Nishchae Suri
Change is the sine qua non for business in the current day market place. A global MNC recently changed its well-established target-oriented performance management system that impacted year-end pay-offs to its employees. The additions included a structured assessment of employee ?potential? and an expectation to demonstrate the company?s ?values?. So, leaders would now have greater discretion than in the past to differentiate star performers from the rest, sending everyone a strong message on performance standards and meritocracy. No doubt, this direction was in line with what the company needed to achieve its ambitious plans of people development and business growth?but for one small problem. The company inadvertently plunged into the change too fast and too soon, leaving both employees and their managers confused, insecure and disengaged. This is a classic case of a great idea with right intentions gone wrong due to lack of necessary planning, focus and communication.
Organisational transformations, be they structural, technical or operational, are mindset transformations. The role of HR is critical in helping employees understand the need for change and navigate it successfully. Communication, therefore, becomes a significant and continuous priority in any change management initiative. In the example above, the transition from a target-based measurement system to more holistic competency/values based structure was made without providing the necessary understanding of desired behaviours or standards of high potential for purposes of differentiation. Communication consists of identification of key stakeholders, formulating the messages that need to be delivered and choosing the appropriate delivery mechanisms. Through appropriate modelling of the communication, HR can ensure that transformations receive the visibility, support and traction they need internally and externally.
An important aspect of change management is capability development. When employees feel empowered and capable of contributing in ways that will further their success in the new environment, the probability of alignment to change increases. In the case of the company above, had the managers understood the tenets of employee differentiation and associated monetary pay-offs, they would have felt much more empowered and confident to handle difficult conversations and facilitate the new process smoothly. It is important to remember that while HR plays a critical role in facilitating change, the responsibility of driving initiatives successfully must be jointly shared by the key change agents across organisational levels, including the organisation?s leadership.
HR plays a vital role in re-enforcing change behaviour by promoting it through employee measurement, development, and reward and recognition systems. A new quality management system, when adhered to religiously, must be recognised and acknowledged. New compliance standards when met and encouraged by change agents must be appreciated by the management. HR plays an important role in not just aligning the change to the organisational culture but also in recognising and rewarding the right set of behaviours that promote change. Role models who ?walk the talk? must be celebrated at every level of the organisation.
HR practitioners are in a great position to understand the possible points of resistance to change and the reasons behind them; they must facilitate the necessary communication, information sharing and introduction of mentoring and similar support systems that will help overcome the resistance.
There are four key ingredients to successfully managing change in an HR transformation project. First, change management is a mindset transformation where a well-thought communication plan plays a key role in creating ownership of the change agenda. Second, capability development aligned to change furthers the probability of success in transformation. Third, any change should be adequately supported through structure, repeated reinforcements, rewards and recognition. Fourth, the ability of HR to sense the ground realities and adapt to it in real time improves the chances of a successful implementation.
The author is partner & head, people & change, KPMG in India