6th March 2019 | Change

Preparing for Change

Make sure the reasons for change are in line with your overall business objectives.

• Any support for the change will be minimal if people do not understand its purpose.  For example, some Total Quality Management initiatives might appear to employees to be pure bureaucracy.
• Check that the planned change is SMART - specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-limited.  Keep it simple.

Obtain reliable performance measures in the area undergoing change.

• For example, sound data on sales or customer satisfaction will give you a clear picture of how much change is needed.
• Baseline figures will let you measure the effect of any change you then make.

​Think through all the implications.  The end objective can seem so desirable that important details are overlooked.  Change usually involves extra work, resources and extra expense.

• Is your cashflow strong enough, or will you need to borrow?
• Will the management structure need to be adjusted to suit?  New initiatives may need new teams to manage them.
• Will existing skill levels be adequate?  You may need to recruit new employees or arrange training for existing staff.  For example, if you are setting up a website for the first time.​

Make sure that other systems and policies are compatible with planned change.

• For example, if the new top priority is raising quality, an existing incentive scheme which rewards any cost cutting may be incompatible with it.

Change usually involves going into unknown territory, but others will have been there first.  Take advice.

• Talk to business colleagues and associates.

Learn from the experience of anyone who has made similar changes.

• Many management consultants specialise in particular types of change, such as company mergers or downsizing.  Some consultants are experienced in change generally and can provide a key additional management resource or service tailored to your needs.

If a change is risky, test it before full-scale implementation.

• For example, try a small batch of a new product with a few customers, or trial new software or apps among a few employees.
• Evaluate the results and make any adjustments needed.  Remember to ask for feedback.
  

Set up a timetable for change, to focus people's minds.

• Phasing in change is preferable and allows any problems to be addressed early on.

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Author

Jane Galbraith is a Non Executive Director, Board & Committee Member and a Business Mentor with Scottish Chambers of Commerce.  She writes, speaks and consults companies & start-ups about developing staff and growth in business.