Involvement Of Staff In The Change Process example essay topic

Abstract The process of change is becoming an ever-increasing reality within organisations throughout the world. 'Today there is more change to contend with than ever before. The volume, momentum and complexity of change is accelerating at an ever increasing rate. (Conner. 2002 p 38). Transformation outsourcing involves a form of change on a immense scale throughout an entire organization replacing old systems with almost entirely new systems.

This kind of change brings potentially great benefits to all organizations involved but it also carries great risks. The first section of this report endeavours to identify the risks associated with such a large scale change in general terms, but also with respect to the specifics considered in the title of this report. The second section concerns itself with the means of mitigating those risks and making preparations to help avoid them. It also considers both the general aspects of change and those specific to the title of this report. Finally the conclusion consists of a concise summary of the main points identified throughout the report. Contents 1.

Introduction 2. Identification of risks 2.1 General risks associated with change 2.2 Risks specific to this project 3. Preparation and mitigation of those risks 3.1 Managing risks common to the change process 3.2 Mitigation and preparation for specific risks associated with this project 4. Conclusion 5. Bibliography 1. Introduction Appreciating the scale of change implemented in transformation outsourcing goes some way to understanding the risks and payback involved with such a change.

There are many risks which can be considered common to the change process in any organisation routing from the resistance to the change progression itself. But there are also risks which need to be considered which are specific to the circumstances of the case concerning this report. 2. Identification of risks 2.1 General risks associated with change The general risks involved which are connected with change are essentially the same for all organisations.

Change is seldom easily accepted because people like to know their future is going to be just as they expect it to be. If change occurs which they have not anticipated in their future, then clearly it disrupts this image of what they expect to have in their future state. The main stem of all risks associated with change originate from the individuals natural resistance to change, and the so often produced side effect of discontent and anxiety associated with that change. Such feelings can either be festered or dispersed or at least reduced depending on the action taken by the senior members of staff as well as the individual. However this section will focus purely on the risks and comment on the potential mitigation of these risks will be covered in following sections.

Discontent and anxiety can, if not dealt with quickly it can spread rapidly across a team of workers and all those concerned with the associated change. Danger signals to this discontent and lack of enthusiasm can include missing meetings about the change, making little effort to learn about the new systems involved, not releasing staff for training and a number of other subtle and some less subtle signs which need to be detected by whom ever is most senior and dealt with appropriately as quickly as possible (Boddy and Buchanen 1992, p 124). The potential spread of discontent can make an initially small problem very quickly into a much larger one especially if members of management or more senior figures in the organisations hierarchy share the discontent. The direct risks carried by allowing such discontent to exist and persist include the reduced efficiency of employees work performance, something which is of particular importance during periods of change where the process of change itself requires a huge amount of effort to succeed on any large scale, and requires both commitment and hard work, which may not be so readily available if the workforce is discontent and unwilling to accept the change.

It is often necessary to obtain advice or information from an individual who has expertise or unique knowledge of a system or part of the business who may then be called upon to gain useful input to ideas and new processes. If this individual is discontent and has not accepted the change process itself he may be reluctant to offer any useful advice and may even reject new ideas put forward and potential solutions unreasonably. Lack of enthusiasm caused by discontent and in more extreme cases lack of cooperation can also be a big risk to the change process making it more difficult and lengthy increasing its chance of failure dramatically (web Delay section). Potentially one of the most serious effects of discontent among the workforce in severe cases is the risk of staff leaving.

This risk is of much greater probability when the scale of change is large, and in the case of transformation outsourcing the scale of change doesn't get much larger, making it a very real risk to the success of the change. Such big changes also involve much greater resistance and therefore much greater challenges in achieving their acceptance. They also mean much greater pressures and stresses applied to the workforce that has to bear the changes. It is understood therefore that this is potentially not such a low probability risk with respect to transformation outsourcing projects and it is critical that this risk is mitigated where and if at all possible. If the risk is not moderated then one member of staff leaving increases the likelihood of another member of staff leaving not only because it appears more exposed as an option, but also because of the increase of pressure and stress increases on the remaining members of the team who then have to take on the extra responsibility until that member of staff is replaced who then also has to be trained. Therefore as already mentioned this risk should be avoided where possible using whatever means are available.

The security of information is another primary risk and can be linked to staff leaving through means of malice or movement to another competitor organisation. Other information risks include internal leaks of information to members of staff if for example a member of management in a position to view or obtain certain information was against change and anonymously made a document viewable to members of staff not authorised to see it. Such a document may for example be a proposal to lay off a number of members of staff as part of a change process or information about a change taking place which might adversely effect other members of staff in some way. Obviously this will promote a feeling of distrust and resent as well as resistance to any change that might have been proposed well in advance. It therefore makes this kind of information leakage very important to prevent. 2.2 Risks specific to this project The circumstances of the scenario described in the title provide some slightly more specific risks which could also be inferred.

A number of risks come with replacing 50% of the major systems in use within the first 2 years of the contract. Such a timetable and such major changes will require a great deal of training in order that the new systems can be used properly and by a large enough number of staff for the system as a whole to function. The first risk lies with the fact that some staff must be sent on training courses to use the new systems which not only applies pressure to the remaining staff but also leaves the remaining staff feeling left out and upset that they were not sent on courses. The second risk lies in the fact that the untrained members of staff may incur a feeling of inferiority to the staff that have been trained which whilst training and combined with some of the more general risks mentioned earlier such as discontent, may result in the process of training taking far longer than had originally been planned. If too few staff are able to operate the new system then its efficiency will be greatly reduced and pressure will be much greater on those that are operating it. This could potentially cost a great deal of money in reduced productivity in the areas where the new system is involved.

Another general risk mentioned in the previous section was staff resignations. This risk could be amplified if for the reason mentioned earlier, those staff that are not being trained or they may not be included in the training at any stage would in most cases feel neglect, resent and potentially even fear for their own job safety. Without reassurance they may see themselves as obsolete and prepare to leave because of this. 3. Preparation and mitigation of those risks 3.1 Managing risks common to the change process Fundamental to the idea of reducing resistance to change is effective communication.

The use of communication in the process of a successful change cannot be under rated. It provides the means to alleviate anxiety, reduce feelings of job insecurity, and encourage enthusiasm. Explanation and description are two effective tools used in communication providing a picture of how change will occur, what will occur, when it will occur and where it will occur. Communicating in this manner helps clarify and produce an image in the minds of those preparing for change thereby allowing it to become a part of their expected future. This goes some way to dispelling the discontent attributed to the uncertainty of ones future mentioned in earlier sections. Communication is however only part of the means available to being closer the reality of change.

Involvement and active participation in the change process also help to affirm the future image in the minds of those involved. "If you tell me, I will forget. If you show me I will remember. If you involve me I will understand" (Verstegen). One such means of involvement are Focus groups (Kruger 1994), which provide an excellent way of achieving initial involvement of a large number of stakeholders (Boddy and Buchanen 1992).

Network meetings are another excellent way of increasing the involvement of staff in the change process. They entail meetings with other agencies who have already undergone a successful change process and allow discussion of how they managed effectively through it. This idea could be extended and adopted in both a formal manner through discussion topics and training, but also in an informal manner where workers from different agencies could talk in a more comfortable way about their personal experiences, and the benefits they obtained through the change. This would provide employees now undertaking the change process with a sense of reassurance. This could be followed up by site visits where the change process has already successfully occurred, 'to see it is to believe it' (Verstegen). Another important medium for involvement is the newsletter and memo.

Although it is critical to keep these concise and of interest to avoid risk of merely being thrown away they do provide considerable use in being able to communicate the progress and successes of other parts of the organisation as well as the readers own team or group. This serves to increase the moral and hold enthusiasm for the change process underway. A further aspect of managing change is the management of concerns, problems, and fears of the workforce directly through actually identifying them first hand. In order to diffuse or resolve such concerns and fears one must first be aware they exist involving the use of 'critical communication skills' (Egan 1994 p 140). The ability to listen and respond empathetically are of principal importance to gauging concerns raised amongst members of staff.

In behaving in such a manner it also increases the rapport between those concerned and thereby in a most direct way increases trust and reassurance in a most direct approach Finally something I believe to be of immense significance to the ability to successfully introduce change is the importance of incentives. Incentives are an extremely useful way to maintain the productivity of the workforce, or team during times of change because they are something certain and attainable even whilst the rest of the work environment may be changing. Once an objective has been achieved the reward reinforces the motivation of the individual and provides a sense of achievement, 'the best way of creating incompetence in the workplace is to make sure there are no incentives for business-enhancing behaviour. ' (Gilbert 1978). 3.2 Mitigation and preparation for the specific risks associated with this project The risks associated with training of staff can be almost entirely avoided with appropriate planning and contingency.

Provided there are staff available to cover those who are currently attending training courses (which may be provided by an agency if there are no staff available from other parts of the organisation) the extra workload and pressure on the remaining staff may be minimal. The second associated risk (staff concern about not being trained) can be avoided by simply posting a timetable for the training of the remaining members of staff, and giving them information in advance on the type of training they will be undertaking, and maybe even providing some preparation work they need to do before they go on the course or are trained by another member of staff. The situation of potential staff resignations can be dealt with in a great number of ways but if the risk is deemed to be very high then some contingency rather than or as well as preventative measures must be applied. Similar to above, agency staff could be used temporarily with experience and skills in the areas required to fill the gaps and take up some of the work load left by the members which resigned. Another alternative and potentially a far better idea might be to bring in members of staff from other parts of the organisation in advance of the change process and provide them with training. This must be managed carefully to avoid other members of the team relaxing their workload due to the additional help available prior to the change process, however when the change process actually begins it should go far to making the process easier and more manageable and therefore reducing greatly the stress and pressure applied to the staff concerned with the change.

4. Conclusion In conclusion then great importance lies in the clarification of the future which the change hopes to achieve. In doing so the people who have to undergo the change process suffer less anxiety and discontent through uncertainty of their future, and if managed effectively can help build enthusiasm and resilience. Achieving such clarification through means of communication and involvement allows those involved to realise the potential of the change process and the highlights of its benefits. Realisation of such benefits is also of fundamental importance, by providing incentives and rewards when change has successfully been achieved the individual can feel satisfaction and greater confidence in their ability to handle future changes.

These principles are indisputably essential when dealing with the degree of change involved in transformation outsourcing where the risks are magnified by the scale of change as well as the rewards. 5.

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