Elements of Enterneering®/Organisation/Change
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The ability and willingness to change are key to the successful development of companies. Change in this context refers to the intervention in the present structures, processes, systems or working conditions, or the creation of new ones. To be precise, the focus is on the impact of the change on the company’s organisation and its employees. The aim of this consideration is therefore not process management, achieving a concrete project goal or changing a system. It is primarily to ensure that the company is set up in such a way that it has suitable conditions for the ability to change.
WHY?
Individuals and business organisations tend to be habit-, security- and structure-oriented. They create habitats and adopt ways of working in which they can operate with sufficient security and self-confidence, balancing their operational and private concerns. Changes that force them to adapt or discontinue such habits create uncertainty, tension and stress. In addition, implementing changes usually means additional work and effort. This inevitably leads to resistance to the emerging threat and an additional burden of change.
Some forms and manifestations of resistance can be consciously controlled by the individuals concerned. However, a large part of this resistance arises subconsciously or through the combination of various forms of resistance exhibited by individuals in the organisation. As a result of this group dynamic, resistance can quickly take on significant proportions. Depending on their personality profiles and current life situations, people have different abilities to deal with change in a relaxed and open manner.
Entrepreneurs would do well to accept these human characteristics and understand that they are instincts, protective reflexes and emotional reactions that are signs of neither personal weakness nor incompetence. They should understand that these forms of resistance cannot be meaningfully countered with authoritarian pressure or instructions. The ability to change cannot be forced, and the willingness to change cannot be instructed in the long term. Companies that want to successfully manage change must be prepared to implement active change management. For companies whose business models are subject to high pressure to change, and which depend heavily on talented and motivated people, change empowerment is essential.
HOW?
Key to successful change is the understanding and willingness of the company and its leaders to actively invest in change enablement and dedicated change management.
REDUCE COMPLEXITY
Change measures impose complex demands on the workforce. Such measures are not an end in themselves; they always serve a primary goal. This primary goal often does not have much to do with the effect of change within the organisation. It can be, for example, the introduction of a new IT system, the implementation of a new product in the company organisation or the automation of an important process. The first step in reducing complexity is to break it down into useful disciplines and responsibilities. This includes defining what is project management, what is process management, what is product management, and ultimately, what is change management. Above a certain size and complexity of the company, distinguishing and creating such disciplines is an important step in empowering the organisation. This requires investing in additional resources and building certain skills.
IMPLEMENT CHANGE MANAGEMENT
It is advisable to invest in dedicated resources for change management. This can be achieved by having suitable qualified personnel in the company or by engaging a suitable service provider. It is important to keep the role and purpose of this implementation in mind. Change managers guide certain measures, analyse the operational change, and assess its impact on the organisation and people. They create change plans to accompany measures, derive critical elements and develop preventive measures. They prepare argumentation documents and communication plans, organise workshops and meetings and define integration measures while maintaining close communication with affected areas. In short, the main task of change managers is to effectively and sustainably reduce or overcome resistance and maintain or increase acceptance and motivation.
SHARPEN ALIGNMENT
For the successful empowerment of the organisation for change, it is important to recognise and accept the need for dedicated roles, resources and talents. This means, for example, that the same person is not responsible for project management and change management. Both disciplines have different missions and goals and require different talents and tools. The person who is supposed to ensure that a specific measure is completed by a certain deadline should not also be responsible for ensuring that the people affected by it are satisfied with it and work with it with the desired motivation and efficiency.
CREATE A CHANGE-FRIENDLY CULTURE
Enterneering® elements support the successful empowerment of the company in dealing with change, especially:
| Cross-references: At this point in the app, it becomes clear that the individual elements in Enterneering® complement each other and develop their full effect in combination. They will probably become fully apparent to you only after you study this app in its entirety. |
PAY ATTENTION TO PHASES OF CHANGE
Changes always go through a process. This process depends on the progress of the measure that triggers the change and on the maturity of the people involved. The individual phases should not only be known but ideally planned and guided actively:
| ✓ | Creating understanding and explaining the initial situation. The staff should understand why a measure is being implemented and why changes are necessary. Initial reactions such as shock, concern or unease can be recorded. |
| ✓ | Recognising and dealing with disruptions. As a rule, the first phase is followed by active resistance and rejection. At this stage, special attention should be paid to serious threats or potential for disturbance. These should be explicitly addressed without delay. |
| ✓ | Stimulating the need for change. With a broader perspective and rational insight, the affected individuals can now recognise the advantages and opportunities of the measure. Also, they feel the need to actively participate in shaping their work, or at least not let third parties take care of the implementation of the change. This stage fosters emotional acceptance. |
| ✓ | Expanding knowledge and skills. Further training and knowledge transfer ensure that the goal of the measure and the result of the change become comprehensible and tangible for the individuals concerned. Active experimentation and learning take place. |
| ✓ | Applying knowledge and skills. As the implementation of the measure progresses, employees increasingly adopt the changed processes, tools or conditions, use the skills they have acquired and increasingly accept the change. |
| ✓ | Making the change permanent. In the final phase of continuous application, it becomes clear to all stakeholders that the change has been realised. Advantages and disadvantages can be clearly identified and suggestions for further improvements, now or later, can be incorporated. |
AFTER ONE CHANGE, ANOTHER FOLLOWS
The impressions and experiences gained during the phases and after the completion of the change are important criteria for the development of change capacity in future measures. This must be considered in targeted change management. Events, joint reflections and information formats are important components of a culture that nurtures sustainable change. This includes celebrating successes, as well as learning from mistakes. In companies where the positive results of change are reflected upon and celebrated together and mistakes are actively acknowledged as learning opportunities, the willingness to change increases and resistance to future change decreases.
CONSIDER SUCCESS FACTORS
Corporate practice shows that certain issues often determine the course and success of changes. Knowing and consciously considering such typical elements can make a valuable contribution:
| ➟ | Provide sufficient qualified resources for the management of the measure and the change. |
| ➟ | Change of company-wide significance must be mandated by the management. |
| ➟ | Advocates of the change take on tasks and roles in the action. |
| ➟ | Address fears and concerns among the workforce with discernible seriousness. |
| ➟ | Resistance and criticism should be not only accepted but actively integrated into the measure. |
| ➟ | People who are negatively affected by the change receive fair compensation. |
| ➟ | Check incentives and adjust them if necessary. |
| ➟ | Keep an eye on the change portfolio and avoid the threats of change fatigue, overload and depletion of individual resources. |
Entrepreneurs should never underestimate the influence of emotional behaviour and stimulated group dynamics during any change. These phenomena cannot be prevented methodically or organisationally. Nevertheless, their occurrence and course and their impact on the success of implementation should not be left to chance or to the organisation itself. There are appropriate measures for successful change management. Furthermore, the corporate culture has a considerable influence on a company's ability to change.