Organizational Change: Getting Your People on Board

All of us know that people are the key resource in our organizations, but some business leaders do not effectively address the human element when making changes. Engaging your people is critical to successfully moving your organization forward. As a "change agent," you need to consider your culture, the case for change, and the readiness of your team to lead the change. Let's consider a breakdown of areas to think about as you envision the changes.

Cultural Alignment: Your organizational culture has been integral to getting you to where you are today and can be a powerful force in helping you move ahead. How can the change process be managed in a way that is consistent with your organizational culture? If the change involves a culture change, have you planned for the human element adequately?

Communications: Open, honest communications will reinforce the change process and build on healthy relationships that are foundational to your organization's continued success. Have you planned a communications strategy to complement your change process?

Vision and Mutual Goals: A clear vision and shared goals are essential to aligning behavior and keeping your team moving together. Have you communicated your vision and developed or updated your team goals? Is it time to update your vision and goals?

Planning: Any significant change deserves a comprehensive plan that includes timelines, resources required, and assigned responsibilities. Have you planned for your organizational change and included the human element of "change management"?

Measurement: Measure progress and identify areas that need more work. Have you developed metrics and systems to report your results?

Employee Resources: Do you have the talent pool within your organization to support the demands of organizational change? Do you have ways to identify high-potential people and develop their talents to fill new roles that may be created?

Accountability: Do your HR systems support performance measurement, incentives for success, and methods to hold individuals accountable? Do you need to revise your performance measurement tools to encourage the planned organizational changes?

Helping your people understand the need for change and anticipating the roles they will play in making the change successful are essential to making any plan work.