Change is imperative for businesses to thrive in the modern world. For the sake of longevity, they must continuously evolve and embrace innovation and change.
However, many organizations tend to succeed with only about a third of their change initiatives. The reality is that large-scale shifts also imply deeper culture change — and this cannot be achieved without engaging the people working in the business.
While leadership teams may have a detailed transformation plan, this is not always well-communicated to employees. This results in a tendency to focus on simply adding tools and processes rather than familiarizing people and helping them adapt.
Ultimately, new tools are not enough. What many businesses lack is a focus on behavior — that is, thoroughly thinking about how both management and employees can alter their approach to reach the targeted outcomes.
Before we begin our discussion on behavioral change management, let’s refer back to some important concepts related to change in businesses.
Organizational change is the approach a company takes to alter or update an element of its organization. This can include anything from underlying technologies, tools, and infrastructure to internal operations processes and the company’s working culture.
To smoothly introduce and implement organizational shifts, business leadership teams must also focus their time and efforts on change management. Like other types of management, change management supports the business in embracing shifts to achieve the desired results. Here, the key is understanding how a company can adopt change as a collective unit, not only at the level of individual departments or workers.
This is also where behavioral change across all individuals in an organization can enable a harmonious transition.
Human behavior is key to successful change in an organization.
You can invest in all the high-end, state-of-the-art tools you want for your company — yet if employees are unable (or unwilling) to use them, you will simply end up dealing with the unpleasant aftermath of wasted resources.
It also doesn’t suffice to simply tell people what to do differently and give them the means to do it. Anything new will inadvertently require more cognitive (and sometimes physical) effort, so, especially for larger teams, adopting new methods and tools is far from simple.
Instead, to avoid friction, change must start from the top. This is why the role of intelligent and constructive leadership and management cannot be underestimated when it comes to transformative initiatives.
Many organizations struggle to manage change because leaders miss out on opportunities to form strong feedback loops and improve collaboration with their teams.
Whether it’s a period of transformation or consistency, managers should strive to run weekly or monthly review sessions with their teams to understand what may empower or block change — directly from the source. Simply listening, learning, and then testing and iterating solutions can help tackle any issues and bottlenecks.
Another obstacle is some leaders’ inability to translate abstract goals and visions into clearly defined actions aimed at reaching them.
Although it’s a process of trial and error, generating and communicating more specific directions to team members will guide them through change in a structured way. Undoubtedly, this will require significant effort in the short term — but it will also help managers address friction points and tackle issues before they become disruptive.
Despite the occasional roadblocks, change management that effectively addresses employee behavior can also create grounds for further growth and improvement.
Organizational behavior initiatives are an opportunity for leaders to understand the current strengths and weaknesses of their teams and identify areas of improvement. This gives a thorough insight into employees’ diverse skills and approaches; in turn, this can support managers in leveraging existing practices to implement strategic changes.
Employees may also feel more empowered and inclined to embrace change if they receive support through training or mentoring and are encouraged to up-skill. This can lead to an increased sense of autonomy, higher competence, and a better connection to both colleagues and leaders.
To achieve a transformative and rewarding shift, business leaders should pursue an inclusive approach through behavioral management.
Typically, the leadership unit is the main decision-maker when it comes to organizational change. Here, each member will be aware of the change, its goal, and the process of accomplishing it. Thus it is relatively uncomplicated to inform the management team of company changes or the introduction of new tools.
This can, however, result in a knowledge bias. Managers will be the first to find out about any new initiatives and get easy access to tools, and they will assume that their teams instantly get the same level of access and skill when it comes to the shift. This is not a realistic (or inclusive) way of thinking.
Instead, leaders should begin by supporting and guiding their teams through any shifts and transitions.
Behavioral management is based on the idea that behavior is a result of the environment and can be altered through rewards and punishments. While this is an extremely simplified way to see it, this general theory can still be applied when it comes to increasing employee motivation, boosting productivity, and enhancing organizational performance.
So, to successfully implement behavioral management, employers need to prioritize internal communication and clear goal-setting for their teams.
Some companies may even introduce the role of a behavioral manager, whose job is to manage change on an individual level and help employees adapt to transitions. They can apply behavioral science concepts to set appropriate objectives and KPIs and guide target behaviors through coaching. Behavioral managers may adjust their approach to the context of change, based on their insights and observations.
Alongside overall change management, behavioral management is an effective way to support employees and improve organizational performance. When done correctly, it can create a positive work environment, increase employee engagement, and reduce turnover — all favorable ways to implement organizational change.
Organizational change and its accompanying behavioral shifts are an important part of any company’s success.
Introducing behavioral change initiatives to complement the overall transformation can improve employee morale and increase productivity, creating a constructive and positive work environment. However, organizational behavior change is a complex process that requires careful planning and implementation.
Before any change initiative, business leaders need to take time to understand their company and build a plan that takes into account its people and culture. This requires a focus on communication, training, and support strategies that aim to help employees understand the shift and its benefits.
It’s also vital to ensure that the change is realistic and achievable. To accomplish this, employees should be given the necessary resources and support and be on the same page as the organization’s leadership.
If you’re interested in pursuing organizational change and digital transformation for your company, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at hi@mad.co.
