Change Mangement Speaker Change Manager Speaker talks about Change in the Workplaceabout Change in the Workplace

Dealing with inevitable change in an organization typically involves transitioning to a new way of working. As a change mangement speaker, I’ve often seen this occuring during a business transformation that realigns people, processes and technology to new strategic objectives. As we all know, change in the workplace can be intimidating and stressful, frequently because of the uncertainty associated with new situations. Whether managing large-scale change or simple alterations to policies and procedures, if you prepare adequately and communicate effectively, you can help yourself and others accept change with minimal disruption.

 

 

Change Mangement Speaker Tips for Dealing with Change:

  • First, it is vital to ensure that you have executive agreement for the proposed change. You’ll need the facts of the current organization before anything else. As a team, you must identify potential weaknesses and examine opportunities for regrowth. As a change management speaker, I suggest engaging with employees and mangers at every level of your organization to build a convincing case for making the proposed change. Involve customers and use their input too, if the change affects them.
  • Next, you’ll need to identify the leaders in the organization to help orchestrate the changes. Every organization has a few stand-out members who are capable of taking on the task.  Advise those leaders to create a team representing different levels and departments to discuss ideas about how to manage the change effectively.
  • Establish a vision.  Any change management speaker will tell you that establishing a thorough vision for your company is so important to an organization’s successful growth and change process.  If you don’t know where you are going, how are you to get there?  Be clear, concise and as specific as posible about your organization’s vision, for both short-term and long-term goals.  It may help to create a short presentation describing the future of the company and how it will impact the managers, shareholders, employees and community. You’ll want to highlight the strong benefits of the change.
  • Communicate with your organization. Enlist the help of an expert change management speaker, schedule meetings, send email and distribute newsletters describing the change and associated details. Align all change management activities with the company’s strategic goals. Give employees and stakeholders a chance to express their concerns. Be prepared to deal with anxiety.  Not everyone will immediately be on board for the proposed changes.  This is where a change management speaker can really help the organzation structure a positive environment for growth and excitement.
  • Smooth obstacles and barriers to change. It’s not hard to notice those employees and managers who are resistant to change.  As you know, change is not always easy.  But there are ways to gently encourage the change-a-phobes.  First, you’ll need to determine what can be done to help them accept the organization’s changes and ulitmately get them excited about the future of the company. Acknowledging that change is a difficult and complex process allows people to gradually move into the new changes.
  • Identify a few short-term projects to demonstrate where the change benefits the company. As a change management speaker, I do not recommend beginning with an expensive, risky project, since initial fear can oftentimes be demoralizing for the group. One effective technique for managing change in an organization is to introduce changes gradually. By phasing in new techniques, procedures or responsibilities over time, the shock of the new will be lessened. Start small and reward team members who successfully make the adjustments and find new ways to get the job done.
  • Analyze successful projects to determine what should be repeated and what needs improvement. Ask for candid feedback from employees at all levels. Highlight successful projects in newsletters and other company communications. For example, you could interview the organization’s employees and publish the key points that highlight the change in a positive way on your company Intranet site to inspire other staff members. Or take a cue from an effective change management speaker, and use audio or video to enhance the impact of your message and motivate the group.
  • Lastly, don’t forget to document all the changes made throughout the organization and any lessons learned throughout the process. Believe me, there is always something we can learn from change, no matter how seamless it seems. Thus, the next time change inevitably occurs, your documentation will hold the key for addressing problems and improving the process.

When you manage change effectively, you can move your organization into the new “business as usual” situation rapidly.  In my experience as a change management speaker, I’ve found that other people are quicker to accept change than you would think. This, of course, is good news for your team and organization to experience minimum disruption, and successful projects throughout the change process.