Organisational Change Management

What is Organisational Change Management?

Organisational Change Management refers to all the processes that are planned and implemented to prepare for, adopt to and support organizational change.

Every effort that requires changing the “normal” way that projects. processes or the organizations have been operating will create natural resistance, as people are uncomfortable deviating from the conventional way they have been accustomed to operate; not only they will not support the new effort, but they will often sabotage it. If this resistance is not managed properly and expertly, it can cause the project to fail.

Organizational change is  always resisted and very often fails if it’s not planned for and managed appropriately.

How does The Mentor Group manage this process?

Combining a structured MOC (Management of Change) with a personnel evaluation and screening process will ensure that the right people with the right skills are retained and able to perform in a new and dynamic environment. These elements, will include our proprietary assessments, followed by the planning, training, application and installation of the Change Management methodology.

We consider buy-in and support at all levels as a critical success factor of any initiative we undertake. Our implementation is largely supported by organizational change management methods and includes understanding and managing the needs of the team and key stakeholders.

The Mentor Group consultants coach and mentor the project executives, project managers and team leads, focused on the critical needs, while coordinating the development of project management effort, and facilitate project workshops, ensuring understanding and buy-in of the project management concepts and benefits.

We use recognized international standards as reference to design new or enhance the existing project procedures, tools and templates. These standards include the Project Management Institute (PMI) methodology, as well as Decision Analysis, Value Engineering and Continuous Improvement practices, among others.

The Mentor Group ensures that the application of the standards, methodologies and best practices are applied in a fit-for-purpose manner, carefully considering the client business requirements, capabilities and needs right from the start.

The Mentor Group conducts an initial review of Client strategy, Business Plan, Vision and Mission and Goals, review any existing project documents available, and hold interviews with Executive Management and Project Managers; this will enable The Mentor Group to better understand clients’ strengths and areas that need to be improved to support the company project activities.

Coaching is the unique strength of The Mentor Group and effective approach that we have been offering to our clients, which focuses in the development of project management capability and creates the environment of a sustainable new culture.

Coaching is a partnership, based on the client’s success. The coach works closely with project managers and team members to empower them to arrive at the best solution using their strengths, while guiding them towards the best practical application.

What techniques are employed by The Mentor Group to affect this process?

Managing change effectively requires moving the organization from its current state to a future desired state at minimal cost to the organization.

Key steps in that process are:

• Understanding the current state of the organization. This involves identifying problems the company faces, assigning a level of importance to each one, and assessing the kinds of changes needed to solve the problems.
• Competently envisioning and laying out the desired future state of the organization. This involves picturing the ideal situation for the company after the change is implemented, conveying this vision clearly to everyone involved in the change effort, and designing a means of transition to the new state.
• An important part of the transition should be maintaining some sort of stability; some things—such as the company’s overall mission or key personnel—should remain constant in the midst of turmoil to help reduce people’s anxiety.
•  Implementing the change in an orderly manner. This involves managing the transition effectively. It might be helpful to draw up a plan, allocate resources, and appoint a key person to take charge of the change process.
• The company’s leaders should try to generate enthusiasm for the change by sharing their goals and vision and acting as role models. In some cases, it may be useful to try for small victories first in order to pave the way for later successes.

Change is natural, of course. Proactive management of change to optimize future adaptability is invariably a more creative way of dealing with the dynamisms of industrial transformation than letting them happen haphazardly.