Success Strategies to Manage and Navigate Change

Nurture Buy-In & Celebrate Milestones to Keep Fatigue at Bay Buy-in does not last forever if it is not nurtured on a regular basis. Initially, some employees may depart soon after CM initiatives have been unveiled. That's okay, expected, and healthy. Those who stay will remain loyal to the plan as long as they can see results. This is where your clearly defined milestones come in. When they hit, they must be called out and celebrated. These celebrations renew enthusiasm and keep fatigue at bay. If a milestone is not achieved on schedule, examine why. Don't hide it. Leverage it. Use it as a learning. Re-group and adjust while bringing in key employees to help navigate the bump. Admit Setbacks to the Company and Learn from Them Change is not easy. This idea must be communicated during the process as well. Even the most accomplished mountain climber slips and stumbles on uneven terrain as they traverse the summit. Staff need regular words of encouragement and proper support to keep going. Also, the business must continue to bring in revenue while all this is going on. Caring for customers in the midst of deploying new ways of doing things is not easy. Being sensitive to this and discussing it openly and often will go a long way towards defusing frustration and fatigue. Invite Feedback from Everyone At each step of implementation, use data to monitor progress. As the change is implemented, there are many data points in the business that will be used to monitor progress. Oftentimes, these data points are financial or operational leading indicators that reveal how the organization is responding during the change. And by tapping into qualitative data points from the employees at the same time, organizations can get ahead of underlying risks or unknown resistance. By simply collecting input from employees through town halls or surveys, organizations can assess and react to changes in employee sentiment. Combined with employee performance data, these data points can help get quick feedback to quickly react to address underlying issues, whether they be feedback on issues, FAQs or guides, coaching sessions, team meetings, or all-hands status updates.