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BUSINESS AND TRAINING
Change management
So often, new projects and great initiatives fail to succeed
or get any traction at the stage of implementation. This,
despite our best efforts, capital investment, expertise, and
the many working hours thrown towards the project.
By Johan van Wyk, managing director of On Tap
“People don’t
understand
the reasons
for change; it
makes them very
uncomfortable as
they don’t know
how to change.”
This happens more than we wish to acknowledge,
and very seldom do we pause and ask ourselves the
question, “But why did this great initiative fail”? Well
the answer is quite simple: we failed at managing
the change process associated with the new!
It is often taken for granted that our stakeholders and
employees understand the reasons for change, that
they are comfortable with change, have the necessary
competence to implement change, or that they will
embrace change if forced on them.
In fact, the opposite is true: people don’t understand the
reasons for change; it makes them very uncomfortable
as they don’t know how to change, and often they don’t
have the necessary skill set to change. So what do they
do? They stick with the old.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (535 BC – 475 BC) was a Greek
philosopher, known for his doctrine of change being central
to the universe. He said that “the only thing constant in life,
is change!” So, that means change is inevitable and the
sooner you embrace this concept and manage the process
of change in your business, the sooner you will get better
results out of new initiatives and projects.
May 2019 Volume 25 I Number 3
SOME OF THE KEY ASPECTS OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT
1. Why is change important in your business?
For you to avoid stagnation and slowly become
insignificant in your industry, change is important. It
is key to your success that from time to time or as
markets dictate, you make the necessary changes
to your internal processes, operating standards,
equipment, systems, and so on. This ensures that your
business, staff, and you stay in the mainstream and
that you are geared to deliver on the ever-changing
customer profile and demand.
2. Why is it important to manage change?
Change management is a process that helps ease
any organisational transitions. More specifically, it
aids on the people side of change. In essence, it
helps employees to understand, commit to, accept,
and embrace changes in their current business
environment. A part of change management is also
managing transition, and though related, change
and transition are not the same thing. Failing to
acknowledge, understand, and manage the change
process will in most cases always result in project
failure, which often comes with a hefty price tag!
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