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HR and Change

HR and Change Management

HR and Change Management

Nearly 20% of projects to make change happen fail outright. Less than 2/3 of these projects deliver their intended benefits! The business costs of this can be vast

HR and Change Management

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Nearly 20% of projects to make change happen fail outright.  Less than 2/3 of these projects deliver their intended benefits!  The business costs of this can be vast

So, what is driving these rates of failure? Here are some common misconceptions:

Fallacy 1:  “We will have a workshop, do some Team Building or have a Social Event.  They are great ways to Change Culture “

Sending employees to a workshop or to attend a team-building or social event will not change your culture.  Culture is part of organisational DNA.  It is not superficial.  A couple of workshops will never create any kind of lasting, strategic change.

Fallacy 2:  We’ll leave it to HR.  They can change an Organisation’s Culture”

HR is one part of any firm.  Alone, they cannot hope to engineer culture change.   Change cannot be imposed on an organisation.  It has to be created by the senior team and a cross section of the workforce and then supported, by everyone.

Fallacy 3:  It’s better just to get on with it

People want to do a good job.  They are often keen to get into action and try to make things happen. Often detailed preparation and planning is overlooked.   There has to be a clear purpose, game plan, desired outcome and engagement strategy agreed from the outset.

The impact of rushing into things can be the opposite of what was intended – an increasingly change resistant culture.

Without a clear purpose: people will ask – why are we doing this?  They will work towards their individual interpretation of the desired outcome which may, in fact, conflict with what was intended.

Fallacy 4:  People are born managers or team leaders

If someone is technically good at their job, it does not mean that they will make a good manager.   Leaders need to ask themselves, do their managers have the support they need?  Do they have good people skills? 

Fallacy 5:  More is best

There will never be a shortage of projects.  Companies are good at starting new initiatives, but poor at stopping them.  Leaders need to invest in the active management of their people.  Every business activity MUST be aligned with business strategy and desired culture.

So there we have it.  A few thoughts to consider before you take an easy option the next time one of your executives say something along the lines of “we need to change the culture”   Remember there is no magic wand, no shortcut to improving your success rates.  By investing up front, AND DETERMINING THE organisational culture you require to underpin your desired strategy, you can create real foundations for success.

This article is correct at August 2020

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