CHANGE-MANAGEMENT

Change management or management of change is aimed at a profound transformation in companies for more efficiency and future-oriented security in the company. Change management is used in particular to adapt companies to changing environmental conditions and to make them fit for the requirements of the markets in the digital age.

Change management encompasses all components to successfully manage change processes – from the strategy and structure of a company, to the processes and management systems, as well as corporate culture, ways of thinking and behaviour, as well as communication, relationships and leadership in the company.

Change management often triggers emotionally challenging change processes at all levels of a company. Such change management processes require motivation and changeability. These change processes, however, often cause uncertainty, fear and resistance among employees. Therefore, in change management, it makes sense to initiate a change process together with change management experts, who initiate, accompany, moderate and achieve change with partnership-based cooperation.

Companies are constantly moving. The people who work in them and push them forward also change permanently. That is why there are always two sides that we consider and observe in targeted change management: on the one hand, the hard facts of the operational situation, on the other, the characters involved in the changes. Only the right connection of both sides leads to a meaningful and good result.

Your change process can have many reasons. With our 7-dimensional comprehensive change concept, we support you in the implementation of your project. Become an agile and adaptive organisation, for which change is not the exception, but self-evident. In this way, there are numerous new organisational forms that can be suitable for your company: from agile network organisation, to holacratic approaches, to ambidextrous operating systems, in which classic, hierarchical organisational forms harmonize with network organisations.

Traditionally one can divide change management processes, according to John Kotter, into eight phases:

In today’s working world, which is characterized by high dynamics, complexity and volatility (keyword: VUCA), such approaches are less and less important. “Change” becomes everyday business and companies are doing well to be flexible and adaptable, so that changes are seen as “business as usual”. However, there are some basic factors that play a role in change projects.

Resistance is not something fundamentally bad, but rather a rational reaction to the announcement of a change. It is important to take the resistance seriously, to channel it, and to make affected parties involved. It is therefore essential to explore the causes of the resistance and to overcome it by means of targeted measures, or to transform it into a positive change energy. Essentially, there are four different triggers of resistance:

With a change project, many mistakes can happen that endanger the success of your change process. Failed change processes lead to mistrust and resistance to future changes. We support you in avoiding the following mistakes.

Ten typical errors and risks in change management:

1. Ambiguous goals and motives, no answer to the “why”
2. Lack of self-reference to goals, no link to the meaning of the project
3. Ignorance of resistance, exclusion of employees and their knowledge
4. Change as ‘mechanical’ and not as ‘human’
5. No change in the top management
6. Power struggle and competition
7. Unstructured approach
8. Inadequate resources, knowledge, methods and qualifications
9. Superficial changes without cultural change
10. Failure of “Quick Wins”

Nine success factors for effective change management:

To successfully complete a change project, you can follow the following success factors. They guarantee an effective change process with a lasting effect.

1. Systemically think, understand causes, symptoms and impact
2. Clear answer to the “why”
3. Create an inspiring and participatory target image, to create a relation between you and the target image
4. Use resistance and involve critics
5. Build a competent change team and provide resources
6. Making affected parties involved and using collective knowledge
7. Holistic structural and cultural change
8. Clear roles, responsibilities and structures
9. Networking information and transparency

Your change process can have many reasons. With our change concept, you will receive impulses for your change projects.

Become an agile and adaptive organisation, for which change is not the exception but self-evident. In this way, there are numerous new forms of organisation that can be suitable for your company: from the agile network organisation, to holacratic approaches, to the more ambidextrous operating systems, in which classic, hierarchical organisational forms harmonize with network organisations.