What Kind of Organizational Change is Needed?

Organizations today continually need to optimize in order to gain competitive advantage, address critical situations and opportunities, and become more streamlined and effective.

Organizational change – correctly managed and implemented – can be exciting and motivating for all involved.

Organizational change has become constant – ubiquitous – permanent. However, “busywork” changes made simply for the sake of change itself will not further your goals. Change at the organizational level has to be smart change, leveraging your people and your processes to achieve competitive advantage.

One of our nation’s greatest accomplishments, the Apollo moon mission, succeeded despite the fact that we were off course 97% of the time. The same principle applies to guided missiles and jet airlines – they are off course most of the time, but their paths are corrected as necessary along the way in order to reach the intended destination at the right time. If you understand your starting point and your destination, and you know your position, you can correct your course as you go.

What to Change

Employees are all too aware of today’s trends toward downsizing, reorganization, doing more with less – and many companies seem to have made it as painful as possible. How can you manage change and help workers to cope with change? One way to find out what to change – and how best to change – is to make your workforce part of the visioning team.

Managing change works better and is more effective when it is not accomplished via a top-down totalitarian method. The worst-case scenario is when circumstances require a move from current point A to future point B, and then one of the organizational leaders sends down the ‘’law’’ that has been decided upon – rigid, inflexible, uninformed – thinking that this is decisive vision and good leadership. However, without comprehensive and accurate information, many of these decisions will not be the best ones.

Survey your own employees (and customers) for their opinions! You will get better solutions and less resistance. It is disconcerting that in this day and age, with an educated and aware workforce, that so few companies actually ask the people who really know:

• What could we be doing better for our company R.O.I.?


• What could we be doing better for our customers?


• What could we be doing to make our teams work better together?


• What could we be doing better to make your team work better?


• Would you take a comparable offer from another company? Why would you leave?


• Where would you prioritize differently in your area?


• What are your solutions?

Some of our best workers, though they are supportive and loyal, may have a hard time sharing criticisms. They have valuable information that needs to be brought to the table. Likewise, surveying customers is not only crucial, it is also a form of advertising.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking the people who spend most of their waking hours working for you. You just can’t get better information.

Most importantly, if you do ask, the changes are our changes. If you do not ask, they are your changes. Changes that are perceived as “yours” rather than “ours” (especially if they seem soft-headed to the people who actually have to live them) will almost always provoke disengagement, passive resistance and even outright hostility.

Data Dome Inc. offers customized packages to improve organizational vitality, which include an anonymous survey administered by us. Anonymous and confidential surveys administered by an outside entity enable open and honest feedback.

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