Managing Change
March 2006
When a company needs to implement changes and the
resultant new policies, how does it ensure everyone understands the new requirements,
garner support and commitment and successfully manage the process?
Changes in processes and procedures require clear,
comprehensive policies and procedure documents to ensure all employees understand and
comply with them. Whether you are upgrading existing policies or creating new ones, here
is a step-by-step process that can help you introduce new policies and procedures and
ensure compliance.
Prepare
As the owner/manager, you will likely
oversee the entire process, from creating the required policies, communicating with staff,
to ensuring compliance. It is important that you or the employee designated to lead the
process be enthusiastic about the change being made and the benefits to be gained. If you
do not care about or support the change, why should anybody else?
Involve Staff
Change is difficult in any organization. A
critical success factor is how well you communicate the objectives and how much you
involve your employees in developing the solution. To do this well, you must first
document your objectives, the alternative courses of action considered and the process
followed in making the decision.
Next, you must share this information with your
employees and ask for their input, so you can respond and possibly make changes to the
plan. Consider having a staff meeting to encourage them to ask questions and discuss their
concerns. This will help avoid back office discussions where employees complain about what
is happening, without having an informed person there to answer or respond to the points
raised. Keep in mind that back office talk drains momentum and will undermine the success
of any project.
For example, if your company is implementing a
technology-use policy:
• Discuss
the reasons for the change, such as the need to address security threats and
vulnerabilities inherent in the use of certain technologies.
• Detail
the concerns such as regulatory compliance, network congestion or demand on bandwidth
resources.
• Explain
the benefits such as protecting the company's information systems or reducing the threat
of viruses.
• If
the changes will have an impact on workflow processes, explain the impact on people's jobs
and the training support that will be provided.
• Explain
any other changes that may be required upon implementation.
• Ask
employees to provide their input and suggestions.
The more your employees understand why the
changes are needed and the impact, the more they will be willing to accept and support
these changes.
Develop
The third step is to take the input and
draft the new policy and procedures. A number of questions should be asked and then
documented as part of the background to the actual policy, including:
• How
will the new policy and procedures affect operations overall?
• Will
they have an impact on anyone's job description or employment contract? If so, what steps
need to be taken?
• How
will the company monitor and enforce the new policy effectively? Outline the process that
will be followed for noncompliance.
• How
long should the policy be in place before it is reviewed again and possibly updated?
Keep in mind that when employees are
involved in preparing or at least reviewing the proposed wording or intent of a new
policy, they are more likely to take some ownership. They may also be able to identify
missing or unworkable elements.
Document
Once all these factors are considered,
finalize the policy. Documentation of the policy is fundamental for a successful
implementation. Guidelines for a good policy include:
• Keep
it simple and clear.
• Write
in clear, concise and easy-to-understand language.
• Address
staff's needs and concerns.
• Keep
it consistent with other company policies.
Communicate
The company should use one or more ways to
ensure all employees know about the new policies. To ensure it is available and easily
accessible to everyone:
• Display
copies in key locations within the office.
• Post
it on the company's Intranet.
• Insert
it into the company's policy manual.
• Include
it in the manual for new employees.
• Send
an e-mail to staff.
• Roll
it out at a staff meeting.
.Monitor Compliance
The company must be willing to monitor
compliance and enforce it at all levels. If employees realize that another person is not
adhering to the policy and there are no consequences, they will feel the policy cannot be
important so they will also not comply. For this reason, it is important to take prompt
action to deal with complaints or breaches.
Schedule a Review
The most neglected part of implementing a
new policy is ensuring it remains current. When a company creates a new policy, it should
also create a review schedule indicating the review date, the person responsible for the
review and how changes will be approved and communicated.
Acknowledge
The
last step in the successful implementation of new policies is to acknowledge when
objectives are reached and celebrate the achievement. For example, invite everyone to
lunch to show the company's appreciation for a job well done. Employees will remember the
rewards and recognition and, most importantly, their resistance will be reduced the next
time changes are required.
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