Selecting an appropriate change intervention requires a clear understanding of the main issues that the organisation wants to address. Change managers need to create interventions that the people in the organisation can commit to. It is the only way the organisation can affect the kind of change it expects for and from its people.
Identifying Change Interventions
Observing a system for identifying change interventions is crucial. It paves the way for the development of a more appropriate programme of organisational change.
- Assessment of Fashions and Fads
Organisations must assess current fads and fashions and decide whether it is worthy to take these into considerations. Fashions are rooted in time. One can view fashions or trends as having a stronger foundation than fads. Any change intervention should take into consideration whether it is only a fad or a trend.
- Diagnosed Issues
Change managers can utilise the Burke-Litwin Organisational Change Model to identify organisational and environmental issues that may require change. This leads to the creation of an appropriate change diagnosis.
- Level of Change Target
Organisations need to identify the intended recipients or targets of any change intervention. Following the model of Schmuck and Miles, the targets can be the person, a single group, an intergroup, a dyad or triad, or even the whole organisation. Blake and Mouton’s model also identifies the individual, group, intergroup, the organisation, and the social system as possible ‘targets’ of change interventions.
- Depth of Intervention
Roger Harrison forwarded a model in 1970, whereby organisations must create interventions that can generate a deeper sense of commitment from every member of the organisation.
Harrison’s Depth of Organisational Intervention: The Role of Change Agents
Different people can have different depths of ‘involvement’ or commitment to proposed changes. It is important for change agents understand the uniqueness of each individual relative to the changes that the organisation wants to implement.
- Production of an Enduring Solution
The interventions should address the existing problem. Otherwise, the people who are the targets of the intervention may no longer find value in the proposed changes.
Change managers should facilitate the development of internal control and autonomy among the people. This will help them feel more competent and become willing collaborators of organisational change. This can lead to the production of an enduring solution.
- Ensuring the Organisation’s Commitment to Change
Harrison also described another role of change manager in terms of fostering a sense of commitment from each person in the organisation. It is in the best interest of the organisation to strengthen and utilise the existing resources and energy of each person.
Strengthening the problem-solving abilities of everyone fosters autonomy and allows for the smoother implementation of the change intervention. It also helps promote the organisation’s commitment to change.
Aids in Choosing a Change Intervention
Choosing the right change intervention not only considers the depth of involvement of each organisational member. It also requires several other aids.
- Time
The availability of time is crucial to ensuring the success of the change intervention. The amount of time needed for such an intervention depends on how deep the commitment of organisational members.
- Intervention Efficacy
Organisations also must consider the efficacy of the intervention itself. It should address the problem that the intervention seeks to solve. Otherwise, there is no point for organisations to implement something that will not bring the desired outcome or will only provide partial results.
- T-Group Training
Understanding how deep the organisation’s understanding of the different issues and its commitment to the proposed changes require change managers to implement a T-group training approach. This allows the organisation to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamic interactions, interpersonal relationships, and leadership roles among its people.
- Job Design
The current job design of the organisation’s different functions can also be a good tool for choosing the right change intervention. This can lead to job redesign that, hopefully, will lead to improved organisational member involvement and engagement.
- Total Quality Management
One of the key principles of TQM is the total involvement of employees. However, there are studies that show that an employee’s assessment of a change intervention with respect to improving TQM has a more profound effect on the success of the interventions than employee participation per se. Change managers can do more to help employees gain a better understanding of what the change intervention aims to address and how such an intervention can be beneficial to the employee.
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The Need for Multiple Change Interventions
In general, organisations initiate changes in several aspects of their operation and structure. This requires multiple interventions that target specific aspects of the organisation’s framework.
- Sequencing of Interventions
Change agents can identify which problems require immediate intervention and which ones will need a more gradual approach. The usual sequencing of interventions is for short-term activities to proceed before any medium- and long-term interventions can be executed.
- Intention
Different parts or aspects of the organisation have different issues. The intention of one intervention for one department can be different from the goal of intervention on another unit.
- Politics
Organisational politics always have an impact on whether a single intervention will suffice or not. In a large organisation, having multiple interventions that appeal to the socio-political setup of each organisational unit is ideal.
- Need for Early Success
Organisations need a significant boost in their performance. Creating a more achievable goal and its subsequent interventions can provide the organisation with the kind of success it needs early in the game.
- Stakes Involved
Changes in an organisation always come with risks. It is for this reason that change managers need to understand the different stakes involved and to create interventions that can avoid the risks and optimise the outcomes.
- Dynamics of Change
Change begets change. Organisations must anticipate problems that may arise from any given change intervention.
- Causal Links
The success of any change intervention depends on a host of factors, some of which may have never been taken into consideration during the planning stage.
- Group Effects on Individuals
The people in an organisation are unique individuals. This is despite having a group or social identity. Different change interventions can produce the desired outcomes in different groups within the organisation.
- Effect of Behaviour on Attitudes and Vice Versa
Different interventions can help address specific behaviours to produce desired attitudes in people.
The change interventions that organisations implement reflects their unique understanding of the issues that beset them. More importantly, it mirrors the level of commitment that every member of the organisation has towards the interventions.