Recent researches have confirmed that change is an important factor that an organization cannot afford to ignore if it expects to succeed in the current competitive market. Developing a change strategy that works is one of the most important factors that would determine success or failure of a firm in the market (Reiß, 2012). In this study, the researcher focuses on the small wins that come with development of an effective change strategy.
The change strategy in this case would be simple and straightforward when it comes to its implementation. It will involve use video conferences by top management of the firm as a way of encouraging virtual conferences within this firm.
In this strategy, there will be a shift from traditional style of having conferences in large offices in order to formulate policies for the organization. Top management will use this new strategy in order to ensure that they are able to discuss their strategies and challenges more frequently in order to find solutions and improve performance of the firm.
In this strategy, an IT expert will be stationed in an office to coordinate the communication of the managers whenever they want to meet irrespective of their location on the globe. Each manager will be having all the instruments needed to make the conference a reality. The IT expert will have the responsibility of alerting the concerned officers when there is an online meeting to be held.
This officer will inform these managers of the required time they should meet and the agenda of the meeting. The officer will get this information from the relevant office in the top management. When the meeting starts, the IT expert will ensure that the communication process proceeds without any interruptions as long as the gadgets used by individual conference members are in good condition.
This will bring a ‘small win’ to the organization in several ways. Most managers always spend more time trying to come up with the best approach of how their operational units can perform better. In some of the cases, they are forced to make travels out of their offices in order to facilitate improved services offered by the units they manage.
It is therefore, time consuming to leave their offices and travel to the headquarters for the meetings. Other officers also end up wasting their time waiting for other officers who arrive late at such meetings. This strategy is geared at eliminating this wastage and making this process more efficient and effective to the officers involved.
This win will benefit this organization in various ways. The first benefit that will be generated from this change of strategy will be reduced time wastage. With this new approach to holding conference, officers will not have to move out of their offices when there is a conference needed. This means that if there is any delay in the meeting, other officers can continue with other tasks in their officers other than idling in the conference hall.
This strategy will also eliminate cases of absenteeism from such meetings by some of the members. This is because there will be limited excuse as long as there is goodwill from these members. This will improve the overall performance of the organization because it will be possible to share new ideas as soon as they are hatched.
The departments that are facing difficulties can also share their experience with other departments in case there can be any form of help needed. It is also important to note that there will be no need for a hall where the conference can be held. With the increasingly reduced space being experienced in organizations currently, the current conference hall can be put under a useful project for the organization.
The win in this new strategy will not only be of value to the concerned officers who would use the facilities developed. There will be a shared value to various stakeholders when this strategy is implemented. It is a fact that this strategy will reduce time taken to make decisions. This means that the management will be able to operate more efficiently. This would mean that employees would have the needed attention from their supervisors because of their increased availability.
This would enhance positive relationship between the management and the junior employees of this firm. To the shareholders, it is true that when efficiency is improved, there will be increased productivity, which would translate into increased profitability. This will increase the returns that the shareholders will have on their investment. It will also help in expanding the investment of these stakeholders within this firm (Spiro, 2011).
The customers served by this firm will also share the value of this new strategy. When this firm decides to use this new technology, it would mean that the management would have more time to determine the needs of the customers and discuss among them how best they can create more value to their customers. They will also be able to direct junior employees on the best approach to take when delivering value to customers in order to make the experience to be of more value.
It is important to give data in support of the strategy to be implemented. In this case, time will be considered. It can take 30 minutes for a physical conference to be arranged and started if all the officers are in the same building. It will take the officers about 15 minutes to settle back in their officers.
If they are 10 officers, the total time wasted will be 450 minutes, which is 7.5 hours. If six such meetings are held in a month, time wasted will be about 45 hours in a month or 540 hours in a year. This is a massive time that can be used in developing the firm.
In order to make this win a reality, it shall be publicized using direct memos to the relevant officers within the firm. The memos will be physically delivered to their offices to ensure that they get to read it. This will be followed by direct phone call from the enforcing authority.
The next step for making continuous progress will be to purchase the necessary equipments that would be needed to make this project a reality. Then these officers will be trained on how to use these gadgets. Finally, a team of technicians will be responsible for their maintenance.
In conclusion, it is apparent that this new strategy will have a radical shift from the traditional way of having conference. When all the responsible stakeholders commit themselves to this new approach, the overall performance of the organization will be improved.
References
Reiß, M. (2012). Change management: A balanced and blended approach. Norderstedt: Books on Demand.
Spiro, J. (2011). Leading change step-by-step: Tactics, tools, and tales. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.