work.

Change Management Process

A classic change management process usually follows a structured and step-by-step approach to ensure that change is implemented successfully and efficiently in your organization. The exact process may vary, depending on your organization's specific situation and goals. The general classic elements of a change management process are:

1. Needs analysis: Within the needs analysis, the need for change is identified. It can be internal or external factors that require change. A thorough analysis helps to understand and clearly define the reasons for change.
2. Planning the Change: After identifying the need for the change, the next step is planning. This involves developing a strategy and plan to guide the change. The plan should include clear goals, timelines, and the resources needed.
3. Communication: The change plans must be clearly communicated to all affected parties. This should include information about why the change is necessary, how it will be implemented, and what impact it will have on the various stakeholders.
4. Change Implementation: This step involves the actual implementation of the change. It is important to follow the plan step by step to ensure that the change is implemented effectively. During this process, it is important to monitor progress and make adjustments as necessary.
5. Support and training: To increase acceptance of the change and reduce resistance to it, it usually makes sense to offer support and training for employees. This can take the form of training, workshops or individual support.
6. Evaluation and review: After the change has been implemented, it is important to evaluate its effectiveness. This can be done by collecting feedback, conducting assessments, and analyzing data. This step helps to understand whether the change has achieved the desired results and where improvements can be made.
   

Factors for a successful transformation

At its core, every change is made by people and for people - and therefore only works with and through people. It is therefore important to align a transformation through leadership, to inform and involve employees and - where necessary - to train them. Changing an entire organization initially seems like an immense challenge. And you know what? It is. But if you transform your company in small, manageable steps, you have the best basis for achieving your big goal. We have been supporting organizations with change projects for more than 20 years. In this practice, the following success factors have emerged for a successful and sustainable transformation:

• Iterative approach: The best way to achieve a big change is by making lots of small changes towards your target image. This way, you can easily make directional corrections at any time;

• Alignment: For change to work, management must set a good example and link the target image to the day-to-day work of employees.

• Co-design: Involve your employees in the change and work out ways and solutions together. 

• Learning: We support the employees concerned with various measures such as training and coaching to help them put the change from theory into practice. 

• Inspect and adapt: We evaluate the change over time and track the achievement of objectives. In this way, we ensure that your organization stays on the right path. 

• Communication: Transparent change communication reduces resistance and gets your employees on board.  

• Change facilitation: Change is seen as a continuous process. This helps you to constantly ensure that your organization is equipped to meet the demands of the market.

wibas supports your organizational development with change management principles

We support you in approaching change in such a way that it is aligned with your company's business objectives. In other words, a change with us is individually tailored to the needs of your organization. We help you to understand the principles of change in order to set up the organizational development of your company and support it with appropriate techniques or interventions. We offer you an external perspective and feedback. With impact monitoring, we make transparent how well the change is taking effect in your company and measure the degree to which objectives are being achieved - at all times during your change process. In this way, we can always react together in good time and make any necessary corrections. As experts in organizational development, we have many years of change experience and achieve success in small organizations as well as in very large ones with thousands of employees;