Change preparation

These days there is a lot of discussion on how the economy is impacted due to COVID which has made millions of people unemployed and shut down many organizations. The main reason sighted for this by the many experts is cash-crunch. Due to change in consumption patterns, the demand for products and services reduced which drove the organizations to either shut their operations completely or to revamp their operations to optimize existing resources.

While some organizations were shutting down or laying off employees, there were some who didn’t do either of it. So how did these organizations survive. What helped these organizations are some simple yet profound steps they decided to go for. The first thing they did was to get their employees into confidence and garner their support rather than take unilateral decisions. To take employees into confidence especially in times of crises requires good rapport with the employees. They need to feel the sense of belongingness to the organization and this doesn’t happen in a day or two but requires the organization to be built in a particular way.

One defining feature of these organizations is that they have a well-defined set of principles. These become their guiding light whenever there is any trouble. Sticking to these principles helped many organizations like ALC to not only survive the pandemic but also support their most vulnerable sections like weavers, staffs, etc. These principles are not just followed in terms of crises but even in the regular times. When these principles are followed at all times at all levels of the organization they become non-negotiables not just in text as believed by the founders but also for the employees. These principles become an important aspect for change management, which is an important aspect for any organization.

Change is inevitable for any organization, some are planned while many changes are unplanned. If these changes are managed well, it certainly helps the organization for best. Change management needs to be thought in terms of financials, in terms of human resource, stakeholders etc. While business forecasting its important to even think of how different aspects of the organization are going to be impacted due to it and how all those aspects can be aligned to get the best out of this change.

In this change management the most neglected aspect is human resources. Organizations fail to predict the impact on the employees with respect to the change. This impacts more if the employees have been with the organization for long and feel the change is being imposed on them which will hamper their productivity rather than help them and in turn the organization. Remember — “People don’t resist change, they resist being changed.” — Peter Senge