Preventative > Change Management


What is Change Management?

Change management is a pro-active, planned and deliberate process that ensures an organisation effectively implements and manages new systems and methods and is ready to deal with unanticipated and expected changes arising within or from outside the organisation and which have the potential to seriously damage the organisation’s survival and growth.

The role of the change management process is to help maximise the benefits of an organisation by implementing changes and reducing risks involved in making changes.

Change Management programs are best implemented concurrently with on-going managerial processes.

How does it work?

Implementing change management programs are vital in today’s fast and ever-changing business world. Organisations that have formally introduced change management strategies are in a better position to monitor incremental changes and to more effectively handle and respond to sudden changes that are outside their control.

Change management programs are delivered by internal change agents – people who work in the organisation, and by external change management consultants. Generally, organisations appoint outside consultants, such as ITIM, to provide their employees with the necessary skills and expertise to best manage workplace change.

ITIM Australia provides a range of options from which organisations can choose. These include:
• Short one to four-hour change awareness sessions for people experiencing change
• Practical one to three training programs for managers to learn the principles of change management
• Facilitated management meetings where change methods are introduced on an ‘as needed’ basis and managers coached in their application to their current situation
• Consultancy advice to those leading change
• Diagnosis of an organisation’s change readiness and advice on how to improve it
• Personal coaching
• Intensive training/coaching and ongoing support for internal change agents

Is Change Management for You?
People who work in environments characterised by high competitiveness, frequent changes and high risk should have change management programs in place.

Employers choose to use professional change management consultants when they want to be clear about why they are implementing changes, what it is about their organisation that needs to be changed, whether their staff are ready for it and how they should best go about achieving positive change.

Employees, such as managers, who are required to identify and / or prepare and implement change initiatives request the support of professional change management consultants when they have been asked, or would like to:
• make alterations resulting from new legislation, such as changes in tax, environmental and occupational health and safety laws
• introduce new systems, such as quality assurance standards and computer networking improvements
• downsize the organisation
• adopt business principles, such as benchmarking and empowerment strategies
• reposition / reinvent the organisation so it differs to competitors
• make quick changes following shifts in economic currents and tides
• change the corporate culture of the organisation
• introduce new systems that, if not properly managed, are likely to cause havoc and staff upset
• implement changes in a corporate culture that is anti-change
• know how to best approach a superior to discuss a change they believe is not in the best interests of the organisation
• create change management policies and procedures that will monitor small changes that take place inside and outside the organisation

Research shows that the primary reason for failure in major change initiatives has been the lack of effective change management. In other words, the inability to manage the people side of a business change is a major contributor to failed business changes.

What are the Benefits of Managing Change?
ITIM’s comprehensive change management program provides a range of benefits for employers and employees.

The benefits for employers are:
• Readiness to move forward on critical business initiatives and leverage strong alignment
• Improved understanding of organisational, process and technology change and potential resistance
• Better alignment of vision, goals and supporting business practices
• Identify performance/readiness gaps with targeted training responses
• Development of a road map for company-wide leadership development, including core leadership team interventions
• Establishment of best practices for critical core processes supporting change
• Better response to issues that are outside the control of organisations (e.g., legislation, social and political upheaval, the actions of competitors, shifting economic tides and currents, and so on)
• Reduction in costs, being pro-active in managing change better prepares organisations for if and when they are enforced to make the changes
• Higher quality – improvement in the quality of products and services to retain customers and to attract new ones
• better assessment of the cost and risk of proposed changes before they are incurred
• the building of organisational resilience by helping people to absorb changes
• enhancement of communication skills among change managers
• fostering of a learning environment through continuos learning

The benefits for employees are:
• increased innovation by having seen how new products and services can enhance and improve their productivity
• becoming comfortable with risk and change
• becoming more open to learning and applying new ideas
• being more involved in the organisational transitions
• increased communication from other staff members about change
• working in an environment that nurtures creativity

Implementing change in workplaces today is more difficult than in the past. This is principally due to the changing nature and practices of new generation employees who have been taught and rewarded for questioning and analysing their day-to-day activities and this includes asking why change is necessary. This shift in the core values of employees to empowerment, ownership, and accountability has created a workforce that will embrace change as long as they are part of the process. With the introduction of today’s new business values, employee resistance should be expected. In the absence of change management, this resistance can cripple a business change.

Effective change managers can expect to shape the direction of change in an organisation, but not control it.

Why Choose ITIM?
• ITIM provides comprehensive tailored training courses and coaching to help managers anticipate the effect of change upon people and support them through it positively - however tough the change may be.