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Change management is a structured method that helps organizations to communicate and implement change, whether to the management of their people or processes. It mainly focuses on executing new technologies, structures, systems, or methods to improve efficiency and keep up with market transitions and trends. If change management is implemented properly, it will ensure smooth transitions and continuous improvements within the organization.

This research aims to delve into the important information and concepts of change management including Technology, Nature of work, and Economic Shocks that include COVID-19. Understanding these key concepts can help in managing change more effectively that leads to better results, smoother transitions, and continuous growth of the organization.

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New research from leaders at Infosys indicates that across a variety of industries, lasting, long-term change is most effective when it occurs over a series of smaller microchanges. The authors identify three strategies for successful microchange management: Deconstruct big change into small steps, change behavior through small modifications to habits and routines, and continuously measure, learn, and evolve.

Business transformation has traditionally been associated with large, drawn-out initiatives. After the Great Recession, they became smaller, faster, and more focused, yet change management was still executed in a mostly sequential waterfall approach. The breaking point came in March 2020, when Covid-19 provided a global wakeup call that forced all companies to rethink their ability to change - and fast.

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Break Down Change Management into Small Steps

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New research from leaders at Infosys indicates that across a variety of industries, lasting, long-term change is most effective when it occurs over a series of smaller microchanges. The authors identify three strategies for successful microchange management: Deconstruct big change into small steps, change behavior through small modifications to habits and routines, and continuously measure, learn, and evolve.

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Break Down Change Management into Small Steps (1)

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change management #foryou #viral #shortsvideo #shots

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Kavanaugh, J., & Tarafdar, R. (2021, May 6). Break down change management into small steps. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/05/break-down-change-management-intosmall-steps

Kotter, J. P. (2012). "Leading Change" Harvard Business Review Press

Prosci. (2022). "Best Practices in Change Management" Prosci Inc.

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"What are the greatest contributors to a successful change management initiative?"

7 Change Management Best Practices

1. Mobilize active and visible executive sponsorship

2. Apply a structured change management approach

3. Engage with front-line employees

4. Communicate frequently and openly

5. Engage and integrate with project management

6. Dedicate change management resources

7. Engage with and support people managers

Research participants who identified these contributors to successful change are experienced practitioners, project leaders, executives and consultants. Forty percent of participants in 12th edition of the Best Practices in Change Managemen t study have more than nine years of experience in change management, while 9% have been applying change management less than a year.

1. Mobilize active and visible sponsorship

Having a positive leader who actively guides the organization through change and participates visibly throughout the lifecycle of change has endured as the top contributor to success since 1998. The importance of sponsorship is cited more frequently than any other contributor, and participants consistently use the key words "active and visible" to describe it. Active and visible sponsorship means the sponsor:

Supports the change by giving consistent attention to the change and the need for change management

Champions the change by leading and motivating others in the organization

Makes effective and influential decisions regarding the change, including aligning priorities among other leaders in the organization

Maintains direct communication with the project management and change management teams, and remains accessible during the change

Influences peers to maintain support and to participate in a coalition of sponsorship

Forty-eight percent of participants in the research say they have an effective or very effective sponsor. Because sponsor effectiveness correlates with the likelihood of meeting project objectives, their organizations usually enjoy high rates of change success.

In fact, our research shows that projects with extremely ineffective sponsors were only 27% likely to meet their objectives as compared to 79% with extremely effective sponsors-a nearly threefold increase in the likelihood of success.

Correlation of Sponsor Effectiveness With Meeting Objectives

2. Apply a structured change management approach

An intentional and defined approach to managing change provides the structure necessary to stay on track. It designates adequate time for meaningful activities and allows space to identify and address gaps throughout the project lifecycle. Using a formal approach also makes processes repeatable for consistent application of change management on more initiatives across an organization. Key words that emerged when participants described this best practice include:

Established

Customizable

Scalable

Clear and well thought out

Easy to implement across multiple changes

Easy to apply at every phase of the project

How organizations use a structured approach varies in the research. Sixty-nine percent use a change management methodology for general guidance, as a checklist for activities, to monitor progress, or a combination of these.

Again, the research reveals just how much applying a structured approach contributes to success. Of the participants who applied a particular methodology, 59% achieved good or excellent levels of change management effectiveness, while only 26% achieved the same levels of effectiveness without a structured approach.

Impact of Use of a Methodology on Overall Change Management Effectiveness

3. Engage with front-line employees

In the 12th edition, engaging with people on the front line of the organization moves up a spot to the third most cited best practice, shifting frequent and open communications to the fourth position.

We apply change management to help employees understand why change is necessary and how it will affect them, and to equip them to transition through the process successfully-which results in successful outcomes for organizations. Given this objective, it is clear why employee engagement and participation is identified as a top contributor to success. Tactics to increase engagement include:

Highlighting "What's in it for me?" (WIIFM)

Identifying and building relationships with impacted groups

Ensuring impacted groups receive the appropriate level of training

Involving employees in identifying and planning a proposed solution and future state

The goal of these efforts is to help employees demonstrate willingness to participate in the change and collaborate with the people leading it.

Engaging in reinforcement and sustainment activities with front-line employees is a critical step in the change management process. But organizations that are saturated with change often neglect these activities and mistakenly consider a change complete at go-live.

Inadequately addressing reinforcement and sustainment activities has a negative impact on the outcome of the change. As the data shows, participants who allocated resources for reinforcement activities, including engaging with impacted employees, were more likely to achieve project objectives than those who did not.

Impact of Allocating Resources for Reinforcement and Sustainment on Meeting Objectives

4. Communicate frequently and openly

Change management practitioners often struggle against the misconception that change management is "just communications." Although change management is much more than that, effective communications are critical to leading change successfully. Beyond frequency, participants cited these factors as important to success:

Notably, 58% of employees prefer to receive communications about the personal impacts of change directly from their supervisors. Most want to hear about the business reasons for the change from the CEO. However, a significant number of participants in the 12th edition study also cited other executives, senior managers, and department heads as preferred senders of organizational messages.

Additionally, participants identified important topics to communicate, such as why the change is happening, expectations, long-term plan perspectives, how the change will impact employees, and essential business drivers.

Preferred Sender of Messages

Prosci's AI tool, Kaiya, can help you craft consistent and transparent messages, as well as communication plans that resonate with your team and stakeholders. Learn More About Kaiya
5. Engage and integrate with project management

Prosci's research underscores the best practice of integrating change management work with project management activities. These complementary disciplines naturally cross paths throughout the life of an initiative, enabling a unified value proposition and more successful changes.

In our research, nearly three-quarters of all respondents integrate project management work and change management work to some degree. Integration dimensions include people, processes, methodology, results and outcomes, tools, and other areas, with people being the most common dimension at 86%.

Specific examples of integration include:

More and more organizations realize the value of integrating project management and change management. And research participants who integrated these two disciplines were far more likely to meet or exceed project objectives than those who did not integrate.

Percent of Respondents Who Met or Exceeded Project Objectives

6. Dedicate change management resources

Your project needs dedicated resources and funding to get change management work done. Dedicated change management resources and funding means having access to:

Sufficient funding and resources

Dedicated resources with change management experience

A change team or community of flexible, ambitious, decisive, collaborative individuals

As one research participant said, "If it isn't someone's job, then it's no one's job." To realize the benefits of change management, someone must be responsible for it and have access to an appropriate amount of funding.

The data reveals a positive and meaningful correlation between having a dedicated resource (person) and overall change management effectiveness. Participants with dedicated resources were significantly more likely to achieve good or excellent change management effectiveness than those without a dedicated resource.

Relationship Between Sufficient Resources and Change Management Effectiveness

7. Engage with and support people managers

People managers can become a change practitioner's greatest ally in times of change because they are closest to employees impacted by change. Research participants explain this top contributor as:

The research identified mid-level managers as the group most resistant to change, with 43% of participants identifying them as such. Past research shows that a majority of this resistance can be mitigated by thoroughly addressing this group in the change plans.

Most Resistant Groups

Best Practices in Change Management Interactive Data

Prosci has produced 12 Best Practices in Change Management reports over the last 25 years, compiling data from more than 10,800 responses provided by change management professionals in 38 industries in 101 countries. You can apply the best practices and interactive data in Research Hub to:

As change management gains momentum as a crucial discipline, organizations worldwide are embracing people-first approaches that facilitate successful transformation. By incorporating these best practices, you and your organization can continue to evolve and learn alongside the discipline, achieving even greater success from change.

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Discover the top best practices in change management, as reported to Prosci by thousands of change management professionals over the past 25 years.