When organizations undergo change, leaders sometimes move forward with the changes but do not pay attention to the aspect of human transition. This part of change management is essential for helping people understand and commit to organizational changes. HR can assist with this part of the change process. Weiss describes an eight-step process for implementing change that HR teams can use:
1. Urgency. Leaders must define the urgent and important business reasons that are motivating the change.
2. Team. A change team should be established to champion the process. HR should make sure that the right change leader is selected and that the individual will be capable of handling that role. HR may need to coach the change leader or disseminate best practices related to organizational change.
3. Change strategy. The change team must define the strategy by which the change will be implemented.
4. Stakeholders. A pitfall that often occurs when implementing change is that stakeholders are involved too late in the process.
5. Detailed planning. The planning phase focuses on defining how the change will be implemented and creating contingency plans in case problems arise. A gate review process is a good way to monitor progress over time.
6. People. In this stage, emphasis is placed on communication and training in order to help people adjust to the change. Another aspect of the People stage is helping people cope with stress.
7. Implement. Important considerations for implementation include simplifying the approach to fit the needs and implementing as quickly as possible. It may be necessary to modify the implementation plan over time.
8. Improve. To ensure that the implementation is as successful as possible, it is important to measure results, share learnings throughout the organization, and commit to continuous learning.
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