ADAPTING TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT
A rapid development of new business technologies and breakthrough innovations have become the new normal for organizations in the 21st century. Businesses are now more frequently encountering shifts in the global economy, changes to customer populations and fierce competition from an increasingly crowded marketplace and, when change is encountered, organizations and their employees are impacted in positive and negative ways.
To remain viable, organizations must be agile—prepared to act and change quickly as the need arises.
To deal with this rapid pace of change and innovation, it is critical for organizations and HR leadership to manage change in a way that amplifies positive outcomes and innovation.
HR can play a dual role in change management by initiating and leading the change and by serving as a facilitator for changes that other leaders and departments initiated.
The HR department usually performs a variety of functions associated with the communication, implementation, and tracking of major changes. Most commonly, HR professionals assist employees by serving as a point of contact for questions and concerns and by explaining any impact on staffing. In addition, HR often coordinates meetings and communications about the change and related initiatives. Other common HR roles and responsibilities include:
* Providing initial employee communications about changes.
* Developing training programs.
* Preparing informational documents.
* Assessing readiness for the change.
* Analyzing potential impact.
HR can also play a strategic role in change management by calculating the post-implementation return on investment by identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) to be measured and by tracking and communicating these results.
By championing change, HR can help the organization increase buy-in, comfort and support for change across departments, thereby increasing the success of change initiatives
“ There’s nothing wrong with change, if it’s in the right direction .”― Winston Churchill