Successfully Transform Your Organization

Implementing successful transformation will set your company apart from the competition. However, only about a third of businesses globally say their company is doing a good job preparing for change, according to the McKinsey Quarterly. There are several strategies used to help organizations better prepare for change; including setting ambitious goals, having a highly involved CEO and implementing good communication initiatives. Communicating transformation plans in a positive way is also important. Employees are more likely to get on board with this approach, improving your chances of success.


Creating a Successful Transformation

Your initiatives for transformation change will vary, based on your company’s goals. Some companies seek to move from good performance to exceptional performance. Other companies might be interested in completing a merger or acquisition. Or, your organization might want to enter an entirely new market. Regardless of your ambitions, the first step in any transformation plan is setting clear goals for your company. While this may seem obvious, organizations do not get this right as often as they would like. Research has shown that when asked what they would differently if they were able to do the transformation over again, almost half responded that they would set clearer targets. Companies that create clear goals are more likely to experience a successful transformation.

Engaging Employees

If both managers and employees aren’t engaged in the transformation plan, experiencing success will become difficult. In fact, research shows that when employees are on board, companies experience much better transformation results. The company’s CEO also needs to be highly visible and engaged with employees. When a leader is highly involved, employees are more likely to feel motivated and stay energized during the transformation process.

The stage at which you engage employees is also important. The earlier employees are engaged, the better. However, despite statistics, only a small portion of organizations are using this approach. Approximately only 38 percent of companies are engaging employees early in the transformation process.

Effective Communication

Companies also need to ensure that communication about transformation is clear and effective. When talking with employees, focus on building on existing success, rather than fixing and overhauling problem areas. Doing this keeps the focus positive and builds a more successful environment for transformation. The McKinsey Quarterly found that getting employees to take ownership of change is one of the most difficult tasks. Investing the time to motivate your employees has a large impact on your organization’s ability to transform.

Work diligently with employees on all levels by using a variety of tactics. Companies can engage and energize the organization through ongoing communications and involvement such as short-term wins, celebration of successes and symbolic actions. Another tactic that has been found to foster in success in transformations is establishing clear executive sponsorship and conducting ongoing monitoring to hold people accountable for impact. Companies can also mobilize a senior team to model desired changes or deploy resources to carry out effort and build required skills. Organizing transformation into a clear structure made up of readily understandable sections is yet another tactic that can be used. Other companies use the tactic of reinforcing and embedding change by using performance target and incentives. Some companies focus efforts on both corporate performance and corporate health while others create and communicate an emotionally compelling narrative about transformation which is often called the “change story.” Organizations should not use only one tactic but rather use a variety of them on all different levels and throughout different stages of the transformation. Successful companies tend to use more than three times as many tactics as unsuccessful companies. Giving employees specific goals will create accountability and ownership and assist in a successful outcome. This will also increase your employees’ ability to get on board with your company’s goals.

Moving Towards Success

Companies that successfully implement organizational change don’t use a single process. Instead, these organizations use many different processes to achieve the desired outcome. Get employee input when creating the organization’s plan. This will minimize resistance to important changes and better anticipate which initiatives employees respond to most positively. This approach will also help bridge the gap between management and staff when rolling out new initiatives.

Also, give your company enough time to plan organizational change. On average, organizations are spending an average of six months in the planning stages. During this time, make sure to set clear and inspirational goals to ensure you’re on the right track to successful change. Using strategies that have helped other organizations succeed in the past will assist in moving your company towards meeting its goals.


Resource:

“Creating Organizational Transformations.” The McKinsey Quarterly, July 2008.

Mark Jordan is the Managing Principal of VERCOR, an investment bank that creates liquidity for middle market business owners. He is the author of “Driving Business Value in an Uncertain Economy”, “Selling Your Business the Hard Easy Way”, “Enhancing Your Business Value…The Climb to the Top” and co-author of “The Business Sale…A Business Owner’s Most Perilous Expedition” and “Selling Your Business The Practical Guide to Getting It Done Right”. For more information, contact him at (770) 399-9512 or by email.