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Managing Change In Difficult Times

Most organisations that having to think about some form of change in response to these turbulent times. Worries around change fatigue, or too much change, have been forgotten - the overriding concern is about getting things as right as possible, as quickly as possible. Effective change planning has to be dynamic. Witness JCB - firstly coming up with a very pragmatic plan to minimise redundancies based on short time working, pay freezes, retraining, and a small number of job cuts, then, because of new data, having to completely rethink and make much larger staff reductions only a few weeks later.

What are the key areas where a difference can be achieved?  How can directors and managers make these radical changes of direction and required new ways of working as effective as possible, whilst at the same time maintaining employee engagement and goodwill?



Get The Right Set Of Decision Support Tools 

Having all the right information you can quickly act on is critical. Cash, costs, sales (including margin) and profit are the obvious ones. Sales pipeline with realistic sensitivity analysis is also very important.  This enables scenario planning, best, average and worst being the simplest to construct, with appropriate cost models for each. Decision support tools also cover having the right people in the same meeting at the right time(s). You want the minimum amount of meeting time for the maximum value, with clear accountabilities for delivery of targets and objectives.



Maintain A Sense Of Purpose

At present, the primary business imperative for many organisations will be survival. That doesn’t mean they should forget about focusing about the future, quite the opposite, the future is where survival will be achieved or lost. The priority is being really clear around what is expected of people, showing how they can play their part in the survival plan. Surviving must not become the end goal, nor the only goal. Succeeding through the survival phase means you will be ready and prepared for more expansive and developmental activities in the future.



Communicate Authentically

Positive realism is the tone to go for. People are looking as much at what you don’t say as what you do say. Don’t say anything that could hold you a hostage to fortune later. Be pragmatic and clear. Speak from the heart, but in a measured style. It’s the time-frame, month by month and quarter by quarter, rather than anything longer term, that needs to be obsessed about. Make sure you lead as much as manage.



View Change As An Ongoing Process

Never plan change as a phase that will pass, don’t discuss it in temporary terms, be clear that change is here to stay. The business is likely to need to go through a series of changes, even wrong turnings, as it navigates its way through the short and medium term. Look at each change as part of the natural state of things, rather than as extraordinary, one off aberrations. Organisations that internalise change in this way are more resilient, and maintain higher levels of morale, than ones that see change as a negative event to be got through as quickly as possible so things can return to normal.



If you would like help with planning and delivering your own organisational changes, Predaptive can offer real support and effective advice. Please contect: