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LWC experience in change management

Change Management Lessons Learned

Our experience from day-to-day consulting

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Experience from over 10 years of change management

Our consultants are confronted with change management challenges in many different ways in many different projects. These include, for example, new managers, restructuring, the introduction of new IT tools and processes as well as the realignment of an organisation within a company.

LEITWERK has gained a great deal of experience in the field of change management over the last 10 years thanks to the large number of projects it has been involved in and has built up extensive expert knowledge. We took this as an opportunity to talk to some of our colleagues about their many years of experience.

In this article, we summarise our ‘Lessons Learned in Change Management’ and provide an overview of minor and major challenges that our consultants were confronted with. We also explain the effectiveness of measures and show various solutions for successful change management.

Our consultants in Change management

What is Change Management?

In theory, change management is easy to explain: due to permanent change, companies are forced to constantly adapt to new circumstances. Such changes can be: new inventions, changes in the market, new competitors, changes in the size of the company or global changes such as climate change.

Change management is used to successfully adapt companies to such changes.

By definition, change management is the ‘permanent adaptation of corporate strategies and structures to changing conditions’.

This already implies that change management intervenes deeply in the company's foundation. Successful change management therefore requires consistent change across all structures and processes.

The same questions often arise: How can employees be convinced of the change? How can identification with and motivation for the change be created? What does the company management need to contribute in order to not just view the change as an alibi function, but to actively fuel it and initiate and implement it in real everyday working life? How can change be anchored in the company in the long term and sustainably?

Changes must not only be initiated by the company's top management, they must also begin there.
William Wiggenhorn
Manager at Motorola

What are the biggest challenges in change management?

The biggest challenges may seem trivial at first, but they are not always easy to overcome:

  • Lack of understanding of relevance
  • Short time horizon
  • Poor communication

A new strategy has been officially adopted, but the actual implementation has never really begun. The lack of understanding of relevance within the management level often means that the topic is not prioritised or not prioritised enough and the focus on the change project is therefore neglected.

The time horizon also plays an important role. Change is often jeopardised if the cost of change is considered too low and initiated too quickly without sufficient preparation. The time pressure overwhelms those involved and leads to frustration if the planned steps cannot be successfully implemented within the specified time. It is therefore important to invest sufficient time in persuasion in order to promote acceptance of new structures.

The term most frequently used in change projects is communication. Often, employees are not consulted at all or too late. They are not aware of the hoped-for added value or the relevance of the change. If communication is not transparent and comprehensible, it is particularly difficult to counter opinions such as ‘But we've always done it this way’.

The key to the success of change projects is a well thought-out approach and regular review and adjustment of the approach, particularly with regard to the three points mentioned above.

Solution approaches in change management

Solution approaches in change management

In the illustration below, we have assigned possible solutions to each change management challenge. These solutions are based on our change management lessons learnt over the last 10 years.

Click through the change management challenges and see how we at LEITWERK deal with them.

1. Herausforderung 09

The new target image was formally accepted, but never implemented or pursued further.

  • The new target image was formally accepted, but never implemented or pursued further.

    • Examine the relevance behind the project. Why is it important and what is it intended to achieve?
    • Anchoring the successful implementation of the project in the corporate strategy and aligning the priorities set.
    • Concretisation of the target image and definition of interim targets/ milestones with clear responsibilities and communication channels.
    • Identification of breaking points during implementation.
    • Creation and establishment of tracking of originally planned measures.

  • The project scope does not include any change management activities, although these are necessary.

    • Creating transparency about necessary measures and activities.
    • Highlighting the connections and background of change relevance.
    • Localisation of change activities in risk management.
    • Breaking down the necessary change support into small, concrete tasks and actions.
    • Checking the planning of necessary activities.

  • Silo thinking and behaviour prevail.

    • Establish lean, overarching exchange formats (e.g. daily stand-up meetings, brown-bag lunches or guilds).
    • Strengthening the sense of unity, e.g. through team workshops/events, joint lunch breaks or open space formats.
    • Proactive involvement of those affected and their views on project planning.
    • Visualising quick wins that have arisen through knowledge transfer and exchange.

  • Employees reject change and are not open to new suggestions.

    • Actively listen and analyse the motives behind the rejection.
    • Establishing feedback channels and signalling appreciation of criticism and objections.
    • Strengthen and actively involve the promoters.

  • The employees do not realise why the change is needed and what will change as a result.

    • Examine the target image for the change project: Does it enable identification and is it motivating and understandable?
    • If necessary, joint identification workshop for the affected employees.
    • Review and adjust existing communication channels.
    • Transparent, proactive communication of goals and progress, e.g. in All Hands On Deck sessions.
    • Establishment of a feedback channel.

  • The customer attaches little importance to change management activities and the necessary capacities are not provided.

    • Highlighting the risks and potential stumbling blocks due to a lack of responsibilities.
    • Visualisation of progress to date.
    • Creating an overview of the activities required to ensure the success of the project.
    • Training and sparring for change experts and handover of responsibility.
    • Transparent communication and visualisation of obstacles in combination with concrete proposals for action.

  • The change project is repeatedly de-prioritised due to other issues.

    • Examination of the initial motivation for the change project.
    • Identification of the effects if the change project is not tackled.
    • Joint reflection on the prioritisation criteria.
    • Proactive involvement of various stakeholders in the topic to sensitise them to the relevance of change.

  • The manager shirks responsibility and does not support the change project.

    • Conducting an individual discussion with the manager in order to develop an understanding of the motivations.
    • Raising awareness of the role of the manager and the associated tasks in change projects (including the consequences of not fulfilling this role).
    • Concretisation of the necessary activities for the manager and support with implementation.

  • Too little time is considered or assumed, so that the success of a change project is jeopardised.

    • Sensitisation to the effects of a change project and systemic interrelationships.
    • Concretisation of the objectives and measures on the basis of a change roadmap, if necessary supplementing rough estimates of the complexity of individual steps.
    • Creation of a long-term vision and the communication strategy adapted to it.

Successful Change Management

This is an excerpt of our change management best practices from projects that our colleagues have implemented and successfully supported in recent years. Our success factors are

  • Transparent communication
  • Involvement of the management
  • Balance between can - should - want
  • We-feeling

The most important realisation gained from the projects is that change management must be initiated and communicated transparently at all affected levels right from the start. Everyone involved must be aware of why a change is necessary and why appropriate change management measures must be taken.

The management level must support and be able to explain the decision to change and all resulting operational changes in a comprehensible manner. A changeover does not happen without additional effort. This means that the corresponding capacities must be ensured and the effort must be planned appropriately. It is also important that the necessary steps are prioritised by the company management so that employees are given the space and opportunity to implement these steps.

‘People don't resist change, they resist being changed’ (Peter Senge)

Do you like being presented with a fait accompli? Probably not. For a change to succeed, everyone involved must be taken along on the journey.

For this reason, change management involves preparing, communicating and implementing the change step by step. Changes that are introduced too quickly are rarely successful in the long term. Employees must be given time to accept the change and integrate it into their daily work routine. The rule here is: step by step. A few small, but properly implemented and long-term anchored changes that are introduced into the company one after the other are much more effective and long-lasting than a large wave of change that washes away everything familiar in the company.

Here you can orientate yourself on the motivation trilogy of ability (qualification), willingness (participation) and should (freedom/power). Taking these three factors into account is the basis for ensuring that the change is supported by those involved.

A consciously created ‘we-feeling’ also helps to ensure that the change is supported and co-designed. Change management has the task of turning those affected into participants. For example, the employees involved can be directly integrated into the various process steps and the target image and vision can be developed together. This increases the intrinsic motivation of those involved and turns a company project into a project for each individual.

The involvement of employees also offers the opportunity to receive valuable impulses and feedback on the measures and successes and to become aware of necessary changes in direction in good time.

‘It is important that it should always be an internal person who is responsible for the change and that external people should only be active in an accompanying and supporting role. Change must come from within and cannot be bought in externally.’
Sonja Neubauer
Managerin at LEITWERK Consulting
communication in Change Management
Communication is key!

Communication is Key!

Early, transparent communication that clearly conveys the reason for changes and planned measures in companies is the key to successful change management and one of the central success factors.

However, the following also applies: communication is not one-sided, but a give and take. Actively listening, taking and processing feedback and responding to employees' voices is just as important.

Therefore, it cannot be said often enough: communication is key. Successful change management stands and falls with how and when which information is passed on to whom and received by whom. Open, transparent communication at the right time is essential - and not that easy.

We would therefore like to share with you a few of our methods that have enabled our colleagues to implement a successful communication strategy in their change management projects.

Change Management communication measures

Change Management – Our conclusion

To summarise, this means that change management must be lived. From the management level to all operational departments, it must be clear why a change is necessary in the company and what measures need to be taken. If this transparency is created and employees continue to be shown appreciation for their concerns, a change project can be implemented collaboratively and successfully in the long term.

Overview Change Management Lessons Learned
Do you have questions about change management or are you interested in our consultancy service?
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Sonja Neubauer - LEITWERK Consulting
Your contact person
Sonja Neubauer
+49 89 189 235 96
sonja.neubauer@leitwerk-consulting.com
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