Ensuring a smooth path to corporate change

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 05/24/2006 12:20 PM

Mona Sidjabat, Jakarta

We have been helping a state-owned plantation company implement change for some time in our capacity as management experts, and some of the key questions from employees during and after the critical period that need to be addressed are:

Question: Our company began introducing changes last year but to the best of our knowledge the process has not been smooth. Many employees do not want to discard old habits. What do you think a company should do to smoothen the process?

Answer: To begin transformation within a company, which means change, some drastic changes among the people involved can be difficult. So how can this process be effective? There are many important factors to successfully develop a new culture, but the keys are committed leadership, common needs and communication.

What is the role of a leader in the process of change?

Committed leaders are needed to provide vision, inspiration and assurance, and to demonstrate integrity, provide meaning, communicate values and generate trust. Trust is particularly important in obtaining support for and participation in the change process. In other words, if employees trust the change implemented by the top management team, they will automatically be encouraged to participate and support the change. Top management should, therefore, serve as a role model for employees, who should be informed of how changes will be carried out.

What does common needs mean?

It means that top management and employees have similar or common goals. They are aware that changes must be made to compete in business in order to survive. If this is so, then they will have the willingness and readiness to change.

How crucial is the role of communication in smoothing the process of change within an organization?

Communication is a key tool in promoting the need for change. Information about the process must be disseminated to all employees, for instance through information sessions, booklets or guidebooks. Guidebooks should contain plans and schedules of changes so that employees have guidance on how to implement the new culture on a day-to-day basis.

A key message is that during times of change, leadership involvement, employee engagement and communication are more important than in normal times, and can substantially affect the cost and outcome of the change process.

The writer is a manager and senior consultant at the Management Institute, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia. She has helped PTPN III cruise through corporate change.

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