Business transformation can be small or it can be significant in impact. Transformation can touch any area of business from how to get customers, to which products to build, or how to improve efficiency across the business. The things that are consistent across all of these is that “change is required”.
The idea of implementing changes to your structured business could be rather daunting, because as the saying goes: “Nobody likes change.” As humans, we are creatures of habit, finding comfort in the familiar, i.e.; our choice of coffee, or the route we take to work. It should come as no surprise, then, that a high percentage of wrongly-implemented change initiatives fail.
Change has to be implemented in a way that brings the team along rather than “dragging” the team along.
As a leader or business owner, you know managing change is essential to stay competitive. To achieve changes successfully, you need the appropriate executive capability at each stage of your business transformation project.
It’s not only about having ‘the right people, in the right roles, at the right time.’ Successful change is about “communicating” the change. Why are we changing? What change are we making? Who is going to be affected? How are they going to be affected? If you build a solid comms strategy then you can avoid a lot of resistance and reluctance to change.
Whilst getting the backing of senior managers and board members is essential for the business transformation to be accepted, it’s actually the employees that you should involve in the process! Your employees are the heart of your business, and the change should start in the core. The middle managers are the people who have a vast amount of information about any potential glitches, areas of improvements as well as technical or logistical issues that need to be addressed. Without them, the change will never get off the ground and this is why their involvement is crucial.
What are your employees’ most common concerns or uncertainties? They could be anxious that their jobs may be at stake, or they may be concerned they won’t have the time or resources to accomplish the change objectives. You can overcome your employees’ uncertainties by answering these critical questions:
- Why is this change necessary?
- What will be expected of each person?
- How will we manage the transition?
Getting your team on board with business transformation requires clear communication and changing the mindset from something that is feared into a goal that can be achieved. Foster the environment of openness and create a culture that allows ideas to flourish.
There is yet one more consideration. As a business owner, running a business on a day-to-day basis is what you are good at, so it should come as no surprise that designing transformation is not your top skill. Really understanding how things could be done differently usually requires an external fresh pair of eyes. Only when you really understand the ‘from’, the ‘to’ and the ‘how’ can you begin to have honest conversations internally.
SER Team Would your business benefit from a strategy refresh? What do you find challenging about implementing strategic change? SER Team work alongside you to help your business identify the value proposition that is driving the change and the value proposition to the team. Contact us to find out more.