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HR does not drive business results – Change Management does! 

By  bem_admin

As the years ticked by, a corporate trainer delivered interactive training sessions alongside the best of the best. She applied all adult learning principles, action learning opportunities and up to date, relevant learning methodologies. Her career flourished and promotions followed. Accolades were forthcoming and records beaten. However, something seemed ‘wrong’ as there were indicators of workplace success that people simply chose not to consider. She herself felt the negative impact of these allowing them to eventually wear her down. Something was out of alignment as her career became a source of frustration and anguish.

HR does not drive business results – Change Management does!

introduction

As the years ticked by, a corporate trainer delivered interactive training sessions alongside the best of the best. She applied all adult learning principles, action learning opportunities and up to date, relevant learning methodologies. Her career flourished and promotions followed. Accolades were forthcoming and records beaten. However, something seemed ‘wrong’ as there were indicators of workplace success that people simply chose not to consider. She herself felt the negative impact of these allowing them to eventually wear her down. Something was out of alignment as her career became a source of frustration and anguish.

Training was always the ‘easy solution’ to blame becoming the corporate scapegoat. Intended business results and change in corporate behavior did not sustain, ownership was never transferred and the corporate culture did not significantly strengthen! Basically she became an expert at developing well-trained resistors in company after company. She just knew there had to be an alternative, a better way and a solution to add real and lasting value beyond the ‘feel good’ factor. She needed to know her efforts were the reason intended benefits were realized, outcomes were achieved and real results contributed to the business.

The functionality of HR is tasked with providing human attention and care in order to facilitate alignment, productivity, contribution and loyalty in the workplace. Business is a process of change, converting human efforts of knowledge, skills and attitudes into products and services to then exchange for an agreed currency. HR’s training initiatives aim to bring change, but often training efforts yield only resistance and disconnection. Why is this?

Enter stage right – Change Management, a profession that is quickly becoming a discipline. With Change Management being a strategic process and set of tools, opportunity exists for measurement and data at the right time with the right people to ensure that any decision taken, be that HR’s care or the CEO’s communication, will reinforce reasons for the need to change and consequences of not changing whilst also forging a desire and ability in all to do whatever it takes to make the change happen; ultimately influencing new behavior from all to attain business outcomes.

Change Management works in a systematic and dedicated manner, with specific stages, roles and tools to be applied, in an order that has people committing to work differently. It may be a sales force applying a new sales technique, a team to lead a merger, an IT implementation or even a re-branding; whatever the change, HR or more specifically the training department cannot facilitate this alone successfully. It must be an organization-wide effort, which starts with a risk analysis of the business impact of the desired change, a map of the commitment levels and approach of all resources from executive sponsor to individual team members and an aligned plan to close any gaps these previous two identify.

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HR needs to justify its existence, and one way this can be achieved is to forge business-enabling capability. To do so, adopt a key role in the change team and when doing so:

  • Provide an informed picture of the change to others
  • Facilitate executive actions that should co-exist alongside executive decisions
  • Forge awareness and desire in each level of the organization of essential roles
  • Be a supporting partner of (not substitute for) the executive sponsor and its coalition
  • Resource those in roles with the tools and plan that will set them up for success
  • Evaluate and celebrate success; re-align non-producing efforts

thereby increasing speed of adoption, mitigating negative impact of change and ensuring the people are willing and able to make the change happen. When this happens, intended business outcomes that will add value to the organization will be realized and directly attributed to the process that forged the change.

My advise to any HR Professional – finance departments are indispensible as they gather evidence, make informed decisions and connect the actions to the attainment of real results. Through a dedicated and structured change strategy, so too can HR be seen to be indispensible, and no longer be pushed to the side! Enjoy the ride!

Debbie Nicol, Managing Director of ‘business en motion’, moves businesses and leaders ahead through change. Debbie applies the Prosci® Change Management Methodology in her business consultancy and learning organization across the GCC and Asia.

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Debbie Nicol

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