Responding to Change in Small Business Environment.

Changes are introduced in a business in order to gain positive outcomes, like increasing profit, improving customer service, improving employee benefits, keeping up with the changing world and technologies available, standing out in the competitive business platform etc.

Each individual involved when organisations or businesses go through the change process, is responsible for effectively responding to the process and supporting it in order for the change to happen without much negative consequences. Each one should be able to identify the reasons for this change and should be able to adapt to the effects of change on one’s own work. Individuals or teams involved in the implementation of the change process should occasionally review the effects of change on employees and processes and then record and analyse the outcomes. You may read about this in detail in my post Supporting Change in Business Environment.

It helps everyone to work with dedication and involvement. It helps them decide on timeframes, staff numbers, quality, quantity, training needs, costs etc.

After a change has been implemented, it needs to be reviewed for effectiveness. The purpose of reviewing the effects of change on people, processes and outcomes is that staff, teams and departments will want to know how they are performing as individuals, as teams and as an organisation after the change was implemented. Reviewing and producing the effects can help them rectify errors and take steps to perform better in the future. Performance review also gives people a view of what is expected vs what was achieved and what needs to be done to achieve or surpass the set goal. It keeps the staff and departments helping each other whenever necessary, and to know who to contact when need be.Constant reviewing of the effects of change can give rise to exceptional performance of teams, individuals and organisations. It helps to clear uncertainties. You can monitor the progress and track to see if the change has yielded beneficial result. Reviews help keeping up with changing technology and implementing innovative ideas.

Here are a few ways to access, accept and review the effect of change:

• Conducting group discussions, meetings, brainstorming sessions and one-to-one sessions to gather updates, performances, problems, statistics and other information
• Communicating achievements, rewards and recognition programs, and celebrating success of employees, teams and departments to keep them motivated
• Frequent collating of updated information and communicating it to concerned teams or individuals
• Conducting reviews and supervisions to ensure that people are trained and have the necessary skills
• Giving and receiving feedback to find out how employees are contributing and accepting the change.

Change is not a one-time process. It is an ongoing effort to improve service, product and performance. It helps in better functioning of an organisation’s or department’s ways of working, relationships, partnerships etc. It is better to make constant changes as small improvements to the business than to wait for a problem to occur and then make a huge change all at once.

As feedback is received, it should be analysed and implemented, if agreed upon by the stakeholders. This does not only help with smooth functioning of the business, it also keeps the staff and employees happy.

While it is clear that no change can make everyone happy, all employees must welcome a change in business strategies or functions, as a step towards a better future. In addition, an employer should make sure that no change is made in a way that it makes the employees feel at a loss. For the smooth functioning of a change that is implemented, it is important that the employee’s benefit be kept in mind. It is a good idea to get your employees involved in decision making. Use a voting system or collect anonymous feedback before implementing change. Technology has made all of this possible at the click of a button, and it not only helps form better business relationships, it further establishes the employee’s trust in the employer. If this sounds interesting, contact HyperEffects, for a free consultation on the concept, now.

Fundamentally, it’s about recognising that your staff are your business. Take good care of them while implementing a change, and you’ll reap the rewards.