Having a Hard Time Managing Change? You're Not Alone.

Mark Vickers

Welcome to a new weekly feature here on Total Picture Radio - TrendWatcher - in association with i4cp - the Institute for Corporate Productivity. We're happy to report TPR has formed a strategic alliance with i4cp, allowing us to publish on our site the complete weekly research report in their TrendWatcher initiative, and record a weekly interview with the lead author of the article.

Joining us today from St Petersburg, FL, is Mark Vickers, vice-president of research at i4cp. Mark is responsible for managing and editing various major research projects at i4cp. He is also a futurist and the editor of the company's TrendWatcher publication, which examines the business and social trends that are likely to influence the future of work.

Questions Peter Clayton asked Mark Vickers:
Today we’re going to be discussing your latest TrendWatcher article, but first - tell us how you make a determination on which trends to research?

Can you give us an overview of the methodology i4cp uses for the TrendWatcher research?

So I just came from a two day media summit in NYC - the mediabistro Circus. One of the speakers, Jim Roberts, editor of Digital News at the New York Times was discussing the sea-change taking place in the publishing industry. For them, change really is the “driving car” metaphor you start the Managing Change report with. Can you share this with the audience?

Are there other industries we can talk about that are experience the kind of disruptive innovation - to quote Clayton Christensen - the at publishing industry is experiencing?

Change management has been around for a long time - why do so many companies fail at it?

Did you uncover some common mistakes companies make when they undertake a change management initiative?

The i4cp survey shows that the single biggest driver of change in organizations is the need to increase revenue/sales, with 60% of respondents citing those factors to a high or very high extent. What other drivers are common?

Quoting from the article: “In fact, other major research conducted by i4cp clearly shows that high-performing organizations are more likely to thrive on change. Therefore, those organizations are largely responsible for the acceleration of change in today's world.” Can you elaborate on this?

Back to the example I gave at the beginning - Jim Roberts from the NYT - if you’ve been on their site...

Mark, what are organizations doing to become more successful managing change?

How is HR involved?

To many people “change” is synonymous “lay-off” does your research bare this out?

TrendWatcher Article 

Let's say you're driving a car. Make it a high-performance model. It's a splendid ride because you're in complete control of a powerful machine. Now let's say your brake lines have been cut. Not so much fun anymore. And then let's add another problem: The car is actually accelerating on its own. The corners are getting sharper, and you don't have time to envision what might be coming around the next one.

This sounds like a video game idea, but it's also a fairly good metaphor for how today's business world looks to many people. A new i4cp survey, conducted in partnership with HR.com, found a large majority (86%) of the 132 respondents saying that things are accelerating in the business world, with the pace of change growing faster than it was just five years ago. This is making it harder to see "down the road." Half of responding companies say change is becoming either increasingly difficult or downright impossible to predict. It's little wonder that a majority of companies don't have a lot of confidence in their ability to manage change well. When asked about the extent to which their own change initiatives have been successful, seven out of 10 respondents said their organizations have been, at best, moderately successful.  And when asked how well their organizations handle change initiatives in general, fewer than a third (30%) said they believe their organizations do it "pretty well" or "very well." In short, most respondents see their companies as mediocre or worse when it comes to managing change.

But just because most companies aren't very good at managing change doesn't mean they can avoid doing it. In fact, every responding company has undertaken at least one major change initiative over the last year. Twenty-two percent said their organizations have undertaken from two to four major change initiatives, and about a quarter (26%) reported that they have undertaken more than five major changes.

Such initiatives might become more common during recessions, with 39% saying such "economic downturns" motivate change to a high or very high extent in their organizations. But it's not as if organizations need to be spurred by declining economies. By its very nature, capitalism drives change. The i4cp survey shows that the single biggest driver of change in organizations is the need to increase revenue/sales, with 60% of respondents citing those factors to a high or very high extent. Cost-saving measures are also a major motivator of change, as is the need for growth.

Since capitalism has spread dramatically in recent decades with the entry of China, the former Soviet Union, and various other nations into the global market economy, these drivers of change will become more powerful in the future. In fact, other major research conducted by i4cp clearly shows that high-performing organizations are more likely to thrive on change. Therefore, those organizations are largely responsible for the acceleration of change in today's world.

This dynamic feeds itself. Companies engage in new change initiatives because the pace of change keeps increasing, and the pace increases because all companies keep embarking on new initiatives. Since the bar keeps being raised, it's hard for most companies to feel that they're excellent at managing change. On the other hand, those that are exceptional at it get to help drive change rather than just react to it. This gives them a competitive advantage.

The responsibility for making sure any organization stays competitive falls largely on leadership, so it's no surprise that, when asked who is responsible for managing change initiatives, most respondents point toward the top of the organization. Two-thirds point to the CEO (26%), senior VPs (25%) or vice presidents (18%).

Given the important role of leaders, it makes sense that communication and training are the top strategies companies use to manage change. When asked what their organizations were doing or planning to do to improve their responses to change, 59% of respondents said the first strategy was to improve "communication of organizational values/mission/vision." It's clear that getting everyone on the same page is crucial for organizations considering changing direction.

Training to improve leaders' change management skills was cited by 46% of respondents, followed by the establishment/development of talent pools (42%), training to improve employee perception and handling of change (41%), and senior leadership's modeling of receptivity to change (40%).

When respondents were asked about the role that HR undertakes in regard to change initiatives, 62% said HR serves in an advisory capacity for leaders, and 67% said HR "redesign[s] people-related programs or systems to support change (such as rewards programs, compensation programs, job descriptions, HRIS, etc.)." About half (53%) said HR "design[s] and deliver[s] training needed to support the changes."

Another interesting survey finding is that a majority (57%) of respondents said that HR is involved during the planning process for change initiatives, but even more (63%) said HR is involved during the implementation of the change. Being involved during the planning process, of course, tends to increase the chances of success in the implementation phase, so it's probably good news that HR is getting a seat at the planning table. This means workforce-related policies will be more proactive than reactive, providing HR with a more predictable road into the future.

About the Author:
Mark Vickers, vice-president of research, i4cp
Mark is responsible for managing and editing various major research projects at i4cp. He is also a futurist and the editor of the company's TrendWatcher publication, which examines the business and social trends that are likely to influence the future of work. Mark is most recently the editor of a series of comprehensive research reports commissioned by the American Management Association. He has authored and co-authored various periodical articles, including "Business Ethics and the HR Role: Past, Present, and Future" in Human Resource Planning and "Cyberhumanity" in Employment Relations Today.

Resources:
Institute for Corporate Productivity
AMA Webcast: Agility and Resilience in the Face of Continuous Change

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