Change, even for the better, can be a daunting experience. However, change is almost inevitable, and organisations have two choices: either run away and hide, or embrace it and be as “change-ready” as they possibly can.
Claire Simon, a Work Dynamics consulting psychologist, believes that change management should be a universal and ever-present concept in management.
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“In a dynamic work environment, organisations most likely to be successful in making change work to their advantage are the ones that no longer view it as a discrete event to be managed, but rather as a continual opportunity to evolve the business.”
Change-readiness can be described as the extent to which an organisation and its employees are inclined to support, disregard or resist change, and enable one to measure whether future change initiatives are likely to be well received and viable.
“Readiness is a subjective term, which makes it complicated as to whose viewpoint fairly qualifies a company’s change-readiness. That is where consulting psychologists can play a pivotal role in the success and sustainability of change in an organisation,” says Simon.
A tailor-made change-readiness survey can easily be set up to assess change in different organisational contexts. It sketches the overall picture of readiness in relation to the following fundamental elements:
* The organisation’s readiness for change.
* The employees’ readiness for change.
* Insight into individual perceptions and readiness for change.
* Any change-restraining or change-facilitating factors in the work environment.
In this way, change-readiness critically assesses the organisation’s tenacity, suitability, capacity and motivation to successfully deliver the foreseen benefits of the intended change. At the same time, it introduces the required action and confidence to bring about a state of readiness.
This further addresses some of the most challenging aspects relative to change, such as human emotions and uncertainty, commitment to change, organisational culture and change leadership. All of these are paramount to the achievement of the change objectives.
“Change is inevitable, and plays a driving role in the progress and success of modern organisations. It makes good sense to take the leap, stop running and make embracing change a habit and natural part of business,” says Simon.
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