CHANGE is one of those things that’s certainly ‘easier said than done’ according to Jen Evans, who is a director at Velrada - a contemporary technology partner that brings true business context to the Microsoft stack.
Jen said improving efficiencies, productivity and employee happiness were top of mind for many businesses looking to boost their bottom line but identifying the right things to focus on is often the tricky bit.
The key to successful change is to motivate people to do things differently, people are motivated if they see value to them and progress is visable
This sounds obvious but requires Leaders and Managers to be clear around the goals and guidelines in which people are to operate and to set up regular feedback loops with a focus on the journey and visablity of the outcomes.
Too often we set up programs to either succeed or fail rather than aiming to make meaningful progress, the main contributor to motivation.
“In the old world of change management the most important thing was getting C-level behind you but it’s just as important to engage the middle manager and field staff as these are usually the people that we are asking the most of,” she said.
“The ‘human factor’ is what makes the difference.”
Jen said understanding individual behaviours, values and motivations was critical to preventing ‘change fatigue’, which often resulted from a gap between installation and implementation. The gap is the unrealised value from a change program that has been installed but not been embedded through systems and processes.
“People are often fatigued hearing about change rather than experiencing it,” she said.
“I ask people to challenge their authenticity - why they’re engaging change, what they’ll get out of the initiative, understanding what’s in it for them…what’ll add value to staff and make work life better.
Jen said besides providing the right tools and methodologies, part of the change process involved flipping the mindset from ‘it’s coming’ to ‘it’s here’ in other words stop talking about it and start doing.
“Albert Einstein said; ‘the measure of intelligence is the ability to change’. The first step is having that foundation of clear intent,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s the fact someone is happier in their workplace - you can’t necessarily put a dollar value on that, but happiness is essential for retention and productivity.”
