When implementing a change towards a more customer-focused business, there will be some mistakes that you will want to avoid. Use this as a checklist of what not to do, and don’t worry if you’ve committed these faux pas—you’re not the only one, and there are steps you can take to fix them.
Change doesn't happen overnight: it's a process, an evolution and definitely not one single event. Change can be scary for people as it involves dipping your toes into the unknown; if they are not led through it with a steady hand, they can lose their way.
It's important to understand that this change takes time, and if you try to take shortcut in managing this change properly, you risk failure.
Related content: 3 steps to successful customer experience change management
Change management experts often state that the biggest strategic failure is to not have a strategy at all. Some companies simply fail to recognise that it requires a planned and mapped out effort and this is where failure sets in.
Often, the first time most employees hear about a change is when the company training kicks in. If you’ve got a solid strategy, which, in this case, will kick off as an internal communications campaign, you’ll want to communicated it early on in the process, to give people time to adjust.
It’s an effort that needs to be taken across the whole business—it’s not a process that “just happens”.
Related content: How measuring employee feedback impacts change management
By now you've figured out that you need to communicate your change, but what if the actual communication isn't good enough? The biggest factor of success—and the cause of failure—in any change management situation is communication.
Change initiatives often fail due to uncertainty over changing job requirements, a key component being job security. Your chances of success are higher if you’ve properly communicated your vision, objectives, results and projected impact.
But beware—good communications doesn’t mean more communications. This is what we call “useless” communications. Keep everything on a need-to-know basis, targeted to the right people at the right time. Try to include honest, open, discussions, where everyone can have the chance to speak their mind freely. Straight talk wins every time.
Related content: Are you killing your employees' motivation?
If people are confused by the change and unsure how it will affect them personally, it will be much harder for them to accept the change as a positive one. Again, this brings us back to your strategy (which in effect is your internal communications plan). Lack of clear information becomes a trust issue, as change can be perceived as a threat.
Additionally, very few people like to be told what to do. Most people like to have a say and be heard, even if that results in them not getting their way. There is huge value in listening to employees, hearing them out and trying to incorporate their feedback in your plan.
Take the time to do this, as it will reap you rewards. A good way of doing this is to send out an employee survey, gathering their feedback. This is an easy, cost-effective but also authentic way of doing it. They can remain anonymous and their feedback will be collated and analysed so that you can get the insights you need.
Be proactive with making sure people understand why you are doing this, that you will go through their feedback, and try to incorporate it where possible.
Related content: 3 secrets to a successful employee engagement survey
Naturally, a change of any direction or strategic vision (insert applicable name) of the company will need your leaders to step up. If you want excellent results, you need excellent leadership.
Your leaders will need to act differently and be ready to manage lots of questions, confusion, ambiguity and resistance. This may require extra time and bucket loads of patience, with a dash of EQ (emotional intelligence i.e. social skills). If you’ve built your leaders up to handle these changes (through training programs and mentoring), you are closer to achieving your change objectives.
Related content: 5 leadership strategies for effective teamwork
Cut straight to the heart of change management with our free ebook: Change management power lessons for business leaders.