Gina Temple: Notes on Organizational Change for Leaders
 |
| istockphoto.com |
Organizational Change Management
Organizational change management, otherwise known as OCM, which is a structured process, is also a set of tools for managing the people side of change. Healthcare leader Gina Temple notes that it focuses on how employees could and would react to the change and subsequent changes so you can establish steps in place to minimize resistance.
A good OCM plan can lead to a successful transformation instead of failing to get it off the ground. Often, companies and their leaders jump into the technical side of their projects and assume everything else will fall into place. When this happens, employees have been seen to grow resentful and even fearful, warns Gina Temple.
Without clear and constant communication in and around the change, employees may have unanswered questions such as: "How will it affect my role in the company?" "Will new things be difficult to learn?" and even "Is it even necessary?"
When leaders focus on OCM from the start, they can keep team members in the loop during each phase of the project and dispel rumors. Leaders can also engage employees and destroy common change management obstacles.
Customizing communications during change
According to Gina Temple, it is important to develop an effective strategy for change management communication. Simply sending out an email blast each time there's an update is not normally the best approach. Rather, it is important to think about how the different groups should receive messages. After that, think about and decide who should deliver those messages.
It has been observed that in a majority of cases, employees want to hear business-level change updates from their top-tier leaders. When it comes to more personal change information, such as how the change will affect their job, employees want to get insights from their direct supervisor. Communication styles cannot exactly be tailored to each person, but categorization is still required.
While it might take a bit more time this way, Gina Temple says that it helps ensure that messages are absorbed the way they should be.
 |
| istockphoto.com |
Getting support from higher-ups
A lot of executives understand the need for change and see the business benefits of adopting brand-new processes and enterprise software. That said, they are not always as clear on the specific role they should play in the change. Also, at the same time, they may underestimate the time, money, and other resources required to implement the change. As a result, communication becomes inconsistent because visibility and transparency slip away. Expectations remain unmet.
Gina Temple also reminds you that employees are always watching. If leaders at the organization are not championing the change, the common question of employees becomes, "Why should we?"
Employees need continuous support whenever they need to adapt to and learn a new system. This support should come down from the top. While active sponsorship can invigorate a team, if employees do not feel supported, it may lead to low user adoption as well as missed objectives. From the beginning, the company's top leaders have to understand the change and embrace it. In fact, they should be some of the most active and visible change advocates of the entire process.
Gina Temple has served in the healthcare community for over 30 years with experiences ranging from for-profit to not-for-profit organizations, unionized to non-unionized facilities and acute care settings to outpatient centers. Read similar articles on healthcare and leadership from Gina Temple by clicking here.
Comments
Post a Comment