“Change is the only constant”. This is definitely true for businesses. There are constant updates to technology, processes and compliance policies as well as changes within the organization. These changes are crucial for growth and increased profitability and businesses need to manage them efficiently. A robust change management framework complete with consistent change management processes is key to successfully dealing with the impact of these changes on the organization and its resources.
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How Change Impacts Organizations?
Any new technology, process or policy adopted by a business affects the entire organization. The change may be in the form of a new project (or an addition to an existing project), a new process or an initiative being introduced to improve the workflow. All these are sure to affect the day-to-day work of human resources. Managing these resources while implementing the change is crucial for the plan to be successful and profitable.
Project management focuses on the technical aspect of change and includes planning and delivering the project. Project resource management equips managers with the processes they need to monitor and manage resource availability, allocation, resource scheduling and utilization to complete the project on time and within budget. Change management, on the other hand, is centred around the people impacted by this change. It focuses on enabling them to deal with and adapt to the change.
What Is Change Management?
Enabling resources to adapt to change can be challenging, but it is crucial to organizational transformation. While the technical aspect can be complex, getting the employees to adopt the new processes and technology upgrades is even more complicated. A structured approach to help them prepare and adopt these changes is imperative.
Change management involves applying a structured set of tools and processes that enables people to engage and embrace the change. This helps them work more efficiently and effectively on their assigned tasks. Managers can use the change management process to hand-hold resources transition through the changes.
How Does Resource Change Management Work?
Businesses develop a framework to manage change. It consists of a change management plan with a series of processes or steps that ensure that change is managed effectively from inception till delivery.
Here are the various steps for formulating an effective change management plan:
Identify the change and whom it will impact.
Know what will be improved, be it a process, outcome or product. And then identify the resources and people who will be executing these processes. They will be impacted the most and must be brought on board with the change.
Plan ahead.
A detailed step-wise implementation plan is key to the successful adaptation of any change. It should encompass the objective and scope of change, the various stages and timelines, acquisition of additional equipment, the costs involved and the required training of the resources who will be impacted.
Communicate the change to the stakeholders.
Those who will be affected by the new processes and technology must be kept in the loop. Keeping them updated on forthcoming changes helps people absorb and prepare for the new normal. Be transparent and encourage two-way communication for employees to air their concerns. It enables managers to monitor resistance from employees to the changes and to reassure them.
Identify the required resources and skillsets.
Managers must identify the resources and equipment needed for the implementation of the change and bridge any gaps. Upgrading skill sets of existing resources through training or hiring new resources with specialized skills should be done in good time.
Track progress.
Change is an ongoing process. Managers need to continuously monitor and review the execution of new processes. Any potential roadblocks can be identified and dealt with proactively without delaying the project.
Acknowledge and reward success.
Recognize the efforts of the resources and teams who implement the change. Laud their adaptation to the change management process and to the change itself. This would motivate them and increase their productivity.
Why Is Change Management Important?
Businesses need to embrace change if they’re to grow exponentially. But managing change is not easy. It is human nature to resist change. Transforming attitudes and behavioural patterns takes time.
If change is not managed well, it would lead to:
- declining productivity
- delayed delivery to clients
- lower employee morale
- stress leading to employee turnover
Involving employees from an early stage and keeping them in the loop of changes as they occur is imperative to success. After all, they’re the ones who will be using the new equipment, following new processes and implementing the change at the ground level. A well-defined and concise change management framework guides managers through the entire process of project resource management.
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Creating a Successful Change Management Framework
Project managers need to develop a change plan as an integral part of the larger project schedule. Here’s how an effective change management plan can be created:
Establish the plan goals:
Understand and define how the changes will help in the workflow and communicate the same to the employees who will implement the change. Quantify the KPIs for each that will measure the successful implementation of the change as well as employee performance.
Form a change management team:
Develop a dedicated team to spearhead the change plan and set aside the resources (people, finances, equipment) needed to implement it.
Create a detailed implementation plan:
Document all the tasks (and their priorities), timeline and budget for the change management plan. Though it is a part of the broader project management plan, the change plan should have its own set of deliverables.
Adopt the use of project management tools:
Resource management software makes it easy for managers to list tasks, resources allocation and track the progress of the plan. These tools also keep communication lines with the various stakeholders open.
Have an execution plan:
Clearly define the decision-making processes so that any obstacles can be addressed at the earliest. This ensures that workflows are not interrupted and timelines are not delayed.
Address concerns
Address concerns and resistance as they happen and encourage employee engagement.
Review and reinforce constantly:
Review plan implementation at each stage. Recognize the successes of employees and motivate them with incentives once changes go live. This will boost confidence and increase productivity. It will also give managers the requisite data to make adjustments.
Be flexible:
Even the best-laid plans can go awry if managers don’t take into account the human factor.
How Does eResource Scheduler Facilitate Change Management?
Using a resource management software like the eResource Scheduler equips project managers to manage the resources and processes more effectively.
Transparency –
All updates to the scope and timelines of the project are available in real-time on the dashboard. Team members can stay in the loop of all changes and can make adjustments to their work per the changes.
Real-time reports –
Gantt charts and the Dashboard give managers easily-understandable real-time data on resource availability, allocation, utilization and workflows. They can also see the change capacity available within the organization. These allow managers to plan for forthcoming changes and tasks more efficiently.
Two-way communication channel –
eResource Scheduler allows managers and team members to easily share information about the progress of the project as well as any concerns they may have.
Better inter-team collaboration –
Teams working on different projects can also interact easily. This is especially crucial when resources are shared across projects.
Increases scope for automation –
Routine low-skilled tasks can be automated with the eResource Scheduler, leaving skilled resources available for higher-skill tasks envisioned by the change plan.
Track the progress of the change easily –
eResource Scheduler gives managers a complete overview of the changes and empowers them with the information they need to make strategic business decisions regarding the transformation.
Manages business-as-usual competently –
Regular operations must go on while changes are being implemented. The software allows managers to ensure that there are no interruptions to other aspects of the workflow.
