The emotional case for change

We are in the middle of a wave of disruption. Digital transformation is changing the way we work and the way work is done across all organisational ecosystems.

Organisations want to survive this wave and then thrive in the long term. To do so, leaders are looking for initiatives to support their plans to adapt to change and the growing expectations of customers.

But, most digital transformation initiatives fail and will continue to fail. This is because the majority of digital transformation initiatives are focused on digital technologies rather than the holistic transformation of an organisation.

It’s important for leaders to view digital transformation from the perspective of the overall impact it has on the organisation: changing the culture, designing new processes, implementing new technologies and upskilling employees.

Simply implementing digital technologies without helping employees to plan for and respond to changes in the organisation and their day-to-day work will always lead to resistance.

For digital transformation initiatives to be successful, organisational change management must be part of the process. This means that employees need to be part of the digital transformation conversation.

The different sides of change

There are two sides to change, the technical side and the people side. The technical side views change as managing changes to a process, while the people side views change as the overall changes made to an organisation.

On the technical side, project leads and solutions architects use change management to manage change. This involves receiving the approval to make changes to a project, an operating environment or the release of a new application.

Change management can sometimes be the last phase in an IT project, coming after the implementation of a technology in order to train employees on the new system.

This approach focuses on the process of implementation, with change management an afterthought. In this situation, the change management team is only brought in when leaders are experiencing resistance from the end-users.

On the other hand, organisational change management is the application of a structured process and set of tools to prepare, support and help people through changes in the organisation. It is most commonly known as the soft side of change.

Changing attitudes and behaviours

Managing the people side of change is the most challenging and crucial component of any digital transformation initiative because change is an emotional journey.

It is only when individuals in the organisation embrace change that successful organisational change happens. If individuals don’t make changes to their day-to-day work, no digital transformation initiative will deliver results.

Some of the steps that leaders can take to manage change:

Engage

Assess where you are and who is ready for change, and document all the concerns of the sceptics who are likely to resist change. Communicate the vision to everyone, highlighting how the digital transformation will affect and benefit them.

Plan

Identify all the teams affected by the changes, along with key stakeholders in each team. Then create a change plan with specific actions for each individual and team, and establish how to measure their acceptance of change.

Implement

Communicate to everyone in the organisation to gain their support for the change. Identify and celebrate small wins publicly and reward the individuals who are responsible for each success to ensure that everyone stays committed to the change.

Final thoughts

The reason for and emotional case for change need to be connected. Leaders usually make the mistake of communicating a reasoned and logical case for digital transformation that lacks an emotional appeal to employees.

Employees respond to requests that make them feel that they are part of something. If they can see what’s in it for them and can see themselves in the vision, it will capture their hearts as well as their minds.

If you’re looking to move from where you are to where you need to be, get in touch with our consultants today to see how we can help you navigate your digital transformation journey.