Is it human nature to resist change? We often deviate from change due to the fear of failure and the unknown, even if those changes are inevitable and ultimately lead us to success. On an organizational level, accepting change may come easier to some parties than others, but that initial hesitation can transform into acceptance with the right time and energy.
Great changes are coming–but how do you know where your stakeholders’ heads are at? The first step to an effective Organizational Change Management (OCM) plan is to perform a readiness assessment. Determine if your company is ready to embrace the change by first understanding the significance of this essential change management assessment.
Understanding Readiness Assessments
Before initiating any sort of major changes, an Organizational Change Management (OCM) plan should be implemented. The first step is conducting readiness assessments to determine if the company is ready to make a change. These short surveys collect data from every level of your organization that will be impacted by the change, providing an accurate representation of how your organization will react to project or change implementation. Organizational readiness assessments document the level of preparedness while simultaneously providing a roadmap of recommendations upon which to build your plan for your change.
Documenting the Level of Preparedness
In a series of multiple-choice questions, employee interviews, or focus groups, readiness assessments collect data focused on your staff’s perceptions of the change. This includes how they perceive their readiness for change, how ready they perceive the organization for change, and how they’ll be personally impacted. Organizational change implementation success is heavily dependent on the people of your organization. If they aren’t ready for change, project execution won’t likely thrive.
On an organizational level, readiness assessments measure capacity for change, determine leadership support, and perform a cost analysis to compare projected future benefits against the cost of the project or change, goals and objectives of the change, and employee readiness for change. A small but mighty first step, readiness assessments allow the project and change management teams to anticipate potential obstacles in planning, implementing, and sustaining change.
Timeline
While the actual OCM plan itself is an ongoing process, readiness assessments should be completed within a minimal time frame. The time spent collecting data will vary depending on the size of your organization and the complexity of the change. However, once the readiness assessments are performed, the organization has the necessary information to determine if it should proceed with the change. If that answer is yes, our consultants can assist you as you move forward with the next steps of the OCM plan.
Assess the Organization’s Readiness for Change
The data from the assessment will be integrated into the OCM plan to assess how the organization should move forward. The team will gather information from stakeholders of all levels of the enterprise which includes sponsors, leadership, middle managers, and employees. Areas of measurement need to be determined to assess the future success of the project and document metrics. Then, a communication strategy is put in place to determine what is communicated and to whom. This ensures consistent messaging and employee involvement and allows for input from all stakeholders.
Sessions with each affected area of the organization are held to address issues and concerns. Readiness assessment and documentation from current processes are analyzed and incorporated into the OCM plan. Once staff accept this change, it can be effectively implemented in your organization.
Enlist the Help of Scope and Change Management Professionals
Working with external Strategic Consultants that offer Scope and Change Management ensures a comprehensive and organized process. Outsourcing professionals to conduct readiness assessments allows the responses to be unbiased and candid, allowing us to implement effective next steps. netlogx’ Consultants not only understand how to conduct readiness assessments efficiently but are there to support your organizational changes throughout the entire process to ensure successful implementation and the best results.
Navigate Your Next Change with netlogx
Changes are inevitable, but they don’t just happen overnight. Successful change is a process, and to get a return on investment, organizational changes should occur, causing minimal downtime with stakeholder buy-in. netlogx is here to help you navigate changes. With hands-on support and resources throughout the entirety of your Organizational Change Management plan, netlogx works to ensure the successful completion and implementation of your projects and changes. Reach out to us today to schedule a consultation.
