Moving Beyond Change Management to Adaptability and Flexibility
Karen Toole
Change Management is a frequent discussion topic especially during times of angst and turmoil. The current post September ’08 financial meltdown can be identified as such a period. The two to three years prior to the financial crisis, was a pre-cursor to the financial collapse. In the workplace there was a lot of energy in the air, a lot of activity, anxiety, financial expectations and unrealistic stretch goals. The workplace was a highly charged environment and you could feel the emotions and the pending breaking point all around you. The energy came from the people and from the organization that was attempting to keep up with the quickening pace of demands and expectations of the competition, the financial industry, the global market space and its 24/7 world.
As I look back, I can now see that prior to the financial crisis, there were signs in the workplace of the turmoil in the office environment that indicated a need for change. Employees were frustrated as organizations were becoming leaner and flatter—change initiatives were in abundance. Which translated into more work, less resources and more expectations. It was a time when expectations were falling short for organizations, employees were tired of working constantly wanting some life back, competition was fierce but the payoff ratio to innovation dwindled, and Wall Street asking for more. It was during the endless circle of reorganization and downsizing and starting the cycle all over again that I became curious. How can organizations react to the multiple external demands while minimizing the impact to the internal environment? I did not have the answer, but I knew the way we were approaching the unsettling changes could not be sustained much longer. It was this moment that was the catalyst causing me to leave my corporate career behind.
Roles and responsibilities are an important element for change management to be successful. Human resources overall plays an integral part in the change management process. In an article by SHRM called Change Management: The HR Strategic Imperative as a Business Partner (Survey, 2007) it highlights how the human resource respondents stated they spend their time during the change management process. Of those who responded to the 2007 Change Management Survey (Report, 2007) 73% stated that most of their activity is spent during the pre-implementation or Strategy Phase as the HR Change Champion. The Strategy Phase is the planning stage of the change initiative−the what, who, when, where will be impacted. The Change Champion role is defined as a supporting and planning role. During this phase, organizational design skills are important for human resources professionals. The next group of respondents, 22%, said they spend their time in the implementation or Launch Phase as a HR Designer and Facilitator with the remaining 5% of respondents spending time in the after change or Integration Phase as the HR Change Integrator. The Launch Phase is when the Change Strategy is implemented. The Change Designer/Facilitator roles during the launch phase entails communicating about the change initiative and its impact on the business, to help employees and managers understand their new roles during the time of change and provide resources such as training to support the initiative. Lastly, the Post-Change or Integration Phases are where the least amount of time is spent according to the survey respondents. The Integration Phase is the point where employees are performing their new roles, competencies are aligned with the new business strategy, employees understand the new strategy, as well as their investment in the new direction. The Change Demonstrator role is critical since a function, such as HR, can serve as a change role-model. For the human resources professional, organization development skills and capabilities are critical in an organization change learning model. One last phase not mentioned, but critical, in the learning model of change is the Absorption Phase. This is the phase when the organization learns whether or not the learning has taken place—collectively demonstrating the new skills and capabilities.
Given the importance of human resources in a change management initiative, how can it be effective when 73% of HR’s activities are spent before implementation happens? A large reason the change fails is that those most affected by the change are not prepared to cope with the change. If we stop thinking about the process as a stop and go linear model our behaviors would shift to where they are most needed. It is during the change initiative implementation phase that it is most critical that the new roles & responsibilities, strategy, re-hiring and re-alignment take place. This is the most vulnerable time during the process since employees in the absence of information or in an environment of uncertainty will revert back to their previous roles. If jobs are not aligned to the new business strategy, and there is little to no attunement to the needs and emotions to help coach employees through the process the change initiative will stumble and falter. This is why when I look at the respondent ratios from the survey (Report, 2007), and see that 73% prior to the launch of the change initiative, 22% during implementation and 5% during integration, I find that the ratios are fundamentally skewed in the wrong direction. The activities are not taking place where they can most positively impact the organization—during the Integration and Absorption Phases. In fact, I would argue that the integration phase is the most important game changer because that is the tipping point where either the new behaviors will take hold or not and the business will see a return-on-investment from the initiative. In other words the Integration Phase is the where the transformative process from the static change management paradigm to a sustainable concept of adaptability and flexibility takes place.
Given the importance of human resources in a change management initiative, how can it be effective when 73% of HR’s activities are spent before implementation happens when their ability to cope with change with those who will be most affected by the change is a large reason why the model fails. If we stop thinking about the process as a stop and go linear model our behaviors would shift to where they are most needed. It is during the change initiative is implemented when it is critical that the new roles & responsibilities, strategy, re-hiring and re-alignment should be taking place. This is the most vulnerable time during the process because employees in the absence of information or in an environment of uncertainty will revert back to their old roles. If jobs are not aligned to the new business strategy, and there is little to no attunement to the needs and emotions to help coach employees through the process the change initiative will stumble and falter. This is why when I look at the respondent ratios from the survey (Report, 2007), and see that 73% prior to the launch of the change initiative, 22% during implementation and 5% during integration, I find that the ratios are fundamentally skewed in the wrong direction. All the activities are not taking place where they can most positively impact the organization−during the Integration and Absorption Phases. In fact, I would argue that the integration phase is the most important game changer because that is the tipping point where either the new behaviors will take hold or not and the business will see a return-on-investment from the initiative. In other words the Integration Phase is the where the transformative process from static change management paradigm to a sustainable concept of adaptability and flexibility takes place.
As the Cycle of Adaptability and Flexibility process reflects, the roles and responsibilities of human resources and the business leader change focus as well. The business leader’s portfolio will expand to include new capabilities to utilize during the integration phase that formally were the purview of human resources such as how to conduct pulse surveys to check on the level of anxiety, adjustment and commitment of their employees, conducting skip level meetings to communicate with all levels of employees face-to-face first-hand to mitigate rumors and concerns, facilitate just-in-time coaching skills to enable empathy and performance adjustment at the time it occurs. Additionally, the ratio of HR utilization during the transformative process will change from 95% in the strategy/launch phases to 27% up to 73% from 5% in the integration and absorption phases. The increases in the ratios by 68%, in the integration and absorption phases are critical since this is where the learning of Organizational Learning Model framework is created.
Conclusion
In summary, if we begin to transition to the organizational learning model of adaptability and flexibility, we will be preparing organizations’ to become better adept at absorbing the impact of the internal and external environment. By doing so, it will become another competitive advantage in the toolbox for a global economy.
Karen Toole, Ed. D., founded WH Professional Services, LLC in 2008. She has been an HR professional for over 20 years in diverse industries such as academia, government, aerospace manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and retail. The firm’s areas of focus are organizational effectiveness including talent management, leadership assessment, coaching and development, competency assessment, modeling and deployment, HR development and team development and coaching. She can be reached at whservices@ptd.net, 908.995.0655 (o) or www.whprofessional.com.
i. SHRM Quarterly Essay (2007, December) Change Management: The HR Strategic Imperative as a Business Partner, from http://www.shrm.org/research/quarterly/2007/1207RQUART_essay.asp
ii. Strategy Phase is a pre-implementation stage during change management. It involves the planning of what, when, how the change will occur as well as who will be impacted. Organization Design skills are critical for an HR professional.
iii. Launch Phase is when the change strategy is implemented. During this phase communication is critical−you cannot over-communicate. Typically “dealing with Change” training will be rolled out to help employees manage their emotions of uncertainty during this period of the unknown.
iv. Integration Phase is post implementation and the tipping point as to whether the change initiative will be successful or not. This is the period when it is important to continue to communicate, stay close to employees and ensure that they understand the new environment through clear expectations, competencies and job summaries. Organization development skills are critical for an HR professional at this juncture.
v. Absorption Phase is when you know the change is successful or not. In this phase you want to see employees demonstrating the new competencies and capabilities—the outcome is a new culture. As an organization you begin to see the Return-on-Investment (ROI) on the change strategy.
vi. Senge, Peter; Kleiner, Art, Roberts, Charlotte, et al (1994) The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Doubleday
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