One of the biggest challenges for any organisation is to implement change. It is also one of the most contentious areas of company management: poorly explained or poorly implemented changes lead to a resentful and demotivated workforce that feels its needs have not been properly addressed and are being subsumed to the demands of the company.
On the other side of the coin, managers often complain that employees are too set in their ways and resistant to learning new ways of working. This has become a particularly urgent issue during the global pandemic, where change to working practices has, of necessity, been implemented far more quickly than it might otherwise have been. Because of this, change management consulting firms are expanding and multiplying, and change management consulting rates have rocketed: top change management consulting firms can charge £1000 and upwards per day for the services of a single consultant.
Many companies may believe that it simply is not worth consulting change management experts; after all, the company knows its employees and knows what it wants to change, why bring in expensive consultants? However, research in the US has shown that between 50% and 75% of internal change initiatives either partially or totally fail in their aims. As in many other areas of business, employers and/or employees are often too close to a subject (“can’t see the wood for the trees”) and operatives working for change management consulting services can often pinpoint the most effective and painless way of introducing change.
The best organisational change management consulting firms will be aware that all modern change management has to consider and integrate with an organisation’s digital transformation. The pandemic-induced explosion in home working and remote collaboration makes this all the more important, and there are numerous aspects of changes to be considered from a digital perspective: if new practices are introduced, will they be secure? Is the domestic infrastructure of employees sufficient to support new practices, e.g., adequate broadband? Do employees have sufficient training in the new collaborative tools that will be introduced to implement change? As above, if these questions are not considered the end result is often a disgruntled workforce that feels undervalued and dictated to.
However, despite the challenges that change management presents, no organisation can afford not to consider it. Working practices are changing at an unprecedented rate, driven by a combination of exponentially increasing availability of novel technologies and the pandemic-induced demands for new modes of working. Any organisation that wishes to introduce future proofing would be wise to consider calling in one of the many available change management consulting companies to ensure that all required change is implemented as smoothly and sustainably as possible.
Contact us today to learn more about about change management consultancy services.
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