Welcome to Part 2 of the YES! Your Human Resources Solution series all about organization change!  Where our first part of the series focused on the importance of organization change, this installment will focus on best practices for implementing change in an organization.  So let’s jump in!

As we learned in last week’s blog, change in the business world is inevitable, and that change can come quickly and ruthlessly.  That’s why it’s critical for businesses to know when to implement change, and to be able to identify what types of changes are necessary to stay ahead of—or to stay in—the competition.

So you’ve determined your business will need to undergo a change in the near future.  What happens next?

• Plan, plan, plan.  You didn’t rush into your business model, or even your business goals for this year, so don’t rush into any key changes!  Figure out your strategy and map out your next moves, how you will make those moves, and how long it will take you.  Implementation may be a gradual process that unfolds in stages.  Again, don’t rush this step—this is your game plan for your organization’s future, not a quick fix.
• Sweat the small stuff.  If your organization needs more than a quick fix, it also needs more than a magical panacea that claims to work for any business.  Your strategy needs to be specifically tailored to your business and its unique goals.  With that in mind, decide on a short list of proposed changes, then collect data on the impact each change is expected to make, and what it will take (resources, cost, time) to implement each change.  From there, you can prioritize the changes that are absolutely necessary and determine the changes that might be nice to have down the line.
• Pick your team.  Now that you know what steps you’re going to take to determine and implement change, it’s time to choose the people to help you figure it all out.  Make sure all the key players are included at every step.  Don’t just consider the management staff that needs to be involved; think about all employees who might have valuable input at some or all stages of development.  Departments to remember: HR, Finance, Communications, Marketing…  You may even want to reach out for employee feedback through surveys or small research groups.
• Communicate.  You’ve chosen your team to spearhead organization change, but you might not want to rely on your team members to communicate (or not to communicate) these messages back to their employees.  When change is afoot in any business, employees tend to get nervous and feed the rumor mill, so it’s important to curb this with a steady stream of communication at every stage.   You may want to elect one member of your team to serve as the communications spokesperson in the company.  This person will keep employees abreast of progress, as appropriate, and will address/abate any rumors that may be circulating.  Maintaining open communication helps employees feel like part of the process, which helps them feel like valued members of the organization.

Organization change won’t happen overnight—nor should it!  Implementing change is a detailed process that involves many steps and many people.  Taking the time to properly identify and implement change can help set your business on the road to long-lasting success.

Stay tuned for next week’s exciting conclusion to our September series on organization change!  Now that you know why it’s important for an organization to change, and you’ve gotten some pointers on how to implement those changes, we’ll help you over your final hurdle on the way to a total transformation: employee resistance to change.