What Is the Value of Change Management in the Workplace?

What is the value of change management in the workplace?

This business discipline is highly valued by the world’s most successful companies…

But how does it deliver value to the organization?

The Value of Change Management in the Workplace

Change management is the business discipline that structures, organizes, and manages organizational change.

This discipline brings a number of benefits to the table, which we’ll explore in this article.

There are quite a few reasons that organizations implement organized change management.

Below, we’ll divide some of the biggest benefits into four categories:

• How structured change management initiatives beat unstructured change projects
• Benefits to the individual employees
• Cultural benefits and the resulting organizational benefits
• Business benefits

First, we’ll start by looking at the advantages of structured change management programs.

The Change Initiative 

Some organizations have little or no structured change management function.

These organizations often enact changes simply by mandating them.  This method of “change execution” has drawbacks compared to managed change.

Here are a few examples of structured, sophisticated change management:

• Better chances of success. Not all projects succeed, especially those that are unmanaged. Change management greatly increases the chances of success.
• More efficient, effective change projects. Managed projects are more efficient. They cost less, take less time, and achieve better results.
• Decreased resistance from employees and managers. Resistance can be a project-killing stumbling block if it isn’t managed properly – change management helps you systematically address it.
• Improved project outcomes. Ultimately, the clearest return on investment is the improvement of a project’s outcomes. That is, better results equates to higher returns.

These are a few of the main reasons why successful companies manage change instead of simply “executing” it.

However, these are just the beginning. 

Below, we’ll look at a few others.

Individual Employees

Many companies understand the value of the employee experience.

Good workplace experiences boost employee satisfaction, productivity, and morale – among other things.

These all contribute to a more pleasant, profitable workplace.

Here are a few ways that change management helps:

• Enhanced competencies. Employees who are more competent deliver better results – plus, they feel more confident and valuable.
• More relevant skill set. Technology ages quickly, and so do digital skills. Training – a common component for many change programs – can keep skills up-to-date, relevant, and valuable.
• More meaningful work. Change projects help align an organization, its employees, and its processes. For individual employees, this often helps them become more aligned with purposeful, meaningful work.

The results:

• Increased engagement. Workers who are more competent and more aligned with the organization are more engaged.
• More productivity. Training increases productivity because skills and competencies increase.
• Greater satisfaction. Finally, employees who enjoy their work are more satisfied with their jobs, their work environment, and the company itself.

Ultimately, happier employees create a happier, more productive, more profitable business.

Culture

A company’s culture is a company’s attitude, value system, and predisposition.

Naturally, company culture cannot be changed overnight.

But with ongoing campaigns and communication, it can be done.

The question some people may be asking, though, is: “Why change culture at a company?”

There are several reasons:

• Culture affects how people feel about their jobs – whether they enjoy it, want to come to work, or not
• It attracts certain types of people – those who match a given work culture
• Also, it defines how people behave and perform their jobs

Organizational culture may be defined in many ways … competitive, relaxed, fast-paced, conservative, and so on.

Here are a few ways that culture can be changed more positively, to improve business objectives:

• More innovative, creative, and inventive
• More agile, which gives them the ability to respond more quickly to a changes in the marketplace
• More modern, digital, and relevant

There is no right or wrong when it comes to cultural shifts. 

The right changes, though, can add value and bottom-line profit to an organization.

Business Benefits

Finally, we’ll look at direct organizational benefits of change management.

Change project outcomes can vary widely, but here are a few examples:

• More efficient work processes. Automation, digital adoption, and IT modernization, for instance, greatly improve efficiency in the workplace.
• Faster turnarounds, throughputs, and outcomes. Regardless of the business process being changed, improved turnaround is one target that can be achieved without difficulty.
• Increased competitiveness. From a macro perspective, change projects can improve a company’s competitive edge.
• More profit for the business. Ultimately, every change project contributes to a more profitable business.

Every change project will have different objectives, so its outcomes will differ.

Final Thoughts

The examples given above are just a few of the possible benefits that change management can offer.

While the value of change management varies from project to project, there is clear value in managing change.

With management, change projects stand a much greater chance of deliver profitable returns.

Without it, those returns could plummet – or the change project could fail entirely.

Before beginning your next change project, be sure to do your research on change management models, ideas, and best practices.

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