Managing Change

3. Preparing for Change

3.1 Make sure the reasons for change are in line with your overall business objectives.

• Any support for the change will be minimal if people do not understand its purpose. For example, some health and safety initiatives might appear to employees to be pure bureacracy.
• Check that the planned change is SMART - specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-limited. Keep it simple.

3.2 Obtain reliable performance measures in the area undergoing change.

• For example, sound data on sales or customer satisfaction will give you a clear picture of how much change is needed.
• Baseline figures will let you measure the effect of any change you then make.

3.3 Consider both personal and business implications. The end objective can seem so desirable that important details are overlooked.

Change usually involves extra work and extra expense.

• Is your cashflow strong enough, or will you need to borrow?
• Will the management structure need to be adjusted? Individual skills and experience may become redundant. New initiatives may need new teams to manage them.
• Will existing skill levels be adequate? You may need to recruit new employees or arrange training. For example, if you are setting up a website for the first time.
• Will your employees feel inadequate when faced with new technology?
• Will your employees' personal lives be disrupted by a change in hours?

3.4 Make sure that other systems and policies are compatible with the planned change.

• For example, if your priority is to improve quality, an existing incentive scheme which rewards cost cutting may undermine your drive for improvement.

3.5 Change usually involves going into unknown territory, but others will have been there first. Take advice.

• Talk to business associates. Learn from the experience of anyone who has made similar changes.
• Many management consultants specialise in particular types of change, such as company mergers or downsizing. Some consultants are experienced in change generally and can provide a key additional management resource.

3.6 If a change is risky, pilot it before full-scale implementation.

• Evaluate the results and make any adjustments needed.

3.7 Set up a timetable for change, to focus people's minds.

• Phasing in change is preferable and allows any problems to be addressed early on.