What Is Enterprise Change Management? A Guide for the Digital Age

What is enterprise change management? And why is it important in today’s digital marketplace?

Today, the pressure to change is greater than ever.

The global economy is being driven by technology, innovation, and change.

This means that the ability to change – enterprise change management – is critical.

Below, we’ll answer the questions:

• What is enterprise change management?
• Why is it important?
• How do businesses adapt and stay relevant?

Let’s get started.

What Is Enterprise Change Management?

Enterprise change management is an organization’s formal ability to manage organizational change.

It measures:

• How well an organization manages and executes change initiatives
• The technical capabilities and infrastructure related to change management
• The sophistication of those capabilities
• How integrated change management processes are within the fabric of the business

And other similar measures.

Enterprise management is measured on a maturity scale.

These scales track the capability of an organization’s formal change capacity.

At the lower end of the spectrum are organizations with little or no formal change capacity. At the higher end are companies with advanced enterprise change capabilities.

These organizations have:

• Fully integrated change management processes and procedures
• A complete change management workflow
• Change strategies that are embedded within the overall organizational strategy

Among other attributes.

Gain a Competitive Edge with Enterprise Change Management

Organizations with limited change capabilities often approach change projects as isolated events.

They are more likely to implement change initiatives in reaction to external problems.

And they are less likely to have well-established change management procedures.

The result:

• Organizations are less adaptable in the marketplace
• They change reactively instead of proactively
• They are less innovative and slower to evolve

On the other hand, organizations that can change at speed gain a competitive edge.

They are more innovative … more agile … and they can move quicker.

In the digital world, these characteristics are essential:

• Organizations that adapt to marketplace changes are less likely to get overrun by disruption
• Innovative organizations deliver products and services that outperform competitors
• Companies that can use state-of-the-art technology will have significant advantages over those that don’t

Today, such qualities are critical for companies that want to stay current, competitive, and relevant.

Becoming Digital, Staying Relevant

The world has become digital. There is no doubt about that.

The organization that wishes to stay relevant and competitive must be able to change quickly, as we just saw.

In the digital age, there are a few recurring trends that are separating successful companies from the unsuccessful.

Successful organizations are:

• Developing enterprise change management capability. Organizations with this ability are able to change more often and more effectively. This makes enterprise change management a critical feature of successful organizations.
• Adopting digital technologies, workflows, and business processes. Because the world is digital, organizations must also be digital. Those that aren’t will not be able to function in tomorrow’s global, digital marketplace.
• Developing customer-centric products and services. Today’s customer has more choices than ever. This means they have more power than before. If they don’t like a brand, they will drop it quickly and move to a competitor. To succeed, companies must put users and customers first.
• Innovating – at speed. Change and innovation are hallmarks of companies that lead the pack. Just think of the world’s most successful technology companies. To compete, or even dominate, innovation is key.

These are a few key qualities that define today’s most successful companies.

Clearly, though, not all companies sit at the bleeding edge of their market.

How do companies begin their journey toward that goal?

Building Enterprise Change Management in a Digital World

Let’s look at how to develop enterprise change capacity.

And let’s find out how to drive success in a world that is becoming more digital by the day.

To develop enterprise change capacity, start by following these steps:

• Evaluate your change maturity level
• Determine your organization’s change readiness and technical capabilities
• Set strategic goals for the organization
• Create a roadmap to build enterprise change management, with the aim of meeting those strategic goals
• Implement, learn, and adapt

These aims can help you develop a solid enterprise change capability.

And with that ability, your organization will better be able to adopt and adapt when needed.

To keep up in the digital world, though, your organization will need to develop a “digital change strategy.”

Such an agenda should follow the aims mentioned above:

• Focus your efforts on digital transformation and digital adoption
• Design products and services that put customers first
• Put employees first when it comes to organizational change
• Stay innovative, agile, and lean

Naturally, these goals should be tailored to fit your industry and your market. You should develop an agenda that meets your specific needs and your situation.

Conclusion

To effectively execute change, it is critical to understand enterprise change management.

And to stay relevant in the digital world, it is critical to develop a digital change strategy.

By focusing on the aims mentioned above – such as customer-centrism, innovation, and speed – your organization can stay competitive in the years to come.

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