Gina Temple: Common Change Management Challenges

 

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Gina Temple discusses the advantages and challenges of implementing change in an organization.

Gina Temple on Implementing Organizational Change.

Organizational change management (OCM) is a structured process for managing the human element of organizational change. It focuses on potential negative fallout so you can put steps in place to curb opposition, says Gina Temple. An effective OCM plan can differentiate between a successful transformation and one that doesn't get off the ground. Often, organizations jump right into the technical side of their projects and hope the rest will fall into place. When this happens, employees begin to become fearful and resentful. Without clear communication around the change, they may have questions such as:

Why is the change necessary?

How will it affect my role?

Will it make my work difficult?

Focusing on OCM lets you keep teams in the loop as each project phase happens. It helps engage employees, dispel rumors, and overcome common change management challenges.

Ensuring Executive Support and Change Sponsorship​

Many executives understand the importance of change and can see the business benefits of new enterprise software and adopting new processes. However, the specific role they should play in the change isn't always clear to them. In addition, they may underestimate the money, time, and resources required to implement the change. As a result, expectations go unmet, and lines get crossed. Communication becomes inconsistent as transparency and visibility slip away.

Meanwhile, most employees are watching. If leaders aren't championing change, the question becomes, "Why should we?"

Users need constant support as they learn a new system, and this support should trickle down from the top, Gina Temple points out. While active sponsorship may invigorate a team, the opposite is true: If employees aren't supported, it can lead to missed objectives and low user adoption.

From the beginning, your project stakeholders and sponsors must embrace and understand the change, and executives should be some of your most visible and active change advocates.

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Tailoring Communications Effectively​

Developing an effective change management communication strategy is important. Simply sending an email blast when you have an update isn't always the best approach. Rather, focusing on how each user group should receive messages is important. Then, think about who should deliver those messages, adds Gina Temple.

Employees usually want to hear business-level change updates from top management. They want to get that from their direct supervisor regarding more personal information (e.g., how the change will affect their role).

It's impossible to tailor your communication style to each employee, but you can group employees into categories, says Gina Temple.

For example, consider which teams need one-on-one conversations and which ones prefer conference room meetings. Are there important details you should highlight when updating certain groups?

It may take a bit more time to go this route, but it helps ensure that important messages are received how they should be.

Gina Temple has served in the healthcare community for over 30 years. Gina has worked in various settings, from unionized to non-unionized facilities, for-profit to not-for-profit organizations, acute care centers, and outpatient clinics. For more of her insights on leadership, organizational change, process improvement, Lean, and other related topics, subscribe to this page.