While regulatory change management and enterprise change management may be different domains, there is a lot that regulatory change managers can learn from enterprise change management. The basics of both remain the same, even if regulatory change is a bit more complicated to manage.
Identify the nature of change
In addition to failures related to lack of support, 70% of change projects fail because they are not managed with an adapted approach. In other words, we often think that all change projects are the same and can be done in the same way, but that is far from the case.
Indeed, each change must be treated in a personalized way according to its nature and the populations impacted, because, by definition, the change is frightening and creates frustration. The evolution of mentalities and behaviors is a complex task. Indeed, any change within an organization impacts the employees. Without involving them, and without knowing the levers to help them accept the change, it is very difficult to make this project a success.
The same goes for regulatory changes. It is important to look at the human aspect of things and make sure that employees understand the changes required and why they are required.
Build an action plan
Given their complexity, it is common to encounter difficulties to support change projects. Unfortunately, the means used are often not / or not very effective because they do not manage change as a problem. Regularly, no action plan is put in place, scattered actions are launched throughout the project.
This makes the involvement of stakeholders very difficult in the long term, especially in a context of change that is often experienced as a very important transformation of everyday life. You must build a plan, set goals, and of course evaluate the effectiveness of the actions as you go.
Another key point to not miss out on its change: do not limit yourself to spreading information. We have seen on many projects a common misconception: if people know, they will automatically change. The information is necessary, but not enough.
Accompaniment makes it possible to involve the targets, to mobilize them, by making them actors of the transformation. For example, for a tool change, a user technical documentation is sometimes considered as an accompanying support, even though it doesn’t provide much help. It is therefore more important to privilege, questions / answers sessions, workshops, communities ... More interactive media that allow people to express themselves, participate, co-build and project into a future that makes you want.
Finally, a major element is the implementation of a personalized approach concerning the different stakeholders. This will result from a reliable stakeholder analysis that is precise enough to release the power of influence of each identified "population". The sponsor, for example, is the one who is convinced. He then carries the project throughout his life cycle and will have enough influence to get others to accept the future. Then you must be able to give the users a clear vision of what will change and not leave them in limbo.
You cannot simply tell people about the regulatory changes that are coming up – you need to make sure they truly understand it by talking to them, providing training, and making sure you are there to answer any questions they may have.
Make lasting changes to behaviors
First and foremost, it was important to change the behavior of individuals, aware that their attitude is not, or no longer, the right one. For illustration, all employees understood it was essential to have a complex password, however this rule was applied very little.
Businesses also need to make sure that they make lasting changes. This doesn’t simply mean that they should tell the employees to make lasting changes, but that businesses should look at the way they handle regulatory change management and look at where they can make improvements. Some businesses may opt to change the processes that guide RCM, while others may choose to invest in a regulatory change management solution. It is important to create some sort of permanent change to the organization.
That is one of the biggest mistakes the management can make – focusing on short term change. It is easy to change the way people behave for a short period of time. You just need to increase scrutiny and remind everyone about the changes required and they will act differently. However, they will soon go back to working the way they have always worked, which is why it is important that we look at the way people behave and see how we can change their ways permanently. Maybe the answer is in providing them with the right tools, maybe we need to introduce better controls, or maybe management itself needs to take a more active role in the change management process.
Comments