The Hard and Soft Sides of Change Management

3

Determining What’s Changing

Twenty of us crowded around a conference table intended to seat only 12. The room was hot. But emotions that afternoon grew even hotter. We had just reviewed a scathing report prepared by our company’s auditors. Apparently a series of missteps had occurred—along with some malfeasance in one division. Our job now was to redesign each and every process employees used to order parts and supplies and to ensure that more appropriate controls were in place. We needed to educate employees about these new processes and restrictions, help them understand why the new rules were important, and set up mechanisms for monitoring and reporting on employees’ compliance. We also needed to make sure employees could still complete ...