I have been asked a number of times to describe what a business gets from using a change management professional. Often they see the role of a project manager as the person to deliver everything. اين يلعب راموس Of course they are right; they will deliver or at least should get as close to delivering as possible. كلاب سلوقية But what they deliver will be the product or end result determined within the project scope. How that affects everyone and how the business can take this on board in the best way is a challenge. A challenge for the change manager to accept!

I personally believe that all projects should have change managers. Why you ask? Let me explain….

Every company has a significant overhead cost in paying salaries, work space costs and other associated payments for having their workforce. For many companies it will be the single biggest charge in their financial accounts. It is important to maximise the return you get from this cost.

How do you maximise this return? You minimise the amount of dead time – or wasted time; the times when you are paying the people for effectively doing nothing. دانى الفز Now, there are some of those times you can do little about – a trip to the bathroom, meal breaks and general refreshment times. However, think about the last time you changed something – how much time was lost with endless discussions between people in the office? How many people questioned your motives? How did you approach the communications? Did the employees and managers know how to function after the change? Did this make it easier or harder for future changes?

This is where I see the benefits of including a change management professional.

  • They get adoption of a change within the workplace much quicker.
  • They help to target the most effective means of training.
  • They work on getting the right communications at the right time to the right people.
  • They create a culture of change acceptance.

What does this mean for a business?

Reduced costs for bringing in this change, improved productivity following the change and greater willingness to take on future changes.

Last year I did a short piece comparing change management to conducting an orchestra. I was fortunate to get some really positive and constructive feedback on this and really appreciated all the interest it generated. It was called Orchestral Symphonies in Change Management

Lately I have found myself using this analogy time and time again to describe what I do. I explain the work of the change management professional as the conductor of the orchestra and the light goes on with people. اللاعب روني But it got me thinking, is this because people don’t know what change management is, or is it because people have a preconceived idea of change management? تاريخ بايرن ميونخ

A quick straw poll in the office I work at gave me an indication. I asked the 10 guys n gals around me what they understand by change management. All of them thought it was some form of project management, and one person thought it was something to do with IT projects and controlling document change – I think that’s change control! But at least he’d thought a little before answering. So I explained that project management is a linear process and change management is more of a matrix. Explaining it as linking together education, communications, people, technology and environment elements of a change event, whether it is project related, process change or anything. Usually a bit of finance is thrown in for good measure too!

So, there’s a small glimmer of understanding showing here, but they are still not getting it! So the pitch now moves to people. I explain the need to invest in the people to get the buy in for change, make sure they are communicated to properly, trained and educated properly and the workspace and technology is all in place. That’s change management in a sentence! I now get a twinkle of understanding, head nods and smiles. But then, as I expect, the killer question comes back – surely I can’t do all of the communications, training, education, etc. etc.?

I now explain that it’s as much about facilitating change, through and with others as it is about making the change. Here it comes, I’m like the conductor of an orchestra, I know who to point to when and what to expect from each person, but I don’t play all the instruments myself, however I know what they all sound like and I know how they connect to produce great music.

“Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!” the light goes on and there’s hope for change managers everywhere once again! موقع بي بال

It’s been a while since I’d refreshed my mind with the wonders of John Kotter and his 8 steps for managing change. Our Iceberg is Melting[1] is still one of my favourite change books and I recommend it as a great introduction to anyone about to undergo some change activity.
Read more