Beatrice Buchmann

Change Management –
a key qualification for competitiveness

The need for change in companies is very diverse. The drivers for the need for change can be external or internal. Internal change initiatives can, for example, be caused by a new strategy, changes in business processes and organisational structures, by the development of technologies or by a change in management.

I would like to show you a change management process using a case study.

Objectives
On the basis of a strategic review of the logistics division of a larger production company, a need for change arose in the purchasing subdivision. The need for change included, on the one hand, a structural adjustment of the sub-division and, on the other hand, changes in the requirements and competence profiles of the employees concerned. In this sense, it was important to involve HR at an early stage in the change process.

Holistic view
Together with the team leader, his supervisor and the HR manager, it was decided to implement this change initiative in the sense of a uniform organizational development project.

The project objectives covered the three important dimensions for the effectiveness of change management:
- the factual dimension with the contents: What needs to be implemented technically?
- the social dimension: What is the interaction of the affected people like? Is there a need for behavioural changes? How are people involved and communicated?
- the time dimension: what temporal rhythm does change need?

The project concept was structured in two phases, which, however, flowed strongly into each other. The first phase (6 months) was characterised by three closely consecutive workshops as well as a high presence and support of the external consultants. As it was a small team of 5 employees, the project was managed directly by the team leader, i.e. no steering group was formed. Since the consultant was only "briefed" by the team leader, the dramaturgy of the workshops was kept open. This gave the team the opportunity to help shape the goals and content of the workshops and to identify with them. It was an important goal to strengthen the mutual trust within the team and towards the superior and to develop trust in the change process and in the future. It was also a matter of understanding the need for change and thus picking up the commitment of those affected. The motto was "Turning those affected into participants". Fears had to be taken up and resistance had to be worked on. An important part of the consultancy was also to advise and coach the team leader in his new role as change manager. The team leader was also affected by the changes. The second phase (12 months) was dedicated to the implementation and anchoring of the change. A new organisational structure was established. On the other hand, the team members were also given new tasks. This means that the functions and thus the requirement and competence profiles had been changed and the specialist knowledge and skills of the team members had to be developed. Here, the HR managers played an important role in supporting the team's change and learning process. After six months and at the end of the implementation phase, an evaluation workshop was held. The role of external consulting shifted into a coaching role. The team leader assumed a more active role as change manager.

Conclusion: there are success factors for the effective implementation of a change project:

Effective leaders - teamwork - communication. People are the keys to successful change processes. HR can contribute a great deal to the selection and further development of people.

* VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainity, Complexity, Ambiguity)