Change management in 2018 has evolved beyond comprehension. This has happened in correlation with technological advancements, where companies must innovate or risk falling behind.
Though the key principles remain the same, change management has developed significantly, and companies must establish a new change management 101.
Change management as a philosophy has remained flexible, to incorporate the ever-changing needs of today’s society.
Consider the number of trends which have surfaced in recent years: Globalization, the multi-generational workforce, digital transformation, increased mobility, and that’s without mentioning AI.
These new initiatives have shifted the direction of change management in 2018. Companies now favor a feedback-driven approach, which values behavioral change alongside the traditional linear approach which is rooted in theory.
Companies are now assessing the emotional impact of change, how staff are positioned to embrace or resist it, and how they can soften the blow when introducing new processes.
This is a refreshing take which enables companies to successfully manage change. When staff actively participate in change, they’re more engaged and incentivized to meet change goals.
To further incentivize your team, why not engage them with some fantastic games and activities.
Change management in 2018 is driven by success, and stakeholders are beginning to appreciate and recognize the strategic value of these principles.
This helps companies receive organization-wide sponsorship, which is necessary for application and awareness.
Companies are also starting to realize the potency of tools and techniques on route to success. To help you even further on your quest for change, here are some top trends to look out for in 2018:
Change Management in 2018: Top Trends
Internal Capabilities
With change becoming a recurring theme throughout most organizations, management has taken on a new identity.
Businesses need to manage multiple complex change initiatives, and this has incentivized them to build internal management capabilities.
By building an in-house team of change experts who are dedicated to the cause, the quality of your initiatives dramatically improves.
Additionally, change can be introduced in an unwavering fashion, with as little disruption as possible.
With internal change management capability, companies can separate themselves from the competition. They do so by becoming more agile and nimble, while understanding the capacity for change.
With the correct infrastructure and approach, companies can build capabilities which yield significantly greater results. This helps businesses recoup value from their projects, meeting and perhaps even surpassing expectations.
Alongside establishing a dedicated team, it’s essential you make everyone accountable. Staff should be proactively engaged in change initiatives, and embrace it as part of a continuous development philosophy.
This will improve the behavioral approach to change, while proving you value staff input. This will boost morale, and ensure your team are united to work in accordance with change initiatives.
Change Management As An Art
Change management has long been considered a science, but it often struggles to retain investment due to a difficulty to measure results.
Though it has risen in prominence as a discipline, companies must justify the funds allocated to change management. That’s where change management has faltered as a science, through a lack of data and proof.
To overcome this obstacle, companies are increasingly turning to results-oriented change, where it is easy to monitor the benefits.
This can be achieved with short-term performance goals, which are identified early and celebrated when met.
This incentivizes staff, while indicating they’re working in accordance with best practice. Those responsible for leading change should promote the benefits, and demonstrate how these influence organizational objectives.
Too often companies invest before realizing what’s best. Change management in 2018 is largely results-driven, with digital implementations that validate clear ROI.
Stakeholder Engagement
This is a crucial aspect of change which was neglected in yesteryear.
It’s crazy to think this, especially when you consider the importance of stakeholder sponsorship. If they don’t support your objectives, or aren’t made aware of them, they’ll  feel disillusioned and uninvolved.
A much better approach is to engage stakeholders with feedback-driven models. By incorporating staff reactions in real time, you can modify your change strategy to incorporate useful requests.
This will help you modify change procedures so they’re more potent, while aligning stakeholder objectives with the best interests of the company.
Participation and experimentation are great ways to develop change. Collaboration tools are being used increasingly too, to bridge the gap and channel effective communication between teams.
This improves productivity, in accompaniment with social media. You can additionally shorten the distance between front-line employees and leaders, a gap which will otherwise wreak havoc.
New innovative approaches are continuously being leveraged across the board. These help organizations overcome the initial barriers to change, while ensuring teams are fully on board with new initiatives.
The overriding focus principle is to engage stakeholders in ways which reduce the sense of overwhelm common in today’s fast-paced business world.
Stakeholder engagement is a mandatory focus of change management in 2018.
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WalkMe Team
WalkMe spearheaded the Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) for associations to use the maximum capacity of their advanced resources. Utilizing man-made consciousness, AI, and context-oriented direction, WalkMe adds a powerful UI layer to raise the computerized proficiency, everything being equal.