This is the title of a new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) which reflects on the practical experiences of 11 large organisations that have undergone the change process over a three year period.

According to the report there are some common areas of shared ‘change experience including:

Choosing a team
Managing change requires different skills at different phases. It is important to take this into account the skills required when thinking about who manages the different stages of the change project.

Project management
Research shows project management skills were lacking in almost half of all change initiatives – a key contributor to the failure to achieve objectives.

Consulting
Employers must consult with employees, unions and other stakeholders so that they understand how change is likely to affect them. This is essential in order to manage the project successfully and to ensure all issues are raised and dealt with.

Communicating
It is important to keep employees informed of changes that may take place throughout the organisation. Only then will management gain their trust and understand why structures are changing.

Vanessa Robinson, CIPD Organisation and Resourcing Adviser commented: “Employers tend to focus on the end rather than the means when approaching change. But this will only lead to failure. Employers must look at the whole process when approaching reorganisation, from the communication and development of change to the end result. It is far safer to create a small change that can be implemented successfully over time.”