Over a cocktail, my girlfriend recently asked “What is organizational change management anyway – I don’t quite understand it”. So let me break this down for you in plain and simple English – the definition, purpose and needs of this perceived enigma.
The Cambridge Business English dictionary defines organizational change management or OCM as the process of organizing change in a large organization in an effective way. Put more simply, OCM is people doing work differently – whether it is a different type of work, different ways of doing work or different ways of working together. When people ask me what I do for living I commonly respond with “I focus on the people side of change” or “I help people to utilize and adopt change” or “I help people transition from current to future state”. Notice the emphasis on the word people? Those familiar with OCM might go straight to “communications and training” as their oversimplified definition of OCM. While communications and training are key deliverables, the OCM process itself is far more delicate and complex. Why? Because you are dealing with the subject of (bet you can guess!) PEOPLE and all of our deeply-rooted, behavioral patterns and differences.
OCM as a discipline has grown significantly in the last few decades due to the impacts of globalization and technology advances within the business ecosystem. Imagine the amount of change that a company rolled out to its employees just 10 years ago in comparison to today. Our current reality is no longer simple and linear, but rather multidimensional layers of rapidly evolving and dynamic complexities. Mega trends such as urbanization, climate change, and artificial intelligence illustrate how today’s explosive world has become more VUCA – volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Talk about the need for OCM?
If managing change in a VUCA world wasn’t difficult enough, now consider the human factor. To a company’s dismay, change does not occur in a single snap, but rather at the pace of each individual as they embrace the change in their own time. Plus, change is naturally difficult for humans because we are driven by patterns and mental bias developed through past experience. According to neuroscience, every experience is processed in the brain by stimulating neurons to communicate with each other. The more often the experience, the more efficient and stable the connections among neurons. This leads to mental modes (think glass ½ full or ½ empty) that may severely hinder our ability to accept new possibilities.
So what does this all mean for any organization? Countless research and white papers report that 70% of organizational change initiatives fail due to lack of sponsorship, clear direction, and goal alignment among other causes. Moreover, what is the point of a company investing in a change (company acquisition, technology rollout, process revamp or otherwise) if its employees do not adopt the change? Good news is that there are clear ways of improving your chances of success, by using a structured approach, considering peoples’ needs more fully and planning for the right level of intervention. OCM to the rescue!
With all of this at stake, it’s no wonder that the financial, healthcare, and technology industries were the first to invest in OCM practitioners. You might also have guessed that developed countries entrenched in capitalism (USA, Europe, Australia) are utilizing OCM to a larger extent. In terms of functions of the business, OCM typically resides in HR, Communications, and IT. Also note, there is a broad spectrum of change management applications out there from personal enlightenment to the rigorous process by which software code is released in IT. Hence, I have gotten into the practice of emphasizing the “organizational” part of change management to reduce confusion.
I hope this brief explanation demystifies any ambiguities associated with OCM and, in the very least, builds a strong case for its value in our rapidly transforming workplace.
