It’s a bit cliche, but true nonetheless: ‘Change is the only constant’. If you’re looking to run a successful business in a dynamic, consumer-driven and globally competitive market, this zen-like motivational poster quote should be your mantra. Today, change management in your organization is not just a growth engine and means to ensure a competitive edge over competitors, but a necessity for survival.

There’s a broad selection of approaches and change management models available. Regardless of which you choose, I’ve collected 10 proven strategies to help you implement them effectively.

Why you need to manage change in your business

People are different. While some welcome change and embrace it, others resist it and some might even be upset by it. 

Like Janice from Accounting. Always rolling her eyes even at the smallest of changes that somehow alter her daily routine. Because she just doesn’t give a &#%.

Change management is necessary because it provides the process, tools, and approaches to facilitate the individual transitions that make up the overall organizational change.

According to research, 48 percent of strategic initiatives fail. In addition, in a survey conducted by IBM, change management executives listed “people factors” as the biggest barriers to success: Changing mindsets and attitudes – 58%, Corporate Culture – 49%, Lack of senior management support – 32%.

Without successful change management, your organization will fail to respond to external drivers for change. Furthermore, strategic organizational initiatives, intended to grow your business in an increasingly competitive environment, will fail in nearly half the cases. But don’t lose hope - there’s a lot you can do successfully manage organizational change.

Top 10 Change Management Strategies

Some change management strategies, applied and executed with one initiative, can then be used when promoting another. I call this “recycling”, and I am a big supporter of this eco-conscious approach. In the list of strategies below, I made sure to include some tips on recycling strategies and tools. As you will see, some strategies that seem very initiative-specific can be beneficial beyond the scope of a specific change initiative.

Start with Identification

1. Spot The Rebel Spark
2. Embrace Your Change Ambassadors
3. Those Who Need a Nudge

Engage

Overall, engagement is key in promoting organizational change, but it can’t happen only as part of a transition. Engaging your employees is something you should be doing constantly and consistently for a multitude of reasons. Mainly, because these change management tools can serve you in the future in a multitude of ways.

4. Get Together
5. Progress Newsletter
6. Welcome Employee Feedback

In the long run, all these tools create employee engagement and, as I’ve mentioned above, can serve you in a multitude of ways. A progress newsletter can turn into a great manifestation of your corporate culture, and a channel for communicating organizational goals and ideals. And cat memes. Because everyone like cat memes. Except for Janice.

Set Goals & Celebrate Wins

7. Start Small with Easy Wins
8. Set Meaningful Milestones

Revolutionize

I like to say that the difference between a revelation and a revolution is that one is the vision of a single man, while the other is the movement of many. Managing change is, in many ways, the path from a vision to a revolution.


9. Innovation vs Digitization
10. Reviewing Results

In the long run, revolutions can change an organization not only from the operational perspective but also from a cultural one. Encouraging a culture of innovation and ongoing involvement in the mini-revolutions in your business will usually prove to be beneficial to everyone involved.

Engaging to a Future State

Change in organizations comes in different forms. It can be the integration of a new technological solution, the merging of two companies, a corporate expansion to another continent or a plan to relocate Janice from accounting to a small island in the Pacific. Managing change is different with each of these challenging processes, but at the core of it is employee engagement. If you invest in gaining employee cooperation and involvement, you vastly increase the chances of a successful transition from the current state, to a better future one.


P.S. My apologies to all people named Janice working in accounting, who were offended by this post. Except for you, Janice.