Change is Great…Until you Go Through It!
In the last few decades there are as many books written on ‘Change Management’ than just about any other business topic or industry focus. People have made careers from writing about and teaching processes on ‘Change’ to companies and people to help manage and adapt and successfully get through it with the positive outcomes for all involved. Thankfully, there are some effective strategies out there, and one to the next, they are not demonstrably different. Most are rooted in foundational principles about human nature, what history as taught us, and real-world examples of companies that have done it well and flourished. The cautionary tales are also out there for those companies who’ve simply proceeded to implement change, overlooking the need to account for change management, and the cost and delays that result are significant.
Managing change is a Must-Have Skill for leaders, whether you are a business leader, a teacher, a community organizer, or even a parent. Anyone can tell you how it is today and how it will be tomorrow, but if change is not planned for properly, accounting for the makeup of an audience, how they learn, and what they are being asked to adapt to, they will not feel good about the changes, causing stress, frustration, and possibly employee turnover, as people leave for an environment they perceive as more stable, supportive and better able to articulate a vision clearly. Change is inevitable, particularly for industries where competition is strong, which is most industries. The goal of change management is to create a positive outcome for the company and its people throughout the change process, and long after. Accounting and strategizing for what can be a painful and stressful process for employees at all levels, will help people to feel like owners of Change, not collateral damage.
Why Fear Change?
- Uncertainty: A vision not properly translated, and confirmed to have been understood by all, will cause people to fill in their own answers, and connect their own dots which will run the gamut and ratchet up the panic-meter.
- Clarity: Without a clear understanding of what is to come, most will not see be able to see the outcomes you envision, and instead may think about worst-case scenarios. If you don’t message well, and frequently, in a personalized way, it makes sense that some will assume the worst.
- Security: People have responsibilities to family, finances, kids in college, and mortgages while thinking about their own careers, job satisfaction, and being fulfilled. Communicating a message of company and job security through change is essential to avoid any belief that job-security be at risk.
- Exposure: When someone becomes an expert at their job, particularly as a leader, ‘Change’ can expose what may have been a hidden development area. Proper change management training is key to ensure an organization can manage through change with full buy-in from leadership. Change starts at the top, and if leaders do not have the skills or tools to lead it, the new process or products being implemented will no doubt struggle through execution. No leader, nor their teams, want their weaknesses or under-developed areas on display. Thus, the precursor for business-change needs to be training and skill-building to prepare leaders to deliver as intended, while positioning each to maintain respect and strength across the organization.
Companies Leading the Way for ‘Change’
Apple
has become one of the largest, if not THE largest corporation in the world. When nearly everyone on the planet has one of your products, you have figured out the formula for success. It was not always that way as most people know. In the early and mid-90s, after many years of profitability, and revolutionizing the technology industry, they were not immune to changes in customer behavior and the immediate response from upstart companies looking to take a bite of that…’Apple’.
When Apple faced tough times, it was the founder, Steve Jobs, that people feared was losing his steam, or unable to continue to move the company forward, leading to his being replaced as CEO. After a few years of of unspectacular innovation and growth, Jobs returned to Apple, and the rest as they say is not only history, but truly the stuff of Business Legend. He refocused the company he began, an all of its employees on Design and Innovation. Jobs drove significant changes, eliminated products that simply didn’t work or never took off, and focused on a more simplified product line that he believed Apple could execute and deliver to the masses better than anyone. As we know, he was right. Apple has grown revenues from $7 Billion in 1997 to over $270 Billion by 2020.
Since making wholesale changes at every level of the company, the way that that Steve Jobs and Apple approached Change were the difference-makers:
Employee Satisfaction: Apple boasts one of the highest ratings from employees on Work Environment, Leadership, and Culture. Turnover is low, and Apple employees who do leave, see how their tenure at the tech-giant as a major factor in landing high-ranking positions at other companies, and provides credibility when they look to start businesses of their own.
Client Satisfaction: People love Apple products. When the products you sell are so good, they no longer simply appear on the shelves at Walmart or Best Buy, but their own stores. You have a client base that wants YOU as much as they want your products. Like Apple products, people love the Apple Store Experience just as much. From the Genius Bar, whose people are clearly trained in both product knowledge and client handling, it is an exceptional experience for customers, who rate Apple among those top-tier companies up, like Disney, for whom the world has become their customer. They prioritize the customer experience better than most, and know that service is part of a system – The Apple Experience – a comprehensive, immersive approach to retaining customers and providing continual growth.
Microsoft
Not far behind Apple, as both a Tech Giant, and a leader for the Client and Employee Experience, Microsoft has managed change throughout their long history exceedingly well. For more than 30 years with Bill Gates at the helm, Microsoft has been a household name, and built a platform that every computer manufacturer in the world knows it must have to sell their products. Eventually, when you have become the richest person in the world, and held that title for the better part of two decades, you look to other areas of life to scratch that itch and stay relevant, which Gates did, transitioning away from Microsoft to focus on charitable endeavors through his global foundation. For the thousands of employees that made up the Microsoft family for many years, that meant someone new would be taking the helm, and when that happens, there is always change. The big question on every employee’s mind is ‘what is next?’.
In 2014, Satya Nadella become the Microsoft CEO, and immediately implemented significant changes. She saw the future, and realized that simple software and hardware relegated to machines on people’s desks and offices world-wide was a proven and successful formula. But it was not where the industry was headed and Microsoft not only needed to join the party, but always look to Lead the Way. She shifted the company’s focus on ‘The Cloud’, on Mobile Devices, and on Productivity Software. The company shifted from what was a traditional software company to a cloud-based services provider, which had an immediate positive and profitable result. Nadella’s vision and ability to implement the necessary changes to execute, and saw Microsoft’s market cap double under her leadership, driving revenue growth from $68 Billion to nearly $170 Billing within a few years. Along the way, implementing so much change to their workforce, Microsoft’s Employee and Client Satisfaction ratings only got better as well.
Employee Satisfaction: Microsoft boasts some of the highest results among large-scale companies, and companies on any scale for that matter. Employees cite not only the positive and supportive environment, but the added focus in recent years on Workplace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has propelled the company to one whose employees love their company, and plan to stay long-term.
Client Satisfaction: Microsoft’s Cloud-Based services and products have quickly become a part of the infrastructure for most industries, achieving high ratings from their clients who are loyal, and re-up for Microsoft’s latest innovations year after year, which is the most telling sign that a client loves what you offer.
Amazon
If ever there was a company that changed direction, it is Amazon. From an online bookseller in the 90s, Amazon began selling just about everything en route to becoming the world’s largest retailer. While the growth of Apple and Microsoft over the same timespan was highly impressive, Amazon’s growth in revenue from about $4 Billion to nearly $400 Billion is simply unprecedented.
The forward thinking CEO, Jeff Bezos, knew he had a formula for success with one of the best customer service systems: Simple, Fast, and Reliable with a Best-in-Class return policy that quickly made people want to shop Amazon as much for their Service as their Products and Pricing. Expanding their business from Books to…Everything, Amazon also built AWS-Amazon Web Services, which serves companies large and small, as well as individual users. In a relatively short period, Amazon has made themselves nearly All-Things to All-Consumers, and why they continue to grow bigger and more profitable every year. Along the way, their customer base loves them and continues to grow, while the employee experience lagged behind the pace of Amazon’s changes and innovation. Still, Amazon has innovated and improved in this area as well, receiving higher marks from employees year to year, building a culture that employees love.
No one would suggest that change is easy or seamless in business, as in life. There is not a person among us that has been through change, particularly the bigger changes and said ‘Wow, that was so easy’! If a business simply assumes that it is about the quality and delivery of a product or service that is new or changing, and deprioritizes the Change Process, they are in for a rough ride.
There are specific, tangible elements to change that can be accounted for, and planned out, just like the quality analysis done on products. The priority needs to be: Managing Change First – Execute Change Second. Change Management needs to be front and center throughout change implementation, at all checkpoints, right through and well after its completion. Soliciting input from employees on both the new process or product and how well ‘Change’ was managed is critical. We see time and time again how the failure to do so costs time and money, and frustrates a workforce, which is likely to be smaller by the time the changes have been implemented. Partnering with employees, securing buy-in at all levels will make people feel that they matter, are valued, and not victims of change. The responsible approach is in guiding and supporting people through change, communicating clearly, frequently, and transparently, instilling the belief that everyone, at all levels, have led the company through change.
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