Using Benchmarks in The Change Process

Engaging Employees in The Change Process
There are numerous ways that an organization's management can employ to ensure that its change process is successful and there is buy-in by the employees. Convincing employees requires extra effort in order to increase the organization's odds of success. It is vital to solicit buy-in before the launch of the change initiative. This will ensure that the employees are aware of what is going to happen. Management of the organization should hold focus groups and solicit for employee opinion, which allows employees to contribute and share ideas in regards to the change initiative. According to Sharif and Scandura (2014) constant communication is another tactic that can be used. With constant communication, the employees will not be disoriented and they would be more comfortable with the initiative. Communication reassures the employees that the organization is heading in the right direction and the change is aimed at improving the organization. Without communication, the employees are left to think for themselves and in most cases, they are bound to see the change as negative and they will most likely be resistant to the changes. Senior leaders should also lead by example. Any change that is not backed by the leaders of the organization is going to be viewed negatively and the employees will not try to adapt to the changes. This tactic entails having all the senior leaders being the change champions and demonstrating to the employees that they are not just talking but they are also walking the talk.
Any change process will take time before the results are experienced or seen. The organization's management should ensure that employees have enough time to psychologically transition and adjust to the new processes. However, there is need to ensure that the employees do not take too long adjusting by them holding on to the old processes for too long. Therefore, there should be training sessions, meetings and written standard operating procedures that will assist to reinforce the changes. After implementing the new processes, there should be accountability that is used to measure how effective the change has been. Employee feedback should be encouraged to allow employees to proactively express themselves instead of them complaining, grumbling, and venting behind closed doors. Lastly, progress should be celebrated as a way of rewarding the employees for all the effort they have put in during the change process.
Using Benchmarks in The Change Process
Benchmarking involves the establishment of performance measurements using comparative data regarding key business operations and processes. Benchmarks can be best used to analyze if the performance of the organization is stronger or weaker after the implementation of the change process. This would allow the organization to gauge how effective the change process has been in the organization. Without benchmarking, an organization could continue operating assuming that the change process is effective and the organization is performing better than before. Benchmarking can also be used to determine the next course of action for the organization (Hammer, 2015). When performance is analyzed and it is discovered that a change did not have the desired outcome then it would be vital that the organization determines the next step in order to remedy the situation. Benchmarking allows the organization to remain focused on its overall goal and all its initiatives are aimed towards achieving this goal. Benchmarks can be implemented to also measure the implementation of the change process. There should be a timeline for implementation and this timeline should be communicated to all employees in advance. Using benchmarks, the senior managers of the organization can measure the implementation and compare it to the timeline to determine if the organization is still on course. Benchmarks can also be used to generate data in regards to the change process and how the employees are responding to the change process. Employee buy-in is vital for any change agenda and using benchmarks an organization can determine if the employees are embracing the changes or not.


References
Hammer, M. (2015). What is business process management? Handbook on Business Process Management 1 (pp. 3-16): Springer.
Sharif, M. M., & Scandura, T. A. (2014). Do perceptions of ethical conduct matter during organizational change? Ethical leadership and employee involvement. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(2), 185-196.