MANAGING CHANGE THROUGH COMMUNICATION AND INVOLVEMENT IS THE WAY TO GO
Every organisation is confronted with the challenge of resistance to change with the implementation of a new project. When we start to understand that resistance is a natural human reaction to change, we start to understand the need for a structured process to manage organisational change. This is especially important if the consequences to the individual are serious and uncomfortable. Organisations can no longer get away with the excuse of ‘this was communicated to everyone’.
People will not support decisions affecting their lives if they do not feel they are involved from the word go. More often than not they will end up sabotaging decisions from which they have been excluded. This is done passively by not doing what they know they should do; or actively, by doing what they know they should not.
According to Theron, traditional attempts of using carrots and sticks to manage change are no longer sufficient. For new project implementations to be successful, the foundations for managing change have to be integrated into the project implementation process. The process needs to be transparent to all those who are affected. People need to be involved throughout the implementation process so that they can support the project and the new way of thinking, feeling and acting.
Communication is the most important component within any project. Project communications refer to the specific practices and behaviour used to lead, motivate, involve and report back to stakeholders. In a world driven by knowledge and information, conversations are one of the most important and productive pastimes in the work environment. Conversations enable workers to discover what they know and determine who is ‘in the loop’ as these loops create the shape of the organisation and its services. Organisational intelligence, the organisation’s ability to comprehend and assimilate knowledge relevant to its business purpose, is improved through conversation.
Discussion and dialogue enable us to change and renew our organisation. This is especially critical during a new project implementation when there is only one chance to ‘get it right’. To counter the negative organisational dynamics stimulated by daily work pressures and the rumour mill, the project team must give their full attention to their communication strategy. The quality and effectiveness of communication between the project team and the impacted stakeholders is a significant contributing factor to a project’s success or failure.
The positive effect of regular widespread project updates cannot be underestimated. Not only does it create a sense of inclusion with the stakeholders, it prevents the need for unnecessary project documentation and damage control
Communication is about sending and receiving messages. A combination of communication methods should be used to convey the same message, including face-to-face, print or newsletters, surveys, road shows and existing forums.
Organisations cannot escape the fact that the change created by new project implementations needs to be formally managed. One of the greatest risks to project success is ignoring the change created by a project implementation.
We have published a White Paper on integrating change management activities into project implementations at our clients. Key learnings are discussed, with a specific focus on communication and involvement as a strategy to overcome change resistance.
The white paper can be downloaded from www.pragmaworld.net.
