This document discusses the benefits of recruiting an external change agent and the activities they perform during a change program. It also explores the difficulties in implementing change and the role of diagnosis and feedback in organizational change.
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ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT – 944367 1
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ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Table of Contents Introduction.......................................................................................................................3 Change Management...................................................................................................................3 Case Background..........................................................................................................................3 External Change Agent vs Internal Change Agents.............................................................4 Benefits of an external change agent over an internal change agent...........................................4 Activities to be performed by an external change agent....................................................5 Difficulties in implementing the change.............................................................................7 Role of diagnosis and feedback during organizational change...........................................8 Organizational diagnosis..............................................................................................................8 Feedback......................................................................................................................................8 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................9 Bibliography....................................................................................................................10 2
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Introduction Change Management Since the spread of globalization, the business world has undergone a number of changes and the competition between rival firms has reached a global level. Globalization has converted the entire globe into a potential market for products and services and business organizations are trying their best to expand their operations overseas and use the local resources of different countries for achieving a competitive edge. Another effect of globalization is that business organizations have become vulnerable to a greater number of internal and external business environment factors, such as economic, social, technological, etc. These factors can undergo changes in real time, which forces business organizations to introduce changes in their operations or processes to cope up with the changing trend and also to remain competitive(Tams, 2018).The internal and external factors forcing business organizations have increased rapidly and management of programs has become a necessary evil for human resource managers. Case Background ABC Company Pvt. Ltd. is an Australian company that has been operating in the Australian market since 1982. The company started out small but has been able to grab a major portion of Australia’s consumer electronic goods market. The company has been facing a number of internal issues of late, which has been having an impact on the business of the company. As a result, the management of the company has planned to implement certain changes, which would be aimed at implementing planned interventions to improve the internal operations and processes of the company. One of the employers of the company has also engaged an external change agent to consult and manage the change program. The employers of the company believe that they have identified the root cause of the problems but the employees of the company think differently, which has created a situation of dilemma. Therefore, this report has been prepared to discuss the benefits of recruiting an external change agent and the 5 most important activities that the change agent would be required to perform during the change program. The report will also discuss the importance of diagnosis and feedback in the process of organizational change. 3
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT External Change Agent vs Internal Change Agents As an external change agent, I can personally assure the company that my input in the change program would add a lot of value and ensure successful implementation of a change. As I am not a part of the company and will only be hired for the purpose of planning an intervention, I would be able to analyze the issues in the company with a greater efficiency. I would present the facts as they are and would be able to identify faults in the day-to-day activities and processes as well. I would be able to share my past experiences related to change programs in other organizations with the company and motivate the employees to accept a change as it would have benefits for them as well. Benefits of an external change agent over aninternal change agent An external change agent is a person from outside the company, who is recruited by a company to plan, manage and implement a change program. In general, an external change agent is recruited by business organizations when they feel that they are not proficient enough to handle a change program and might fail to implement a change in case they do not receive help from a professional in the field of change management(Docsity, 2017). On the other hand, an internal change agent is a person who is continuously involved in the change process. An internal change agent is selected according to the need of an organization from within the organization. Internal change agents are usually those people who have an influence over the other employees in an organization or have been trained in the field of change management by external change agents. In this case, recruiting an external change agent is an appropriate choice because an external change agent would offer the following benefits to the company: -First of all, an external change agent will be able to assess the situation of the company in a better way. Being someone from outside the company, he or she will be completely unbiased and have an open-minded approach towards dealing with the problems of the company, 4
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ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT -Secondly, investing in an external change agent adds more value to the change program. As they will be invited to the company by the employers, the employees would perceive it with a greater importance and would definitely offer a positive response to whatever he or she brings to the table. -Thirdly, an external agent will not be affected by any kind of ongoing politics in the organisation. An external change agent would not be dependent on the company for any kind of raise or promotions and would present all the facts as they will be. An external change agent will be completely neutral and would have no stake in the institution(Alagoz, et al., 2018).On the other hand, an internal change agent might have some biasness towards a particular group of people in the organisation and might not assess the satiation freely -Fourthly, an external change agent would be highly proficient in the field of change management and will think out of the box to help the company in dealing with its problem. An external change agent would also be able to identify organizational issues in a better way because he or she will be able to assert, challenge and question the norms of the organization without any hesitation(Case, et al., 1990) -Fifthly, an external change agent would be able to direct the organization towards the change program in a better way and ensure higher chances of success because they are experienced in the field of change management. Using efficient models of change management, skills and techniques, they will be able to minimize the resistance to change and make the change happen. -Lastly, an external change agent would be free from any kind of day-to-day work obligations of the company and will be able to carry out the change process with a greater efficiency than an internal change agent(Change Management Forum, 2014). It can be clearly seen that an external change agent can have a number of advantages over an internal change agent, especially for companies like ABC Company Pvt. Ltd. that are already facing a situation of dilemma even before the process of change has been introduced or started. In such cases, it is always better to rely on an external change agent to take up the responsibility of implementing the desired changes in the workplace. 5
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Activities to be performed by an external change agent As discussed above, recruiting an external change agent can have a number of benefits for a business organisation that is planning to implement a change in its workplace. An external change agent is always a professional in the field of change management and charges an organization for helping it in achieving the changes that it desires. Therefore, the expectations of an organisation from an external change agent are always high and an external change agent has to put in his best to ensure successful implementation of a change program. Certain activitiesthatan externalchangeagentisrequiredto carryout, whileplanningand implementing a change, are discussed below: 6
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Investigation: As external change agents are people from outside the business of a company, the first and the most important activity that they have to carry out while planning and implementing a change program is investigation. An external change agent has to carry out multiple investigations that would be helpful in digging below the surface and discovering the dynamics of the organisation. Investigation requires dealing with the human element of an organizationandfindingoutareasofinefficiencies(Stagl,2011).Itisalsoduring investigation that the external change agents look for clues that give away the prime reasons thatarepreventingachangefromhappening.Investigationduringtheplanningand implementation of a change program requires a lot of observatory and analytical skills. Advocate & Mediate: External change agents are not only held responsible for planning and implementation of a change program but also for acting as mediators between the employers and the employees. A change in the workplace is never easy for the employees as they are the most important stakeholders in the business and would bear the maximum impact of the change program. External change agents have to speak up on behalf of the employers and convince the employees to accept the changes by keeping them engaged in the process. In certain cases, external change agents also have to mediate whenever there is a conflict on interests amongst different(Deepti, 2015) Stakeholder Engagement: One of the prime reasons behind the failure of change programs is the inability of business organizations to deal with resistance to change offered by the stakeholders. Resistance to change is defined as the tendency of the stakeholders to oppose a change program if they perceive it as a threat to their job or against their interests. Resistance to change generally occurs because the stakeholders develop a fear of the unknown in their minds. To deal with resistance to change programs, it is importance that the external change agents are able to engage the stakeholders in the change program by implementing appropriate strategies. Engaging the stakeholders in the change programs helps change agents in setting up a communication channel within the organization and sharing the right information with them at the right point of time(Rust & Freidus, 2001).Further, engaging the employees in the change program makes them an important part of it and they start to feel that the change program is being implemented for their own betterment. 7
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ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Facilitate: Planning and implementation of a change program are two different things and each one of them requires a lot of careful execution on behalf of an external change agent. One of the most important activities of a change agent is to continuously facilitate the change throughout the change program(De Caluwe & Vermaak, 2003).There can be times when the employees are unable to demonstrate a desired change in their behavior or work operations. In such conditions, an external change agent will have to assess the situation to find out the problems that are making it difficult for the employees to show a change and find out a solution to them in order to make the change possible. Manage: Change agents are solely responsible for managing the change program by preparing goals, objectives, due dates and timeline for the change program. They have to keep a track of all the progress that has been made during the implementation phase. They are the ones who have to delegate authority to people and hold them responsible for achieving the desired targets. Further, the change agents also have to decide rewards and punishments for the purpose of reinforcing the change in the minds of the employees(Stanford Univeristy, 2017). Difficulties in implementing the change The process of change management will not be an easy one for ABC Company Pvt. Ltd., which is evident from the fact that the company has taken a decision to recruit an external change agent. The company is already facing a situation where the employers and the employees have a different view point regarding the change program, which has already created a situation of dilemma in the company. The company is most likely to experience difficulties in the change program in the very first stage itself. Even before conveying an urgency for change, it is important for the employees as well as for the employers to identify the root causes that are forcing the organisation to undergo a change. These causes can be related with internal strategies, processes, operations, human resource management policies, etc. or can also be because of changing external environment factors, such as social factors, legal policies, laws, technology, etc. Without identification of the right factor that is having an impact on the business of a company and is 8
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT creating an urgency for a change, it is impossible to even plan a change program. Therefore, the change agent will first of all have to bring the employers as well as the employees on the same page of the book and collectively discover the areas of inefficiency. Once the correct areas of inefficiencies are discovered, it is only then that a change program can be designed and implemented to deal with the inefficiencies existing in the workplace. Role of diagnosis and feedback during organizational change Organizational diagnosis One of the most important activities in the field of organizational development and change is the collection of data of an organization and using it to decide the future courses of action. This process is known as diagnosis. Diagnosis is considered to be highly important in the contemporarybusinessworld(Worren,2013).Businessorganisationarecontinuously collecting terabytes of data that is related to their own organization, their competitors, the local and the global market and also of the industry in which they operate. Diagnosis not only helps in keeping up to date information about the changing market trends but also in analyzing the position of a company with respect to its past and the position of its competitive firms in the market. It is only through diagnosis that an organization can discover the areas where it lacks efficiencies and identify performance gaps. Once a company is able to identify the gaps in its performance levels and inefficient areas, only then it can design and implement planned organizational interventions in the form of a change program. Therefore, diagnosis is the foundation stone of any change program. Feedback Feedback is simply defined as a process of collecting and analyzing the reactions of a group of people towards a particular thing. In relation to an organisation, feedback is defined as a process of gathering information from stakeholders of a company to design and implement a new strategy or to make changes to an existing strategy. Employee feedback cannot only help business organisation in gathering information and employee reactions to a change program but can also help the employees in coping up with the change. In most of the cases, employee feedback has also been found to prove beneficial in designing and facilitation of a change program. For example, SendGrid is a company that 9
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT was undergoing a change in its leadership. The company used Culture AMP to gather feedback from the employees, which was aimed at gathering information about the key areas where the employees felt that the new CEO should focus on. The new CEO of the company used the information gathered through employee feedback to design and implement his change program and communication along with his own experience. The feedback program not only made it easier for the company to implement the change but also became a factor that facilitated the change program(Elzinga, n.d.). Employee feedback during a change program can be helpful in identifying the problems that they have been experiencing while making a transition from a previous state to a new state or a desired state in the future. Using the data collected through employee feedbacks, the managers or the change agents can make appropriate changes to the change program and can make it easier for the employees to accept the changes, which would otherwise have resulted in the employees offering resistance to the change program. Employee feedbacks also send out a message to the employees that their employer values their opinions, which can have a positive impact on the employees and motivates them to accept the change that their employer wants to implement(Carter, 2014). It can be clearly seen that diagnosis and feedback have a vital role to play while designing and implementing an organisation change. In absence of proper diagnosis, it can never be possible for an organization to identify a need to change whereas in absence of continuous feedback, it can become impossible for an organization to identify the on-going problems and the progress that has been made during the change program. Therefore, diagnosis and feedbacks should be continuously and carefully carried out by business organizations in order to ensure long term success and survival in the market. Conclusion Change has become an inevitable part of business organizations and there is no way in which a business organization can save itself from implementing a change in the workplace. As a result, it has become imperative for business organizations to foster a workplace culture where the employees are more open to change programs and have tie-ups with external change agents to increase the chances of success of a change program. Further, the changing business environment also makes it imperative that business organizations continuously 10
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ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT diagnose the environment in which they operate and gather feedback from their employees to make change programs more effective and successful. 11
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Bibliography Alagoz, E. et al., 2018. The use of external change agents to promote quality improvement and organizational change in healthcare organizations: a systematic review.BMC Health Services Research,18(42). Carter, S. I., 2014.The importance of diagnosis in implementing successful organization change : five case studies..[Online] Available at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/ &httpsredir=1&article=4039&context=dissertations_1[Accessed 1 April 2019]. Case, T. L., Vandenberg, R. J. & Meredith, P. H., 1990. Internal and External Change Agents.LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL,11(1), pp. 4-15. Change Management Forum, 2014.Internal and External Change Agents.[Online] Available at:http://changemanagementforum.blogspot.com/2014/02/internal-and-external- change-agents.html [Accessed 31 March 2019]. De Caluwe, L. & Vermaak, H., 2003.Learning to change: A guide for organization change agents.s.l.:Sage. Deepti, 2015.Greycampus.com.[Online] Available at:https://www.greycampus.com/blog/it- service-management/itil-change-management-roles-and-responsibilities [Accessed 31 March 2019]. Docsity, 2017.Internal and external change agents, Lecture notes for Change Management. [Online] Available at: https://www.docsity.com/en/internal-and-external-change-agents/2110211/[Accessed 31 March 2019]. Elzinga, D., n.d.cultureamp.com.[Online] Available at:https://blog.cultureamp.com/why- you-need-to-collect-employee-feedback-during-change [Accessed 31 March 2019]. 12
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Rust, F. & Freidus, H. e., 2001.Guiding school change: The role and work of change agents. s.l.:Teachers College Press. Stagl, H., 2011.www.enclaria.com.[Online] Available at:https://www.enclaria.com/2011/01/06/seven-roles-of-a-change-agent/ [Accessed 31 March 2019]. Stanford Univeristy, 2017.Change Management Roles and Responsibilities.[Online] Available at:https://uit.stanford.edu/service/changemgt/roles [Accessed 31 March 2019]. Tams, C., 2018.Forbes.com.[Online] Available at:https://www.forbes.com/sites/carstentams/2018/01/26/why-we-need-to-rethink- organizational-change-management/#11e80debe93c [Accessed 31 March 2019]. Worren, N., 2013.The importance of organizational diagnostics.[Online] Available at:http://www.organizationdesign.net/the-importance-of-organizational- diagnostics.html [Accessed 1 April 2018]. 13