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Change Management Needs Change Management

Forbes Technology Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Rephael Sweary

Outside of work, one of my passions is fixing up old cars. I do both maintenance and modification, toiling long hours, often in uncomfortable circumstances, to coax life and youth back into these machines. However, to my annoyance, once I have labored hours and the car is running like new again, something else will inevitably break. While this never-ending circle of is frustrating, I have gained a great appreciation for this pastime. I had to change my mindset and acknowledge that breakdowns are part of the hobby and that they are imperative in embracing a continuous ongoing challenge.

However, most organizations haven't adopted this sort of an approach to constant changes in the wake of software evolution. The shift from legacy to cloud software involves a major change, from software that was more or less consistent from a user experience perspective to multiple releases and updates. Employees feel the weight of this change, as they regularly need to adapt to new aspects of their digital environment.

Unfortunately, the current system of approach for change management is flawed, addressing change management as a project with a distinct beginning, middle and end — with everyone scurrying back to their respective places when it is "done." However, just as when I fix up old cars, there is no end to change management -- it is an ongoing effort. It is all about shifting the mindset.

Fostering A New Mindset

Aside from the routine maintenance of running an organization, we must look at change outside the walls of our organization. Change itself is different today — characterized by ongoing and overlapping transitions — all in a state of acceleration. According to Gartner, employees now experience three major changes each year, compared to just 1.75 in 2012.

In addition, nearly two-thirds of CEOs and CFOs anticipate business model shift, due to digital transformation and encouragement from investors. The way change is managed in organizations needs a fundamental makeover. Change management as it was in the past is no longer a viable tool to create effective and lasting results. Instead, enterprise leaders must learn to manage continuous states, operating with a dynamic change-readiness approach.

Within every industry vertical, businesses are faced with a new reality. Take banks, for instance. Instead of facing off against other financial organizations, they are threatened by financial technology providers. These solutions can identify different needs within a given value chain because of their new structure

Competing with other banks is one thing, but competing with financial technology giants is a whole different beast. They must combat this competition by hyperactivating their capability to react to digital change, an especially tall ask for organizations rooted in a long history of pre-digital operations. If banks ignore this new threat for too long, they will be less likely to be able to compete for the modern customer. Look closely at any industry vertical, and you’ll find a similar pattern.

Prioritize Adoption Management Over Change Management

Today’s most powerful companies exercise digital product management, fusing digital into their products and offerings. But more importantly, the digital DNA of an organization starts internally. This means building a framework that allows you to constantly onboard new technology, understand its core benefits and restructure accordingly. The problem is the gap between system acquisition and the true “fluency” of technology usage. A vicious cycle arises when you are in a constant state of adoption, always in the hope of achieving stability. But what if that day never comes? What if learning to cope with change is the new “stable”?

You need to move from change management to adoption management. Throwing out the change management timeline is where the shift to adoption management begins, where you prioritize a state of continuous evolution and adjustment on the go. Change management focused largely on the business outcome and getting people to change their behavior by any means necessary. Adoption management is about creating lasting change through culture, education and technology that continuous change. So how can you perfect your adoption management strategy?

1. Work from the inside out.

The age-old cliché that “change comes from within” gains new meaning when applied to an organizational framework. Continuous change originates from the employee and middle management. They are the ones operating on the ground level and dealing with changes firsthand. Their ability to stay agile and in tune with the digital landscape will dictate the cadence of organizational adaptation, so you must prioritize their education and planning stages first.

2. Forget the destination.

Business leaders need to embrace and nurture long-term change projects, many of which will not have an endpoint. For the CIO, this means changing your mindset from project to product. The CIO can no longer focus on a timeline, investment or outcome. You must now focus on continuous support throughout the life cycle and look at the workplace as a portfolio of products — with a continuous investment and value realization. This workflow is more complex than just working through a checklist, but it will offer your organization the flexibility and foresight needed to survive in the digital age.

3. Plan for overlap.

One of the biggest failings of traditional change management is its failure to acknowledge the intersectionality of change projects. In the digital workplace, there are always multiple moving parts. For example, while onboarding employees to a new spend management system, your CRM vendor may add a new feature that requires alignment and retraining. Plan for a scenario in which change is occurring simultaneously across the organization.

The companies that will be most successful in their digital transformation process will be those that change their mindset and embrace change altogether. This will give your company a long-term competitive advantage because you will be built to be able to adapt better. How will you prepare for the business essential that is change?

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