Organizational change
Change in an organization occurs when the organization shift from one state to another. Organizational change is inescapable because that is what organizations do, they grow, and they change. Organizational change can occur in several forms, such as a change in the organization’s structure, strategies, policies, technology, processes, and culture change. This change in an organization can result from a long time of planning or forced due to a change in the environment. Several procedures can be undertaken to lower the uneasiness in employees and ease the process of change. For instance, including all the employees in the process of decision-making can help avoid the opposition of new policies. However, some organizations are large, and including all the employees might be cumbersome; therefore, a group of opinion leaders is selected to campaign for the importance of upcoming changes. Organizational change can be far-reaching and slowly can alter the operations of the organization or can be incremental. Either way, change entails dropping old methods of working and adopting new ones. Organizational managers carrying out any of their daily duties often find themselves faced with the need to manage organizational change effectively. Frequently, the process of planning implies the need for a new and improved strategy, which is then reflected in changes to tactical and operational plans. There several factors that can contribute to a change in an organization categorized into external and internal factors. External factors that can contribute change are the government, culture, workplace demographics, technology, and environmental changes such as globalization. Internal factors constitute job characteristics and or performance of the organization. Coming up with a new organizational design (the organizing process) or modifying the existing one entails changes that may end up affecting a single employee up to the organization as a whole. However, these effects will depend on the dimension of the changes. This paper will therefore discuss the organizational strategies for effective organizational change, the effective internal communication needed for effective change, and evaluate the body of research collected on various strategies.
Effective Strategies for Effective Organizational Change
There are several strategies that organizational leaders can employ to manage change; some of these strategies for an effective change in an organization include proper planning, transparency and honesty, communication, and inclusion of employees in the planning process. These and other key strategies for effective change will be discussed in detail in the paragraphs that follow.
Proper planning. Planning involves organizing all the resources required for the change. It also involves clear statements of how the change will take place, when, and why the change is necessary. In drawing the plan, the organization needs an outline of the new responsibilities for employees and anyone affected by the change that will get them to the desired change. Additionally, Planning for an effective change involves a complete timeline and the chronology of actions. Planning will help employees trace the organization’s roadmap, where it is, where it is, and where the new change will take it. This timeline helps the organization to plan and focus on the future.
Organizational change will always occur in phases; therefore, it might call for some confidentiality on the management group, but when the change will be great, it requires transparency and honesty, Anderson, D. L. (2019). Transparency to the staff, even if giving them a bit of information and being straightforward with the details you choose to share, will boost their confidentiality in helping you. It will also make them feel comfortable and trust you more. Presenting issues in a sugarcoated manner, and making unrealistic promises to your staff will cause suspicion and distrust.
It is also important during the process of organizational change to develop a communication strategy. Although all workers should be included in the change process, there is a need for you to inform the employees about the change. Take enough time to explain the reasons for the change and how it will appear in the end. Holding team meetings and being open to questions will facilitate communication between the authorities and the employees. The communication strategy should encompass the timeline and feedback from the employees or their views on the proposed change.
Adequately trained staff will be more prepared for the change than untrained staff. Once the employees are aware of the organizational change, it is necessary to assure them of their training to not feel left out, especially if the change will involve new technical skills. For example, when the change involves installing new machines in the organization, employees should be trained on how to handle the new machines. Everyone has a role to play in change management, and for this reason, adequate training is mandatory.
An effective organizational change process should involve, if not full, at least some employees’ participation. A situation where employees are given a chance to participate in or respond to some decisions can be a good strategy. Employees will be glad to air their views, and this way, the organization will benefit from having different ideologies from different people. To some extent, the hierarchical organizational structure denies most of the employees their power to make decisions about the business. Therefore, the key point of participation is to trust the employee’s ability and give them the authority to make decisions. Through this strategy, the organizations become greater in output, innovation, and customer care services. During the entire organizational change process, measures should be put in place to evaluate the business’s impacts.
Effective internal communication needed for organizational change
Internal communication ultimately contributes to the successful implementation of organizational change. Many people dread being kept in the dark; keeping employees in the dark might affect their productivity. It is, therefore, important to keep them informed of any updates. Internal communication involves more of what has been said and what is done. Modern internal Communication happens to be so fragmented than in the traditional world when businesses relied only on email and telephone. Communication in today’s organizations is done through apps, email, online chats, social media, and electronic mobile devices that keep the company and the employees connected. Other institutions have employed private computer networks to enhance communication within the organization.
To ensure an effective organizational change, the business’s key stakeholders should prioritize keeping their staff informed through effective internal communication with the following characteristic; It should give people a full view of the organization. In other words, the communication channels should be two-way and not one-way. Using the top-bottom approach, employees will end up feeling that their voice is not recognized, and their attention will wane. Organizations should employ an internal communication strategy where communication is delegated to the superiors such as HR departments and representatives from other offices.
Internal communication should help to develop the organization’s culture. Every information or news update plays an important role in how people will interpret the organization’s culture. An organization’s culture is the totality of its segments, and efficient internal communication should put this in place.
Besides, during a crisis, the only way to keep the employees calm is through effective internal communication should create a channel for discussions, debates, and feedback. With the improved technology organizations, today can hold virtual meetings and discussions through applications such as Zoom cloud meetings.
Evaluation of Researches
Different researchers have come up with several strategies for effective organizational change. Although the strategies may not differ due to the use of a common traditional organizational structure, slight differences may arise due to the nature of the organization or the type of business. The strategy of planning is common with most researchers, especially the ones cited in this paper. The different perspective approach was the main strategy in the management of organizational change. The issue of being a leader in the process of organizational change. The study emphasizes the qualities of a great leader.
Conclusion
In conclusion, despite organizational change is inevitable, sometimes it is not always met with acceptance but resistance. Reasons for resisting change can disrupt habits, feelings of doubt, fear of losing, and personality. People resist change when they feel that the business’s performance might be by the reasons stated above. In implementing the organizational change process, researchers have come up with strategies to use for a successful change, one of the main strategies being planning. Besides, interior time plays an important role in the entire process of organizational change.