Sunday, January 31, 2010

Successfully Implementing Change - IMS

Change is a fundamental component of improving business processes and ensuring this is performed correctly is critical to having the best outcome of an IMS implementation.
Implementing a new system requires people within you business to do something they have not done before and they are a critical resource, supporter, barrier and risk to the change processes. Change can generate a range of strong emotions, people can experience fear, frustration, anger, despair, acceptance, enthusiasm and elation. Which emotion encountered will depend on whether your people make change willingly or unwillingly, the level of consultation that occurred and the support provided by leadership? Understanding these emotions will assist managers in implementing the change process in a manner that they can anticipate, acknowledge and respond to concerns.
Implementing change depends on the actions of your staff and ultimately it will come down to winning their hearts and minds. They will not respond well to being told to change without having some input. To be successful, an effective communication strategy must be implemented and all stakeholders must have the opportunity to express their views and attitudes’, improving your business is about changing mindsets. It is about having the willingness of your staff to try something different and understanding the possibilities of thinking differently and the benefits to all involved of making practical improvements.
Tips for Change Process
1. Discuss with your employees your intentions and have a communications strategy.
2. Ensure they understand why change is necessary with a clear reason and the benefits to them.
3. Involve employees in the planning process, ensure they have input.
4. Be consistent about sharing information through weekly meetings
5. Listen and act on questions, feedback and concerns, IMS will work with you on this.
6. Acknowledge ideas, achievements and success
7. Have a shared vision about what the change will achieve.
8. Consider barriers individuals may have, Sight etc. and work with them to overcome them.
9. Remember resistance is a natural reaction to change introduced by someone else, giving them the chance to express ideas will improve their willingness to accept change.
10. Identify change champions , the innovators who are prepared to have a go, pilot the system with them and work with them closely, they will then help with those less likely to adopt change.
11. Be aware that people will uptake the system within different time frames; ensure the weekly follow ups continue until you are confident the uptake is complete. Provide a point of contact for your employees so they can discuss any problems they may be having.
12. Provide feedback to your staff, informing them of progress and the improvements that have been achieved.

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