Organisational Change – Where are the real opportunities for your organisation?

An article in Forbes states, “change management is key to guiding your business toward a new normal in 2021 [1] ” .    Do you agree with this statement?

Simon:   “Absolutely, a spot-on statement. Covid has brought change into every paradigm; every individual and organisation must respond and adapt. There has been a realisation that we can work in different ways; there is no single way to work. It is not about how many hours you are physically present, rather about outputs or outcomes, dialogue and engagement. Organisations want to be proactive and are looking for consultancy support from people like us who know the psychology of change, to learn how to engage with change, and facilitate it. In the new normal, it makes sense to embrace and sustain some of the new ways of working. To take the good and return some elements of the old normal too, as a more blended solution.”

Fay:  “Yes, I fully agree with the Forbes statement. It reflects the reality of what’s happening in the business world today. Many organisations are currently going through some form of change, most of which has been an outcome from the pandemic. For some organisations the changes have been positive, as experienced by online and digital platforms like Amazon. However, the retail, hospitality, and tourism industries continue to struggle. There is a significant amount of evidence which shows organisations which ensure that the people and cultural aspects of change are at the centre of the change effort are more likely to be successful at achieving sustainable change. Organisations need to utilise behaviours that drive employee engagement and inclusivity into the new normal.”

The COVID-19 crisis has caused organisations to rethink and restructure policies, practices, and principles. Elaborate on a few innovative trends you have recently observed.

Simon:  “Organisations have begun to move away from traditional work patterns for office workers of 9-5, Monday to Friday, to a more flexible approach. In turn, flexibility helps to enable a culture built on  trusting  individuals more and with less emphasis on management control.  So, Adult to Adult dialogue and ways of working instead of traditional Parent to Child. We have seen and worked with some proactive organisations to completely rewrite their employee handbook and policies and procedures to reflect the new tone, the new language of the working relationship between employees/partners/associates and management.

In our video conference world, many good team building exercises have been taking place with the aim of creating more engagement and informality. However, the actual face to face time is lacking, and sometimes the day gets stretched with constant screen time. Often Zoom or similar e-meetings can mask the reality of the other person. The nuances of body language and non-verbal behaviour are missed across a wide gathering of people.  Face to face contact is a human need.  There are pros and cons; we need to recognise them and think about how we can be more innovative and agile while respecting the diversity of individual preferences and needs around extroversion and reflective introversion.

Proactive organisations will respond to the issues of a skewed work-life balance, where there is increased blurring around the edges. Some trends showcase how this has impacted people’s mental health, where people move from being energised to stressed. A proactive organisation will be looking at how to sustain energy and recognise the signs of people moving from  stretch zone  to  stress zone  to  panic zone  and  burnout.”

Fay:   “Apart from the trends in more companies offering flexible working, which is quite widespread, I have also observed organisations placing greater emphasis on Wellbeing by providing access to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), whereby employees can get in touch with an independent, confidential  service and talk to a variety of professionals about occurrences in their personal life that affect their wellbeing, finances and so on. Other encouraging examples include organisations adding the topic of Wellbeing as a standing agenda item in team meetings. This is a real shift as Wellbeing was not previously openly discussed, however, now the stigma associated with it is being broken down, and more people are becoming more open and transparent about sharing their thoughts and feelings. This is to be encouraged.

Where work-life balance is not favourable, organisations and employees need to work together to enable a better balance between the two. Each individual has to take responsibility to ensure they take regular breaks. Managers need to check in to make sure team members are okay and are not overdoing it.

An additional growing trend is the redesigning of the office space to reflect a new type of working arrangement. Prior to the pandemic a typical office represented a static environment with individual, personalised desks. Now offices are being redesigned to introduce workspaces that are fluid, transient and adaptable.”

Where do the gaps lie for organisations to successfully carry out change management?

Simon:  “ The first step is to analyse where the organisation is now. What is their current situation, and often, this is best facilitated by a consultant who can do an independent and objective audit, where there are no hierarchical influences to skew or filter what employees really think, feel, and genuinely believe will enable them to give of their best in the workplace.

The resulting gap analysis is a powerful place to begin planning change management. The aim is to get to the most productive, efficient and engaging state to optimise both the employee experience and positively influence the enhancement of customer service experiences. The next step is to agree the change priorities with the leaders of the organisation. It is they who will set the cultural lead and role model the behaviours desired in the organisation as a whole. However, the more you can involve and engage the wider employee population in the design and delivery of new ways of working, the more real and rapid will be their transition to becoming active and enthusiastic participants. This is a humanistic and organic approach which includes:

Some organisations consciously think about change and they recognise that change is part of evolution. However, for others, change is a response mechanism to a symptom, e.g. labour turnover has increased. Slowness to react and the late adoption of new ways of working are what we describe as “mindset gaps” and the gap is ever widening between these businesses and the forward thinking, proactive early change adopters and disrupters. As we begin to see the new green shoots of growth and bounce-backs from national Covid lockdowns, it will be those nimble, creative, culture and value driven, customer centric organisations that will outflank their competitors and grow market share.

Fay:  “ There are many gaps based on my experience of working with organisations on change and transformation.  These can be narrowed down into four key areas:

Digital adoption has taken a quantum leap at both the organisational and industry
levels.  [2]    How has this transformed organisational change strategies?

Simon:  “ Some of these trends were emerging before. However, the last year and the need for more virtual working has accelerated these changes. There has been a phenomenal e-commerce boom during the pandemic, just as there has in the opposite sense been a massive drop in High Street commerce. In the hospitality sector, the more agile pubs and restaurants have set up interactive websites, introduced online booking, moved outside, and offered take away and home delivery services. Supermarkets and online food delivery organisations have offered standing order online booking services as demand has grown for this door to door service. Even the doorstep “milk and more” delivery service, once in serious decline to become a thing of the past, is experiencing a resurgence with customers now able to order and pay online.

Across most functions and sectors there has been a trend toward introducing more technology into how we work to process transactions, payments, promotions and even job interviews. Companies are embracing systems where people can do self-service transactions. This is visible through online services, technology services and direct access to information – our “let me Google it “ culture! 85% of adults have a smart phone and mobile apps are becoming an essential user-friendly collectors’ item. Now we take responsibility, fully embrace self-service as a positive, and we make our own choices in our own time.”

Fay:   “ For change associated with digital adoption, good change management strategies will focus on how you enable employees to adapt to using digital tools and automation, for example to carry out work tasks and transactions. In addition, there should be clarity around the digital-related behaviours that are now required, because in the digital world the behaviours will be different. For example, organisations should require employees to have a learning mindset which will enable them to learn and grow from digital adoption .  Organisations should also highlight the new ways of working and the benefits that will come as a result of digital adoption, such as information at your fingertips, two clicks and you are there, automation of notifications and a general ease of doing business in the system. That will encourage employees to transition from old ways of working to the new ways of working, and provide them with the support and training they will need to help them make a successful transition.”

At MCR, how can you support organisations on this front?

Simon:   “ At MCR we have extensive capabilities and multi-sector experience. Particularly in the pivotal areas of:

From both a structural and humanistic perspective, we have a wide array of skills. We provide a personable service and do not follow a single off-the-shelf methodology. We first listen, and we then collaborate and partner in the best way for the particular situation and client. Most of our consultants have 20 to 30 years of experience working across a range of sectors and we bring that into the conversation and the enabling dialogue for change. MCR offers strong consultants in people skills (psychology, learning and development, change management, executive coaching, mentoring and psychometric assessment for teams and individuals, mental health awareness raising) and we are also skilled in HR systems and practices, and reward and recognition – which are key levers for talent attraction, retention, and motivation. We can flex and combine our multi-disciplinary resources to meet the project needs. We fully respect our clients’ trust in us, we are fundamentally customer centric in all that we do and we personally follow through from ideation to design to delivery and measuring adoption aligned to the individual needs of our clients.”

Fay:  “ Yes, the great thing about MCR is that we are perfectly positioned to help organisations with change management. We are fortunate to have a large team of consultants from diverse sectors, with broad skill sets and experiences across all areas of organisational change. Many of our team have a mix of consultancy and in-house practitioner experience. So, not only can we provide expert consultancy on how to do things – and what to do – but we can also implement the solutions. MCR’s depth and breadth of consultancy and practitioner experience is a rare mix which distinguishes us from other HR advisory providers.”

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[1] Change Management Is Key To Guiding Your Business Toward A New Normal in 2021.  Forbes.  2021.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnywarstrom/2021/02/08/change-management-is-key-to-guiding-your-business-towards-a-new-normal-in-2021/?sh=2f149ad464fd
[2] How COVID-19 Has Pushed Companies Over the Technology Tipping Point and Transformed Businesses Forever.  McKinsey & Company.  2020.
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever#

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Fay has over 25 years’ experience in senior international HR roles, many with a Change Leadership focus. Her work as a Director, Senior Interim and Coach has spanned multiple sectors, including as:

Simon has over 25 years senior HR Management experience in operational, corporate and interim roles, including:

Vedika  supports our client assignments in a stakeholder interviewing, data analysis and options drafting capacity.

To discuss your organisation and your change management needs, and how we may help you, contact us:
Simon Brown    M  +44(0)7740 731474   E   simon.brown@mcr.consulting
Fay Thompson    M  +44(0)7747 065874   E  fay.thompson@mcr.consulting