Do you really want to hurt me? There’s a song there somewhere! If you were born after 2000 you may not get this reference. Don’t worry, I’ll explain.
I got into culture change in 2000 – that doesn’t seem that long ago but I guess it was literally a lifetime away. After my company had “briefly” gone bust, a new CEO came in and told me that he wanted people to eat and sleep the new core values – I remember thinking “good luck with that!”.
What I wasn’t prepared for was a lot of hard work, commitment, resistance and pain (hence the above reference). Change for some people is not a positive thing. We achieved our goal over 6 years – people did live the core values and it made us fit for acquisition. Job done. Off I went into the world of culture change and employee engagement.
Today, I am addicted to change. I hate routine and am always looking for the next thing to make a difference or a programme that will be transformational to my clients and ultimately for Strategi Solutions.
What I am aware of though is that not everyone is the same. Constant change for some people is exhausting and debilitating. Some people like to get used to changes before taking the next leap. If you keep going regardless, you risk them leaving, becoming stressed or being passive aggressive – or any combination of the three.
My top tips for change in organisations are as follows.
1. Decide on what you want to change and communicate it to your people
2. Actively listen to your feedback – don’t just send out a survey and hope for the best
3. Create change champions in your business – these are critical for translating business speak to employee understanding
4. Provide feedback on a regular basis of progress, adjustments, timelines so that everyone is pulling in the same direction
5. Most importantly, celebrate progress, reward and recognise commitment to your change goals and praise those who go above and beyond.
Good luck! If luck isn’t your thing then get in touch on how I can help you achieve your goals. No magic required!