Types of Intervention

Change management is one of the most challenging tasks anyone can do at work. Some change management projects fail because there is a lack of awareness of the interventions that can be used, to successfully roll out change and manage the areas that are impacted by it.

Change and Change Agents

Interventions can also be based on experts who specialise in change management. These experts apply scientific principles to solve problems and experts who are highly capable of solving site-wide problems. There are also interventions carried out by groups and the people within the organisation, working together to improve the overall organisational work environment and doing collaborative work to solve problems that are local to their environment. Let’s take a look at each of these interventions below.

Experts who use a scientific approach to solve problems focus on the technical issues related to efficiency. For example, they find ways to improve the flow of work by removing unnecessary steps, resulting to a leaner and more efficient workflow.

Experts who focus on site-wide issues look deeper into the problem and create solutions that target the root cause of the problem. By doing so, the experts can eventually resolve systemic issues that cause site-wide problems. Instead of focusing on isolated problems, this approach uncovers the issues from which these problems stem, and then identify how it affects other areas in the organisation and solve it accordingly. This type of problem solving has a ripple effect, relieving other areas that may be affected in a similar manner or in another way, by the same root problem.

Finally, the intervention that taps into the power and influence of people to turn things around and create a healthier, more agreeable environment. This time, it is the people within the organisation themselves who are working together, collaboratively or dependently, to solve the problem. The collaboration between groups and individuals creates enough interaction to foster better relationships and improve communication chanels and systems within the organisation. Ultimately, this creates a more amicable and friendlier environment within the workplace, making it easier for people to work together and support each other when going through changes at work.

Systems Intervention

Experts who solve systemic issues derrive their practices from the Open Systems Theory, which views the entire organisational environment as made up of smaller units that interact and transact with one another — these units make up the whole organisation.

This Open System approach, a popularly known holistic approach, was developed  by Bertalanffy, which paved the way for development theories that changed the way systemic problems were analysed and solved.

One of the ways of getting to the root of the problem is by getting feedback and using the data to analyse the root cause of the issue. This gives managers better understanding of where the people are coming from and where their resistance, objection, or aprehensions are coming from.

Whole Systems approach, another popularly known intervention, is a recent development and is focused on involving everyone to improve future performance. Two of the underpinnings of this approach are the conference model and problem solving versus preferred future approaches. These are more inclusive than previous approaches where only representatives from groups or teams are involved in the discussion, and when solutions to problems were more like cookie cutter techniques instead of tailoring it to the situation or a desired future.

Creating a Preferred Future

The whole systems approach supports the idea that people support change and participate more when they are working towards a preferred goal or version of the future. This approach is done by involving members of the organisation and key individuals in large meetings, as a way of engaging the whole system.

This begins by looking into strategic information that both internal and external stakeholders have access to and can utilise to understand the existing organisational culture and develop a strategy towards the goal.

Through this effort, everyone involved can create a shared vision and how they can make this a reality. It is goal planning and action planning at the same time, which makes people aware of where they are headed, what they need to do, and the ways to get to where they want to be.

Data gathering is a crucial activity in this effort, as the data will be used to identify areas for improvement and analyse the current state. This information will serve as basis for leaders and managers to make better decisions that will prove beneficial to the organisation.

To ensure continuous development and improvement, a review process must be set in place. This allows leaders and managers to monitor the progress of the project and be able to make the necessary corrections to improve future efforts.

Change Management Based on Focal Issues

As mentioned earlier, data gathering is a crucial activity in rolling out change and in working towards a preferred future. This time, the data is based on the other side of change management that is people oriented.

There are four types of change management interventions, which can target specific areas that need more work or attention, and keep everyone on the same page.

The first one focuses on human process issues. This centers on matters involving people, leadership, and communication. One of the most important things to deal with during change, is resistance. This can easily get out of hand, especially if there are influential individuals or stakeholders who aren’t a hundred percent on the idea of change. Lack of proper communication, under delivery or over delivery of informatinon, lack of equity, unresolved issues, unadressed concerns are among the few things that contribute to resistance towards change. By engaging with the group of people affected by change, a manager can gather information and feedback that can be used to create solutions to existing problems and address any conern that keeps them from seeing the benefit of change. Managers can make better decisions and lead the change project better, when human process issues are addressed.

The second one focuses on strategic issues. This manages the relationship between environment and organisation, with the environment being the market, the products and services the market needs, and external factors that need to be considered for organisational development, for the organisation and its people to remain competitive. Change often comes in updating, upgrading, or enhancing existing products or services, as well as creating new ones to cater to the emerging needs of the market. These may entail changes in technology and work process, which brings us to the next intervention.

The third one focuses on technology and structural issues, including coordination and work processes, work design, as well as equipment and technology. As the organisation develops new products and services, the need for change in work process, design, equipment, and even the technology used is inevtiable. This entails up-skilling, training, and mentoring teams and individuals, and these changes can take a bit of getting used to. By breaking the training down into manageable learning session schedules and rolling it out along with practical application sessions, it makes it easier for those undergoing these changes retain the new information and gain hands on experience that will help them gain the confidence and ability to work according to the new ways. This sets them up for success and reduces the resistance towards change.

The fourth one focuses on human resource management intervention. With changes happening within the organisation, the need for talent also changes. When there are no candidates within the organisation that can hit the mark, human resources will have to look for external candidates who have the skillset and knowledge required to for the job. Bringing in new people with new skills and knowledge help diversify the current organisational environment, and help create a stronger and more diverse workforce environment.

While change is a regular occurrence, the amount of change involved and the people who are affected by it mainly determine how simple or complicated the implementation will be. These interventions provide solutions for both the technical and human side of change management issues, and can also be used as a guide for developing strategies and making decisions to successfully implement change.