In Part 2 of this series, we reviewed areas for change management across a number of business functions, demonstrating that they were all affected by the information and data made available by telematics. In Part 3, we’re looking at Why Change? It is important that we have already established what areas could be a focus for change management (Part 1), but then ask the right questions as to why we might want to change them, and is what to change and when will change depending on the organisation.
“Successful organisations listen to their environment and then adapt and reinvent themselves, not only to keep pace with the ever-changing environment but also to best control and manage the environment that they are in”
Embracing Change
Change and change management may be a conscious decision for internal improvements/re-organisation, or it may be a requirement due to legislation, market requirements, or even customer driven to improve an existing service.
Change is a difficult aspect for any business to grasp. Individuals are often happiest when they know what they are doing, why they are doing it and how to do it – introduce change and all this disappears. The saying “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is often heard, but in an ever-changing environment you may not know it is broken until it is too late. Successful organisations listen to their environment and then adapt and reinvent themselves, not only to keep pace with the ever-changing environment but also to best control and manage the environment that they are in.
Change is an essential part of the growth and development of any organisation – but why change? There are a number of reasons and benefits to change programmes that, if planned and managed, would assist to make improvements and allow businesses to be proactive in an ever-changing environment. Here are seven of the top reasons to embrace change.
Seven Reasons for Change:
- Improvement
All organisations want to improve the way that they conduct business, to achieve internal benefits and improve service levels. It also enables them to stay ahead of their competitors and improve sales opportunities.
- Management Structures
Review of management structures can verify if they’re fit for purpose. Analysis of reporting chains and decision makers and their skills would enable the change team to see if the right teams were in place and any change needed.
“Identifying where the benefits lie in making legislation changes can make a company a market leader and a champion of best practice, and in some cases an industry benchmark”
- Legislation
Change due to legislation is usually seen as a hindrance to existing business practices. Health and Safety, and Environmental are examples where change was required. If understood and correctly assessed these can be used to a company’s advantage rather than an obstacle. Identifying where the benefits lie in making legislation changes can make a company a market leader and a champion of best practice, and in some cases an industry benchmark.
- Staff
Identifying influencers and advocates and putting them at the centre of the change communication programme is the best way to improve understanding and transparency of change. People become part of the change project when their ideas and concerns are taken into consideration, the result being improved engagement. Often the best ideas are from those4 on the front line, this should be identified acknowledged and if appropriate rewarded in the feedback loop to staff.
“Viewing customers as stakeholders and collating their thoughts and opinions greatly assists with the change process decision making, keeping change projects on the right track for business improvement”
- Customers
Change projects are an excellent way to re-engage with the existing customer base, through communication on how the company will improve and how that would benefit them with improved the service levels. Viewing customers as stakeholders and collating their thoughts and opinions greatly assists with the change process decision making, keeping change projects on the right track for business improvement.
- Risk
Change involves risk and risk requires management. Businesses must be comfortable with understanding and managing the risk to support change.
- Change Enablers
The good news is that there are technical solutions that assist with being able to make change possible. Telematics is an excellent enabler for change, as the data received is real time helps identify actionable insights in areas such as workflows and access to better information which improves decision making helps employees understand the benefit of change. I’m not a Manchester United fan, but Sir Alex Ferguson was a master at changing his teams to keep ahead of their rivals and became the most successful manager of the Premier League. Connecting systems across the organisation improves smarter decisions and faster reaction times, and leading telematics technology platforms provide free API’s with support to create efficiencies across functions and information to enable actionable insights.
Why Change Management?
There are countless instances of companies that could not or would not change and therefore no longer exist. Conversely there are many examples of companies that have changed, developed and grown. TomTom are a good example of how they have stayed ahead in the market through the development of their satellite navigation solutions and services in the consumer market, through to the diversification and growth of Webfleet, and the Fitness Division. By managing change and achieving growth to meet the demands of the consumer, they have stayed ahead of the competition.
Identifying the change enabler allows you to be comfortable with uncertainty of what change can bring. You can see what is happening in real time with the data being presented, which, in turn, allows you to make smarter decisions and better plan a change process.
Managing the future grows the business and develops the staff. Change is central to success and it should not be a reactionary view, but a well-planned process that allows organisations to succeed.