Background
Southern Company is a utility provider that has many devoted customers due to its quality-driven approach. The case describes the implementation of a new enterprise change management (ECM) suite by the company’s business excellence manager David Traynor for handling change requests better. Even though the department spent approximately two years designing and customizing the new system, the first phase of the change implementation process was not smooth.
Issues
The implementation of the ECM suite was associated with several issues. Firstly, the change process led to an increase in the number of change requests. The system produced almost three thousand additional change requests per year. As a result, many changes were processed without being reviewed, though the majority of them carried some level of risk. Secondly, the first phase of the change project was not implemented as efficiently as expected initially. Traynor faced significant resistance to change as employees were not eager to adopt the new system and preferred the usual order of things. The business excellence manager decided to implement the second phase of the project in a different way. In particular, he appointed change agents from each IT unit who took an active role in designing the system for change requests.
Analysis
One may state that Traynor could have used Lewin’s three-stage model of change for the implementation of the ECM. This framework applies because it would solve both issues identified in the previous section. If Traynor had utilized the given model, he would have performed the first stage of the change process in a different and more productive way. The business excellence manager would prepare the IT personnel to accept the change or at least inform them about it.
The unfreezing stage of the selected model provides for the communication of the need for the elaboration of the new ECM suite to employees and outlining the benefits both for them and the organization. This, in turn, would allow for avoiding the issues that have been mentioned above. If workers had been told that the change was necessary, they would have been more prepared for leaving their comfort zone and accepting the new system. Also, they would have more time to reflect on the benefits of the ECM project. As a result, both active and passive employee resistance would be reduced, and the number of additional change requests would be lower. If the personnel had known more about the system that had been elaborated, they would have been less eager to doubt its efficiency, thus making more change requests.
It is worth mentioning that the application of Lewin’s three-stage model of change would facilitate the implementation of the first part of the project. It was inefficient because Traynor did not utilize any communication strategies to deliver the new mission to workers. Had he created awareness in them about the extent of losses caused by a large number of change requests, perhaps the staff would have understood the logic behind the change. Therefore, views, attitudes, and beliefs of the personnel would be challenged, which would form the basis for the further actions undertaken by the company’s management. Consequently, people would have been more motivated to contribute to the project implementation.
Recommendations
Based on the analysis of the issues, Traynor could be given two recommendations. Firstly, he should inform the workforce about the disadvantages of the current system for change requests. For example, he could mention that it does not allow for devoting more time to risky projects. This recommendation will assist in minimizing the extent of future employee resistance. Secondly, Traynor should clearly communicate the need for the new ECM project and describe how the workers and the company could benefit from it. For instance, the manager could explain the expected savings in time and costs from reduced meetings. The two issues that have been determined stem from the same reason mentioned in the previous section. Both recommendations are short-term ones, and they will help resolve an increase in the number of change requests and make the first phase of the project more efficient.