Almost all organisations today—especially in this COVID world—are undergoing change. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, or what part of the globe you operate from, you’re likely to be in the midst of some form of change.
Under intense pressure, its easy to forget some of the fundamentals of change.
Perhaps the most obvious tenet of transformation is that it is “people” that both deliver and are the recipientsof change.
Without people, nothing much happens. In fact, it’s been said that, “organisation’s don’t exist, people do”.
Surprisingly enough, its easy to overlook this fact, particularly if change needs to happen fast. At times what is most pressing is developing “hard-core” process of change and all of the things that need to happen to make it work. It’s very easy to get engrossed in the mechanics of change, and to forget the people side of it.
The outcomes of change have a major impact on people — particularly if the change impacts the business model, strategy or high-level objectives. The smallestof change to any of these often results in major changeat operational level.
And even small changes in an organisation can have a substantive impact on people’s every day tasks, job descriptions, behaviours, interactions with other employees, and much more.
“People matter” when it comes to change.
Why?
Because it is people who will either “champion” it, or “resist” it.
When they champion it, it is oh so easy to overcome hurdles and challenges. But if they resist, the slightest obstacle looks like a mountain that cannot be overcome, thus jeopardising the process. And if resistance sets in, even a simple change can become an incredibly time consuming and costly exercise.
Adopting a human-centered approach will help not only achieve the best results, but save an enormous amount of stress and energy.
More information about the benefits of our human-centered approach to change can be found here.
