Organisational Change Model.
Organisational Change and Interdependence.
Our Change Model, shown above, stresses the interdependence of Behaviour, Structure and Processes in achieving results focused and long-lasting organisational change.
Why change fails.
Our experience suggests that too often, people involved in organisational change prefer to deal with change by concentrating on adjusting Organisation Structure and Processes and Systems rather than on People's Behaviour.
By taking this view and ignoring the interdependencies identified in the change model, they are likely to fail. Albeit that failure can be and generally is, dressed up and spun as success.
Why not follow the change model?
We have a hypothesis about why people fail to follow the change model;
Hard? Not really.
Changing the Organisation Structure is relatively easy to implement and mandate. Buying or selling a part of the firm, making changes to reporting lines, or bringing in new people, all looks as though firm action is being taken.
Stakeholders, especially shareholders, have learned to expect this type of change whenever there is some change at the top, some challenge or new opportunity.
People don't often get fired for changing the structure and for hiring and firing other people in their team. And yet there are enough studies that demonstrate that these actions more often that not result in a reduction in shareholder value.
Harder? Yes, but still not effective.
Process and Systems changes are harder to implement and take longer than organisational changes, but they can be justified with hard facts and figures, with investment and IRR documents. In other words they look like they are solid, facts based decisions. In practice they aren't...but by then people have found ways to justify their decisions, or have moved on.
Hardest? Only if you don't understand how.
So that leaves Behavioural Change - as the least considered and least understood element of the change model. And the most likely to be successful when implemented with care, respect and sensitivity.
Change with the Human Touch.
In essence, our clients' experiences suggests that a behavioural approach to change, involving people, supporting and challenging them through the process of creating the change required, is both the least expensive and ultimately the fastest way to achieve real, long lasting change. We call this Change with the Human Touch.
And it often leads organically to appropriate changes in the other two elements of the model. And it informs and adjusts both goals and strategy to positive effect.
If you really want to succeed with change.
If you truly want change to succeed, then should stop fiddling with your organisation structures and systems and concentrate instead on behavioural change.
Do please contact us with your thoughts and ideas about effective change.