Change management

Two workers discussing something in an office

Listen to a consultant talking about the basic stages of the change process and the people in a change management team.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Transcript

Before change, there must be analysis. Organisational change is a costly and difficult business, and there must be a real business need reason in order to change current practice. Typically, changes are attempts to reach new markets, to improve productivity or to cope with drastically reduced funding. A good analyst will identify the key problem.

Once it's clear what change is required, a change strategy has to be developed. In other words, somebody needs to say what should be done. Sometimes the idea will come from a visionary within the company, perhaps an imaginative and persuasive member of the management team. Otherwise, the company might bring in a consultant to help them find the right solution. Either way, management should also consult with staff at this stage. There should be meetings to help raise awareness for the need for change and to give employees a chance to suggest their own solutions.

Next comes what's probably the most problematic stage: implementation. Above all else, making the planned change a reality requires communication. Staff will need to be informed of new procedures and, where necessary, trained in new skills. The most important member of the change management team at this stage is the gatekeeper. It's their job to be available to staff, to help them deal with problems they may be having with the changes and answer any questions, making the change as painless as possible.

Finally, there's the consolidation stage. There needs to be a way to collect feedback from employees on how the change is being received. Because there will still be some resistance to the change, even at this stage, someone needs to act as a champion for the innovation. The champion gives encouragement and raises morale by congratulating everyone on a successful changeover and on what's been achieved.
 

Task 1

Task 2

Discussion

Language level

Average: 4 (73 votes)
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Submitted by Ventola on Tue, 20/10/2020 - 12:36

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I have never experienced some big changes during the work for same employer. I experienced big changes when I changed company, but after few months I got used to new work environment.
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Submitted by davicovalencia79 on Fri, 04/09/2020 - 13:50

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I started my job as developer, then four years later I became a Business Analist, it was a successful changover for me because I could take experience in another job, I learned about new topics, that now I got a great experience for my professional profile.

Submitted by KrystelM on Fri, 14/08/2020 - 10:40

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The second part of task 2 is not working. Can somebody please help.

Hi KrystelM,

Thanks for reporting the problem. I've just tried the task and it is working for me. It may have been a temporary problem. Is it still not working for you? If so, could you give us more details about what happens when you try the task?

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Charlie_X on Tue, 04/08/2020 - 01:35

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As a result of a consulting project, I have experimented the implementation of new systems for quality assurance of the core business of my company
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Submitted by ACMyint on Tue, 21/07/2020 - 08:23

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As we are passing through Covid-19 pandemic, our outpatient management practice has changed. Patients are encouraged to consult through telemedicine which is quite effective in terms of safety and optimizing their treatment. Patients are also advised that if they have emergencies, attend to the hospital in time is very important to save lives.

Submitted by allesale on Sun, 05/07/2020 - 18:33

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Hello team, I do love this subject, so thank you for allowing us to practice it. I would like suggesting more videos about change management, cause this is strategy to companies and an important mindset to survive in 2020 and for the future.

Submitted by ZSaid on Fri, 03/07/2020 - 02:00

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the main changes happened last Mar, when we change the way to work with doctors, because of COVID 19 outbreak iam working from home and communicate with customer through phone or on-line meeting! it is much more difficult than face-to-face meetings. but i have to cope with the changes to save my job.

Submitted by tiennguyen on Thu, 02/07/2020 - 04:25

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Why there is no PDF file to download?

Hello tiennguyen,

Not all of our pages have downloadable pdf files. We sometimes add them later on, after a page is created, but it is a time-consuming process and it is not always possible.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team