A structured approach to navigating workplace change
We live in a fast-paced world, one with constant change. There is always new technology, new software, new markets, new processes, and new ways of thinking to consider or adopt. Which means there is always change in the workplace.
Managing change within an organization—whether it’s a new HR policy, a different project management software, or even a corporate-wide paradigm shift—can often be tricky. Without structure and constant communication, your change management can easily stall or fail.
This is why we like to use a six-step process anytime we need to deliver new change management. These stages give you a clear, systematic approach to scalable, effective change.
Step 1. Identify the change, message, process, or product that needs to be implemented in your organization. You need to clearly understand what the change is and why it needs to happen in order to build a foundation. Whenever the opportunity arises, gather data to analyze what, how, and when is best to introduce something new into the organization.
Many companies are experimenting with a shift to hybrid work environments. It has been a challenge to adopt successfully because of opposing opinions, but using this six-step innovation process offers structure to address those differing opinions and a guide to successfully navigate the change. During Step 1 first ask, “Why is hybrid work important and necessary to the organization?” Gather examples with potential positive and negative consequences—why it would or wouldn’t work, who it would work best for, who it wouldn’t work for, and what kind of systems, tools, and resources you would need—and begin building your foundation.
Step 2. Define the most effective way to introduce the change. This includes creating a specific target sample group, timelines, and methods of measuring the effectiveness of the change. These measurements should be made clear to everyone within the organization so that they know the energy and effort invested, whether the change is worth those resources, and if the change is working or not.
Using these pillars of success, you can define what a successful hybrid work environment looks like for your organization. Identify any negative consequences or risks to look out for. Then, chose a sample team and define timelines and methods of measurement to create a clear roadmap for everyone.
Step 3. Implement the proposed change within your target sample group. During this experiment, keep an iterative mindset and be sure to allow enough time to measure, analyze, and improve on your change. Your goal here is to collect specific data from those in the sample group as well as those who work with the group. Look at factors like engagement, effectiveness, responses from the team and manager, impact on customers, and impact on revenue. You want a holistic view, measuring and collecting feedback from the team every week during your testing timeline.
Test hybrid work with your chosen team and gather the data to answer the questions from Step 1 and 2. Does the sample group embody your idea of a successful hybrid workplace? Were there any needed resources or processes you didn’t define in Step 2? You’ll want to be sure to communicate your findings and note any potential benefits or pitfalls before you move on to Step 4.
Step 4. Verify the results from your sample group. Analyze the data from Step 3. Look at both qualitative and quantitative data and keep an eye out for unintended consequences that may have been missed in Step 2. In this step, you’ll want to address the question, “Did we get the outcomes we expected with the target group?” If not, you may need to consider a redesign or modification of the change you’re hoping to implement—or determine if the change is even worth implementing within the organization at scale.
In this stage, you’ll be able to analyze all of the data and feedback from your test group and those that worked with them to see if you met the expected outcomes or not. Perhaps a hybrid work environment did not work for this team—and, if that’s the case, you’ll have to redesign your change and return to Step 2 or abandon the change altogether if the risk is too high. Whether you’re successful and move to Step 5, decide to redesign, or think it best to end the change at this stage, you’ll come out with a list of learned lessons that can be shared across the organization.
Step 5. Plan how to deploy the change to the rest of the organization. This step, especially, is all about communication. You’ll need to take a very structured approach in communicating what the change is, who is going to be affected and how, when the change is going to take place, what everyone’s roll will be, and what is expected both behaviorally and mechanically to adopt the change. Communicate this again and again and create operations templates for each team. You can (and should) also share the information from your target sample group, incorporating their responses and voice as a way of endearment to the rest of the organization.
Now it is time for developing your internal PR. Without strong, clear communication, change management can falter in this step. Take time and care to explain why a hybrid work environment is important and necessary for the organization and the results from your target sample group. You want to create awareness and give your people time to internalize the upcoming change before it even begins. With constant communication and preparation, your people will then be both ready to adopt and contribute to a successful change.
Step 6. Scale the change. Once you have prepared the organization, you are now ready to ask for engagement. Do it and do it quickly. Schedule kick-off meetings, choose strong champions of the change across teams, and host corporate-wide events to provide measurements, updates, and feedback about what is and isn’t working. Offer the truth in these events, and how to improve the change adoption. Continue measuring everything so that you can analyze cost benefits and how the organization is better because of the change. Publish these results internally and, depending on the type of change, externally as a way of empowering your teams and promoting your brand. Lastly, ensure you have a clear end date for your change. Scaling is all about knowing when you have reached critical mass so when you do, announce and celebrate the end of this change.
Whether it’s hybrid work or some other change, these six steps offer structure for better change management to keep up with today’s fast-paced world.
