Change becoming a continuous process
The end goal of change is to ensure organisational success. With technologies, processes, compliance, rules, and regulations always changing, organisations need to be actively searching for the next, most effective change management approach for the greatest possible success.
Organisations should be looking to rid themselves of outdated processes and approaches to change management by opting for new ways to stay competitive in their respective industries.
According to Stewart McGrenary, Director at Freedom Mobiles, organisations should be continuously looking for gaps in their existing business processes and trying to improve them.
This trend of continuous improvement will pick up as small changes to have the potential to improve the bottom line of the organisation and provide desired results.
Working in the ever-changing environment, managers quite often find that change has been mismanaged, simply because many organisations forget that any improvement made to a process immediately triggers a change process.
What is the relationship between change management and continuous improvement/change?
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better” – Maya Angelou.
This statement by Maya Angelou highlights the function of change management for us. To really establish positive transformation, organisations need to first embrace the change as well they can and learn from it. It is important to embrace perceptual growth and development, continuous learning, and constant improvement.
But consistent improvement is an ongoing, long-term approach. Thus it is important for change management to be vigilant and observe the outcomes and variables that are presented through the process. As change management observes and learns from change initiatives, it can plan more effectively and have control over its results.
The real success of improvement initiatives is achieved when continuous improvement becomes business as usual. It comes down to change management to promote a continuous improvement culture to help employees be more accepting of change. As this ongoing and constantly evolving process carries on, it is important to keep re-visiting the changes you have made to see if they can be improved further or if there are any factors that might have an impact on the changes you have made in the long-term. This is an important part of the change management function.
The successful management of change is more than just knowing what tools and techniques to use. A part of change management is to observe the improvements and the new systems. Continuously learning from it and then improving it even more. It is important to communicate and share the intent of the change and transformation to the employees to reinforce a culture of positive advancement.
“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection” Mark Twain.
Contact us on info@harmonisingchange.co.za for more information on how we work with teams to build successful change management strategies.
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