Business Process Management (BPM) heavily relies on Organizational Change Management (OCM) to effectively adopt changes or improvements to business processes.
Business Process Management enables companies to quickly and efficiently adapt to evolving business requirements by giving them the tools to identify, implement, manage, and refine their processes.
Successful BPM requires a company adopt organizational change management best practices to gain buy-in from employees.
Resistance to Change
One of the biggest obstacles in business process management is resistance to change. Therefore, it is crucial to mitigate this resistance through organizational change management best practices.
Introducing new processes or reengineering existing ones can create a feeling of discomfort within an organization. It is a widely recognized fact that people tend to be hesitant towards change, and given that we spend most of our waking hours at work, alterations to our work processes can lead to considerable stress.
To alleviate fears, it's important for leadership to take a hands-on approach and spearhead organizational change.
Organizational Change Management Best Practices
Organizational Change Management (OCM) involves various practices and strategies to assist organizations in implementing process changes. OCM includes:
- Fostering acceptance and support for change.
- Developing and implementing a plan.
- Maintaining the change post-implementation.
Organizational Change Management (OCM) is an essential element of Business Process Management (BPM) since it deals with the most frequent cause of failed change initiatives - human factors.
By focusing on these factors, OCM facilitates the success of process improvements and changes, ensuring a smooth and effective implementation.
there are various models you can turn to for organizational change management best practices.
One popular approach is Kotter's Change Model.
Dr. John Kotter, Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School, developed the 8-step model for change. This model can prove invaluable in garnering adoption for your business processes.
The steps include:
- Create a sense of urgency by helping others see the need to change the process
- Build a guiding coalition of people who are passionate about making improvements to the process
- Form a strategic vision and initiatives by communicating how the change will improve future operations
- Enlist a volunteer army by getting people excited about improving the process
- Enable action by removing barriers by ensuring management support and sponsorship
- Generate short wins to prove the value of the new process
- Sustain acceleration by delivering process improvements and communicating them
- Institute change through process education and governance
Other popular models include Kurt Lewin's 3-Step Change Model and the Prosci ADKAR Model. You can find more information about these methods in our article: Business Process Management Methodologies, What's In Your Toolbox?
Why is OCM critical to Business Process Management?
The pace of change is increasing, and process innovation is crucial for organizations to keep up.
The best way to achieve this innovation is through Business Process Management and Digital Transformation. Learn more about the connection between BPM and Digital Transformation.
When paired, BPM and Digital Transformation can deliver remarkable benefits to organizations. Automating and digitizing processes can boost efficiency, cut costs, and elevate the overall customer experience.
However, it's important to note that successful automation and digital transformation rely on effective organizational change management, gauranteering that the changes are embraced and incorporated into the company's culture and processes.
Organizations are undertaking process innovation and digital transformation at an unprecedented rate. A recent report on technology spending identified digital transformation as the number one initiative on the CIO's list.
Research has shown that as high as 75% of these transformation initiatives will fail, and resistance to change is a significant reason.
Robust Organizational Change Management techniques can help mitigate the risk of failure.
Organizational Change Management Considerations
Consider these factors as part of your organizational change management approach:
- Understand how your change may affect other processes, teams, functions, or technology within your company.
- Keep your eyes open for change fatigue, which comes from what seems to be a never-ending onslaught of changes. Work with HR to develop programs to address this fatigue.
- Develop a network of "change champions" to drive and support organizational changes.
- Remember that BPM requires continuous process improvement, and OCM will continue to play an ongoing role as the processes evolve.
BPM drives innovation and change. Organizational change management best practices can help maintain awareness, reduce negative impacts, minimize resistance, improve adoption and mitigate the risk of failure.
