John Cotter created the “8-Step Change Model” to improve organizations’ ability to change and increase their chances of success. By following the proposed eight steps, organizations can avoid failure and successfully implement the planned changes (Bekmukhambetova, 2020). I observed a successful change in my organization when the eight-step model was employed. The goal of the change was to teach personnel be more polite to clients as there were many complaints of rudeness and inappropriate behavior.
The first step the managers undertook was having a direct and open dialogue with the salespeople. The managers explained that being polite is necessary because clients appreciate service and are likely to come again if treated with care. Moreover, the personnel received monetary bonuses for the number of goods sold, therefore it was within their interest to be polite not to scare off clients. The second step was to form the support group out of those salespeople who got fewer complaints. They could advise their colleagues how to handle complex situations without offending the clients. The third step was articulating a clear vision that could help everyone understand what the organization was trying to achieve within the agreed time frame (Bekmukhambetova, 2020). The vision presupposed reducing the number of complains by 50% over the next 2 months. The fourth step served to create support and recognition among employees. This was achieved by discussing the new vision with employees at every opportunity and taking their opinions, problems and concerns seriously.
At the fifth step, the managers tried to single out people who were resisting the changes and persuade them as to the necessity of implementing a chosen course. The sixth step was creating short-term goals and a system of rewards for achieving them. Thus, those salespeople who managed to handle complex situations without complaints and rudeness every week received some small monetary awards. The seventh step was consolidation of efforts when the culture of politeness was stimulated long enough to be deeply ingrained in salespeople’ behavior at work. Due to these efforts, the change was sustained even after the training period was over. Though the initiative was successful and had a positive outcome, what lacked was regular assessment and discussion of the progress achieved. Indeed, once the number of complaints was significantly reduced, nothing was done to consolidate these changes. Therefore, there is a chance that when new people come to work, politeness training programme will have to be implemented again within the company. The situation could have been handled differently with regular reminders of the progress achieved to deter any newcomers from behaving rudely to the clients.
References
Bekmukhambetova, A. (2020). The Impact of Change Management on the Development of Business Sphere. In Proceedings of FIKUSZ Symposium for Young Researchers (pp. 67-83). Óbuda University Keleti Károly Faculty of Economics. Web.