What is Organizational Change Management? | Introduction to Change Management

Summary

Eric Kimberling, CEO of Third Stage Consulting, explains organizational change management as the process of altering people and culture within an organization to align with transformational goals. He emphasizes the importance of executive alignment, defining business processes, adjusting roles and responsibilities, and influencing culture. Kimberling also highlights the often-overlooked aspect of benefits realization, which measures the tangible outcomes of change efforts.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Organizational change management is about altering people, processes, and culture within an organization.
• 👤 It's crucial to align people and ensure they understand the change, its reasons, and its implications.
• 📈 Eric Kimberling, CEO of Third Stage Consulting, emphasizes the importance of executive alignment before initiating change.
• 🛠 Defining business processes and how technology fits into these changes is a fundamental part of change management.
• 👷‍♂️ Change management involves understanding how individual roles and responsibilities are affected by the change.
• 🌐 Culture is a significant aspect of change management, and it's important to consider what kind of culture the organization aims to achieve.
• 🔄 The process of cultural change is cyclical, requiring changes in people to influence the culture, and vice versa.
• 🚀 For effective change, it's necessary to help employees transition from the current state to the future state.
• 📊 Benefits realization is about measuring the outcomes of change efforts and their impact on company-wide performance.
• 📚 Kimberling offers resources such as papers, guides, and videos for those seeking detailed knowledge on executing change management.

Q & A

What is organizational change management?

Organizational change management involves anything required to change people and an organization's culture. It focuses on the human side of business, ensuring alignment and addressing the organizational and human aspects of transformation.

Why is organizational change management important?

It's important because it helps to ensure that changes are effectively communicated and implemented, reducing resistance and increasing the likelihood of successful transformation.

Who is Eric Kimberling and what is his role in organizational change management?

Eric Kimberling is the CEO of Third Stage Consulting and a change management consultant with 22 years of experience. He helps clients navigate their transformation journeys.

What does Eric Kimberling believe is the starting point of change management?

The starting point of change management, according to Eric Kimberling, is changing people, getting them aligned, and ensuring the human aspect of transformation is addressed.

Why is executive alignment crucial in the change management process?

Executive alignment is crucial because it ensures that leaders have a clear understanding of the change, its implications, and the key decisions behind it, which is necessary for effective communication and execution throughout the organization.

How does organizational change management address business processes?

It involves defining changes to business processes in detail, understanding how technology fits in, and how roles and responsibilities will change as a result of these transformations.

What is the role of culture in organizational change management?

Culture plays a significant role as the type of change an organization undergoes should impact or influence its culture. Change management must consider and work towards bending and influencing the culture over time.

How does change management help employees transition through changes?

Change management helps employees by defining a transition plan tailored to the organization, assisting individuals and work groups in migrating from the current state to the future state.

Why is benefits realization an important component of change management?

Benefits realization is important because it involves measuring the results of change efforts, holding individuals accountable, and allowing the organization to quantify the success of the change and make necessary adjustments.

What are some tools and mechanisms used in change management to align people?

Tools and mechanisms may include communication plans, training programs, role clarification, and cultural interventions, all aimed at aligning people with the change and ensuring they understand and support it.

How can an organization ensure that its change management approach is not a 'cookie-cutter' approach?

An organization can ensure a tailored approach by considering its unique context, culture, and goals, and by customizing change management strategies and tools to fit its specific needs.

Outlines

00:00

🔄 Introduction to Organizational Change Management

Eric Kimberling, CEO of Third Stage Consulting, introduces the concept of organizational change management (OCM). He explains that OCM is not universally defined and emphasizes its importance in managing the human aspects of business transformation. Kimberling defines OCM as anything required to change people and organizations, including culture. He discusses the need for alignment among employees and executives regarding the change and its implications. The paragraph also touches on the necessity of defining business processes and technological changes as part of OCM.

05:02

👥 The Human Side of Change: Roles and Responsibilities

This paragraph delves into the human side of organizational change, focusing on how roles and responsibilities are affected by company-wide changes. Kimberling stresses the importance of understanding and communicating these changes at various organizational levels, from the individual to the company as a whole. He highlights the need for a detailed approach to change management, rather than a broad, one-size-fits-all strategy. The paragraph also introduces the concept of cultural change as a critical component of OCM, discussing how changes in organizational culture can be influenced and the challenges of achieving cultural transformation, especially in established organizations.

10:04

🚀 Executing Change and Benefits Realization

The final paragraph discusses the execution of change within an organization and the importance of benefits realization. Kimberling talks about guiding employees through the transition process, helping them understand the future state of the organization and how to get there. He emphasizes the need for a tailored approach to change management that fits the specific needs of the organization. Additionally, the paragraph addresses the often-overlooked aspect of measuring the results of change efforts and holding individuals accountable for those results. Kimberling stresses the importance of this pragmatic, quantitative side of change management in ensuring the success of transformation initiatives.

Keywords

💡Organizational Change Management

Organizational Change Management (OCM) refers to the structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It is a key theme of the video, emphasizing the need for a strategic plan to manage the human and operational sides of change within an organization. Eric Kimberling, the speaker, defines it as 'anything to do with changing people and your organization to change your culture,' highlighting its broad impact on all aspects of a business.

💡Alignment

Alignment in the context of OCM means ensuring that all members of an organization understand and are committed to the changes being implemented. Kimberling stresses the importance of alignment, noting that it's crucial for executives and stakeholders to be aligned on the definition and goals of the change to prevent confusion and lack of clarity as the transformation progresses.

💡Transformation

Transformation is the process of radically making changes in organizational structures, business models, or ways of doing business. Kimberling mentions that his consulting firm helps clients through their 'transformation journeys,' indicating that OCM is integral to managing the complexities of large-scale change initiatives.

💡Business Processes

Business processes are the specific procedures and methods by which a company produces its products or delivers its services. Kimberling points out that change management must also involve defining changes to business processes, which is often overlooked. Understanding these changes is vital for aligning people with the new operational requirements.

💡Roles and Responsibilities

Roles and responsibilities pertain to the tasks, functions, and authority granted to individuals within an organization. Kimberling explains that change management involves defining how these will change as a result of the transformation, which is essential for helping employees understand their new expectations and for the successful execution of the change.

💡Culture

Organizational culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, customs, and behaviors that characterize a company. Kimberling discusses the impact of change on culture, noting that change efforts should aim to influence and shape the culture over time. He suggests that culture change is a core component of OCM and is closely tied to the human aspect of change.

💡Benefits Realization

Benefits realization is the process of understanding the value to be gained from changes and ensuring that the benefits are realized. Kimberling identifies it as a critical component of OCM that is often overlooked. It involves measuring the results of change efforts and holding individuals accountable for achieving the desired outcomes.

💡Stakeholders

Stakeholders are individuals or groups who have an interest or stake in the organization and its performance. Kimberling mentions the importance of having stakeholders aligned with the change, as their support and understanding are crucial for the change to be successful.

💡Standardization

Standardization refers to the act of making something uniform or conforming to a standard. Kimberling uses the example of a global company wanting to standardize business processes across the entire organization, illustrating how change management must address the detailed decisions behind such a move.

💡Technology

Technology plays a significant role in facilitating change within an organization. Kimberling implies that technology must be considered in the change management process, as it often accompanies changes in business processes and roles, impacting how work is performed.

💡Transition

Transition in OCM refers to the process of moving from the current state to the future state. Kimberling discusses the importance of helping employees through this journey, which includes understanding the future state and the steps required to get there. A well-managed transition is key to successful change implementation.

Highlights

Organizational change management is crucial for aligning people and culture within an organization.

Eric Kimberling, CEO of Third Stage Consulting, has 22 years of experience in change management.

Change management is not one-size-fits-all; it requires a tailored approach for each organization.

The human aspect of business is a key component of organizational change management.

Alignment of executives and stakeholders is essential before implementing change.

Clear communication of change is necessary to avoid confusion and lack of clarity.

Business process changes should be defined in detail as part of change management.

Understanding how technology fits into business processes is vital for successful change.

Change management must address how people's jobs will change as a result of organizational changes.

Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined at all levels of the organization during change.

Cultural change is a core component of change management and should be considered in the process.

Influencing and directing culture is a long-term process that requires strategic planning.

Executing change involves helping employees transition through the change journey.

Benefits realization is the process of measuring the results of change management efforts.

Accountability and measurement are key to ensuring the success of change management.

Resources for further learning on change management are provided by Eric Kimberling.

Customized change management strategies are more effective than generic approaches.

Transcripts

what is organizational change management

I've been a change management consultant

my entire career and sometimes I take

for granted that some people may not

understand what the word means some

people may have never heard of the word

and those that have may not understand

what it takes to manage change or why

it's so important and I want to talk

today about what is organizational

change management what does it mean to

you my name is Eric Kimberling and the

CEO of third stage consulting we're an

independent consulting firm that helps

clients through their transformation

journeys and like I mentioned at the top

of the video have been a change

management consultant for 22 years my

entire career so it's something that I

know very well and thought it'd be an

important time to take a step back and

just talk about the real fundamental

basics of change management and in my

philosophy of change management

[Music]

now the thing that change management is

that there's no one definition there's

no one standard way the change

management is defined and so I like to

keep it really simple and define it on

the surface as anything that is required

to change people and to change your

organization to change your culture

anything to do with the people and human

side of your business anything to change

that is what organizational change

management is so I'll talk in a few

minutes in this video about what some of

those tools and mechanisms are to change

people but the other part of change

management is how to keep those people

aligned how do we keep our organization

aligned and not just understanding what

the change is but being aligned on what

the change is and why it's happening and

what it means to all of us so in a

nutshell if I were to summarize a

starting point of what change management

is its anything to do with changing

people getting them aligned in ensuring

that the organizational human aspect of

your transformation is being addressed

now in addition to making sure that your

people your employees your overall

organization is aligned and actually as

a prerequisite to that you want to make

sure that your executives are aligned a

lot of times companies move forward the

changes or transformations of some sort

without having clear executive alignment

and definition of what this change means

to the organization why we're doing it

what some of the key decisions are

behind it so our executives and also the

key stakeholders within the organization

need to be aligned on what this change

is and how it's going to affect our

overall organization as an example a lot

of times we'll be hired by clients that

will say we want to standardize our

business processes across the entire

world or a global company we want

standard processes we want everyone act

like one company but what they don't

realize is what the detailed decisions

are behind that what are the decisions

that need to be made on what that

exactly means to act like one company

are there any exceptions to that is it a

all-or-nothing type proposition or are

we somewhere on a spectrum those are the

types of things that a lot of times

executives and stakeholders aren't

aligned on and when they start the

transformation and then hand it off or

expect the rest of the organization to

follow there's a lack of clarity

there's confusion around what that

really means so it's really important to

define a framework and sort of a

skeleton of what the change is make sure

that the executives and stakeholders are

aligned on that skeleton so that we can

continue to flush out the details with

the rest of the organization going

forward

now typically prior to change affecting

employees there is an identified change

to business processes or a set of

business processes so one of the first

things we need to do in order to be

effective at change management is to

define what our changes to business

processes are and a lot of change

management practitioners think that

business process stuff is outside the

realm of change management they think

that it's all about just dealing with

the human side of things but we also

have to deal with the operational side

of things because the human and

operational side comes together along

with technology to enable changes and we

have to understand what the changes to

business processes are we have to define

that in detail we have to define how

technology is going to fit in how roles

and responsibilities are gonna change

all that stuff that comes later we can't

do any of that until we've defined how

processes are going to look going

forward so part of change management is

by necessity defining what those

features state business processes are

so once we've defined what the business

process changes are we inevitably lead

to the conversation of how are people's

jobs changing if I typically had a

responsibility for a certain amount of

work and you're gonna take some of that

work away or you're going to add to my

workload or you're gonna give me a new

technology to do my job or you're gonna

take away a spreadsheet that I've always

used and obsessed over for 20 years my

job is changing and I need to understand

what those changes are and we as a

change management team need to

understand what those changes are so

that we can communicate to people and

help them transition through that change

now the thing about designing roles and

responsibilities is that different

people are affected and impacted

differently we work our way down from

company-wide changes down to business

units or locations down to departments

down to individual work groups and

ultimately individuals and we define

what the changes the roles and

responsibilities are for all of those

different people and a lot of times

people think of change management is

more of a shotgun approach where we just

take a high-level view of what the

changes are we send out some emails we

tell the management team and we call it

good but we have to get down to the real

micro level of understanding how one

individual person in each individual

person's job may be changing so that

whole definition of roles and

responsibilities is a critical component

of change management

[Music]

now an often-overlooked and hard to

understand aspect of change management

is culture what kind of culture is it

that you're trying to achieve with your

organization are you trying to change

your culture are you trying to become

more of a flexible organization are you

trying to become more of a customer

centric organization a more efficient

organization whatever the general type

of change your going through is going to

have an impact or should have an impact

on your culture in an order for us to

change the culture we have to change the

people and in order to change the people

we have to change the culture so it's

sort of a closed-loop cycle and so

change management has to take culture

into account and we have to figure out

what are the things we can do to start

to bend the culture and start to

influence the culture recognizing that

it's not going to happen overnight and

if we're trying to achieve a certain

future state it's going to take years or

maybe even longer to get there but we

can start influencing that culture and

directing people in that direction now

now the younger of a company you are the

easier cultural change typically is if

you're a more established organization

with highly tenured employees it's going

to be a bit harder to change that

culture but regardless you still want to

define what that culture is and cultural

change is a core component of change

management so when it comes to execution

the next component of change management

is helping employees through the journey

helping them through the transition

helping them understand that this is our

future state over here here's where we

are today and how are we gonna help them

migrate from point A to point B and so

it's really that execution part of

defining how is it we're gonna help each

individual person in each individual

work group transition through the change

throughout the organization and again

this is going to be something that's

tailored to you every change management

plan and strategy and approach should be

tailored for your organization and watch

out for cookie cutter approaches because

cookie-cut cookie-cutter methodologies

and tool sets typically don't work

because they're cookie cutter and they

aren't unique to who you are and who

you're trying to become so defining what

that transition plan is and what the

overall change transition plan is going

to be

is a very core and important part of

what organizational change management is

[Music]

and now the final major component of

organizational change management that a

lot of change if not most change

practitioners fail to recognize is

benefits realization how do we measure

the results how do we identify how our

efforts should and will impact our

actual company-wide performance so if

we're trying to become a more customer

driven a customer centric organization

for example how is it that we're gonna

measure and hold individuals accountable

and how can we actually measure the

results after the fact to see how

successful we were in our change efforts

so that we can modify and tip it and

reinforce where it needed so benefits

realization and then more pragmatic and

tangible and quantitative side of change

is extremely important and it's a bit

different than the soft touchy-feely

side of change management it's very

hands-on at tactical but it's very

important and something that oftentimes

gets overlooked but benefits realization

is the final major component of what

organizational change management is or

should be

so I hope this provides a basic

introductory level understanding of what

change management is why it's important

what the major components of change

management are now if you're looking for

more detail on how to actually execute

some of these things I've talked about

today I've included a number of

resources in the links below I've

published a lot of papers there's a

guide to organizational change

management I've included a link to below

I've put a number of videos on my

youtube channel about change management

a lot of different articles and blogs we

have written on our website so I've

included just a few of those links below

to help get you started so I hope you

found this information useful and I'd

love to hear your feedback any change

efforts a year going through any

feedback on how you would define change

I encourage you to provide comments in

the fields below please like this

channel and please feel free to reach

out to me if you like to brainstorm

ideas on how to manage change within

your organization I've included my

contact information below to reach me to

set up a time to talk so I hope you're

having a great day I hope you found this

helpful

and we'll chat with you soon

[Music]