SMBs must change, or be left behind
Change is something that Australian executives and office workers strive for yet find difficult to achieve. New research from Canon has revealed some interesting statistics…
Qualities to overcome obstacles
When it comes to the qualities needed to help drive change, vision topped the list for senior decision-makers, closely followed by communications skills, commitment, flexibility, inclusivity, knowledge and imagination.
Critically, 92 percent of employees agreed that good communication is required to help deliver change within their organisation, while 88 percent believed that vision is required, and 83 percent believed that imagination and understanding the big idea is required when dealing with change.
With communication such a key driver in implementing successful change, what can businesses do to ensure they manage this change effectively?
Tips for managing change
In line with the thinking of John Kotter, chief innovation officer of Kotter International, Canon has designed a five-step program change methodology for its customers when implementing new technology that recommend the following steps:
- Defining the vision and key messages
- Defining stakeholder groups and key influencers
- Engaging leadership
- Identifying current communication mechanisms
- Identifying current performance issues and people impact.
In order for businesses to create the demand for change, it is important to think about these steps and plan for change with three elements in mind: stakeholders; communication; and performance and people impact. Establishing a ‘change team’ ensures consistency throughout the process and from the start will identify communication resources to be used throughout the project. The change team will identify performance measures and define future performance measures, which will create the basis for a training plan and it will then manage and support stakeholders while delivering clear communications to the rest of the workplace. Once the new changes are implemented, the team will then perform a debrief and analysis to assess impact and success.
Final thought
Organisations need to take the time to look at how their business is evolving and growing, working out how technology can align with the business, changing it for the better and making it more competitive.
We know that change is important and the overriding positive message for Australian businesses is to view change as an opportunity, not something to be wary of. Change is a constant evolution in our business, not just a one-off event or project. It’s how we manage that process, using technology, that determines our future success, particularly when compared with the global economic super powers. We need to understand how to deal with the barriers to change and what it takes to overcome them in order to remain truly competitive.
– Jeremy Plint is Assistant General Manager, Marketing, Canon Business Imaging, Canon Australia.