The potty way of managing change

Have you been to a restaurant, a wedding, a shopping trip or a party and heard parents publicly (loudly and repeatedly might I add) asking their toddlers if they want to go wee-wee? You maybe in the middle of a most interesting conversation when suddenly the person you were talking to, from the corner of their eye, spots their prodigy passing by and without any excuses to you, yells out 'do you want to go to the toilet?'. It used to really bug me! I found it rude, insensitive, annoying and highly irritating...until...it was my turn to potty train my toddler! I have to admit it is a milestone when achieved! Along the way though, I did realise that there is a change management process and theory in action. Just like potty training, managing change isn't easy, it isn't quick, and it isn't without its set of issues. This blog looks at the 'potty training' theory to managing and implementing change.

Assess change readiness 

Does your child understand what wee-wee is, what potty is and what a toilet is? Do they know what happens internally and externally when the desire to extricate strikes? If not, then they are not yet ready to begin the process. Similarly, is your organisation or team or department ready for change? Now you might say, nobody voluntarily wants to be ready for change. I might paraphrase it to include the question, does your organisation realise that it may have to go through a change process? Are the employees aware of and know the parameters of why change is being brought about? More important, does the organisation have the capability to initiate and support change? Whether that's the external pressures or internal turmoil, whether it's in response to competition or instigated for innovation, the parameters within which the change is to take place have to be announced before the process even begins. Once the organisation understands (not necessarily to agree with it) the basis of change, it then becomes ready for embarking on the process. 

Communicate, communicate, communicate

Change doesn't happen in isolation. There has to be cyclical, spherical, 360 degrees of communication right through the process. When I was potty training, it was a group effort. Of course my son was primary stakeholder who was told, but I also told his nursery, the teachers, the childminder, the grandparents, the toddler group leaders, our friends and family, the house-cleaner and her dog (I know I am exaggerating, but you get the point). When everyone knows and reinforces the message and supports (some grudgingly), it builds the momentum required for change to happen. Similarly, it maybe led by the top, but every person at every level of the organisation must know and be aware that change "will be taking", "is taking" and "has taken" place. Every employee should be talking about it whether or not they are directly impacted. Communication is absolutely critical at every step of the way.

Break it up - introduce phases

Any big change can seem momentous, daunting, intimidating. So much so that it can demotivate and create resistance because it seems unachievable and unrealistic. With my son, the first stage was to get him to use the toilet for poo poos. Second stage was using the toilet for wee wee in the day time, third stage was being happy free during day time naps and last stage was to be dry through the night. Breaking down the whole process into bite size chunks made it seem achievable. Similarly, phasing change in organisations makes it easy to control and implement change. Setting out a step by step process makes it digestible and helps in concentrating resources in areas that are a priority. It can be difficult to identify what is a priority and what needs to happen first, but that is where the expertise and communications from the change manager (or initiator) is critical!

Remind, remind, remind

So going back to my earlier example of parents randomly asking their little ones about the toilet, is all part of this reminder stage. It is so easy for the children to be excited and get distracted that a constant reminder is needed to let them know that they aren't in nappies. Similarly, in organisations, it is paramount that the change leaders constantly remind the employees 1) WHY change is happening; 2) WHAT is changing; 3) HOW the change is progressing and having an impact and most importantly, 4) WHERE the change is making a difference. As the change process to those who are resisting is harder, the reminders go a long way in sharing, reassuring and getting a buy-in. For the rest, it acts as encouragement and acknowledgement that they are doing well in riding the change tide.

Celebrate and shout the success 

I remember fondly the expression on my son's face when I took him to buy his own big boy underpants. It was a celebration of successfully crossing a small milestone. He proudly told all his friends, family and kids at nursery about his achievement. We too let him know time and again about how proud we were of him. In the same way, organisations need to constantly monitor, evaluate and celebrate the success of the change that has taken place. It is important to recognise the achievement of each milestone and overcoming of each phase and letting everyone know about it. Undoubtedly, the change initiator has to become change recogniser, evaluator and celebrator. 

To sum it up, this example should explain the change process (the potty way). If you are an institution trying to make your expense claims electronic, the following steps would take you through it. First, check the readiness by seeing does the institution have robust systems to automises the process, next tell all the employees that the expenses will have to be submitted electronically from a certain date. Thirdly, phase it out, so that it becomes mandatory for certain expenses like those with travel receipts, etc are first and maybe easier to include. Next, keep reminding people that ongoing expense claims have to be made electronically and lastly, keep the people informed with how many expense claims came in online and how it has benefited the organisation whether that's in saving people's time or in quicker reimbursements.

There you go, so that's my potty way of managing change in an organisation. If you enjoyed reading this article and would like to know about other Mumagement theories, do visit my blog School of Mumagement.