Despite the disrupted business environment that proved significantly challenging post-COVID, there is still potential for growth and improvement. The liquidation statistics from Statistics South Africa indicate that we are still recovering, and the environment will continue to present challenges.
Change management is an important tactic that companies can use to address this disruption. If done well, it can add significant value to businesses. Here are some pitfalls to avoid.
Top-down imposed change
Change initiatives often fail when imposed from the top down. Team members need to understand the “why” behind the change and feel valued in the process. Simon Sinek, an English-American author and inspirational speaker, focuses on business leadership. He has become well-known for his concept of the “why” and how it relates to inspiring action and building strong businesses.
“Start with why” emphasises the importance of clearly communicating the purpose and motivation behind the change. By connecting with team members on an emotional level and explaining the “why,” businesses can:
- Reduce resistance: People are more likely to embrace change if they understand the bigger picture and the positive outcomes it aims to achieve.
- Increase engagement: A clear “why” fosters a sense of purpose and inspires employees to participate in the change process actively.
- Build trust: Openly communicating the “why” demonstrates transparency and builds trust with team members.
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Communication silos
Fragmented or inconsistent communication breeds mistrust and confusion. Open, transparent communication through multiple channels is key. Not everyone hears/reads/sees the same thing when presented.
This is one of the biggest problems GCS encounters with financially distressed companies and companies involved in litigation surrounding liquidation. Corporate mismanagement does not happen on its own. There is a root cause of the mismanagement, which leads to bigger problems. Communication around poor financial management or communication-related to poor people management can be a significant detractor of value in businesses.
Neglecting resistance
Resistance to change is natural. Ignoring it only creates roadblocks. Everyone perceives change differently, and leadership needs to acknowledge this as part of this process and offer continuous support mechanisms.
An alternative to combatting resistance is to embrace people’s feelings and opinions about the change they are feeling and make them feel like they have a place in the changed structure or environment that you are trying to introduce.
No quick-fix
There is no quick fix for implementing change management initiatives. Also, just doing change management because you “read somewhere that it was important” will not achieve the desired results. From my experience, the companies that don’t have dedicated teams to lead the change are usually the companies whose initiatives fail. This then leads to blaming the new technology/process for not being a ‘fit’ for their business.
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In conclusion, successful change management is not about imposing a new way of working — it’s about guiding and supporting your people on a journey of transformation. Change is constant, and how you navigate it will determine your business’s success in 2024 and beyond.
Seek out what’s not working
A Harvard Business Review article points out that the old adage says that bad news doesn’t travel up. During the integration of an acquisition or even in the internal merger of business units, bad news will occur that the organization needs to learn from. But for real learning to occur, people need to feel psychologically safe sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Consider this example: Derek was leading the integration of several internal units into a merged organisation. This integration created a new team of direct reports for him. Over the course of the integration, he worked on creating the psychological safety for his team to discuss the challenges of working together and of the integration overall. They used a trust framework to openly talk about what they were doing to build and break down trust with each other. Individuals discussed what they brought to the team and what they needed from their fellow team members. They did pulse checks to assess their alignment and where there was work to do. They had difficult conversations. This type of open conversation and psychological safety cascaded through the new 250-person organisation. It culminated in a two-day meeting for the entire organisation that included open conversations about what was working well and what opportunities and challenges this new organisation needed to address for its clients. The meeting also included a read-out of the employee engagement survey scores that, in the midst of the turbulence of an integration, were among the highest in the company’s history.
Careful planning
It is important that change management is implemented effectively and that buy-in from all business sectors is obtained. Change management that occurs in isolation will create divisions within companies, which may also be a root cause of financial distress.
Look at what you hope to achieve with the change management process, communicate these needs effectively, and be open to suggestions on enhancing your plan of action.
