Change in the workplace is imperative to allow exchange of creative and innovative ideas within the workplace. However, given that change is evolving at lightning speed in today’s day and age, business leaders must ensure that change is actually sticking and making a difference in the workplace.
Here are four ways in which business leaders can make change stick in the workplace.
Involve the key stakeholders
Change can be targeted as certain groups of employees or the organisation as a whole. Either way, business leaders should engage the affected employees at every stage of the change process including brainstorming, evaluation, testing and implementation. After all, no employee would be happy to find out that their work routine is subjected to changes without their knowing. The advantage of involving key stakeholders during change implementation is that the ideas will come from the employees who know which work areas need to be changed. At the same time, it allows these key stakeholders to own the change strategies and implementations. This makes it easier for change acceptance given that the suggestions and ideas come from the key stakeholders themselves.
Identify desired behaviours
Change requires sustainable behaviours in the long run. While it is easy to simply highlight the key values or ideal behaviours within the workplace, behavioural changes will not occur unless employees know specifically which behaviours are desirable in their current organisation. Therefore, it is important that business leaders identify desired behaviours clearly to employees. That way, it allow key stakeholders to better brainstorm and discuss their change strategy in order to align with the business objectives.
Act like an exemplar
To effect change, business leaders have to lead by example. In communicating the desired behaviours to employees, business leaders need to practice these behaviours themselves as well. Consequently, implemented change strategies will not be effective if business leaders themselves do not model the desired behaviours under the change strategy.
Break down change into small increments
It is no doubt easier for employees to stomach a smaller change than a major change. This tip is particularly useful for business leaders if they need to implement a major organisational change such as introducing a new workflow process or system. In such a case, business leaders can introduce the new workplace process or system to one department and gather feedback both expanding it to the rest of the departments.
The one thing that employees fear in the workplace is change and large-scale changes within the organisation can affect employees’ morale and productivity if the change strategy is not handled properly. However, change strategy can be successful if business leaders are clear in its purpose, process and exercise the change strategy with discipline.