Change is an inevitable part of business growth. In fact, ensuring your business adapts and evolves is key to survival across all industries. However, the real challenge isn’t always in making changes in your business but instead lies in embedding and sustaining change once implemented. Many businesses invest significant time, energy, and resources into implementing change, only to revert to older ways of working. But if there’s one thing that’s true for all businesses in all sectors, it’s that sustaining change is crucial for long-term success and continued growth.
The Importance of Leadership
Before we talk about the ways you can maintain change in business, the most crucial element for sustaining change in any business environment is through strong leadership. Leaders must effectively communicate the reasons for change and actively champion its implementation using positive language and reinforcing the correct behaviour around change. Leaders should also encourage employees to embrace and contribute to the change process, which in turn will foster a sense of ownership and accountability.
7 Ways to Support You in Successfully Embedding and Sustaining Change in Business
1. Standard operating procedures (SOP)
A well-defined Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) acts as a guiding framework for employees. Because SOPs detail the step-by-step processes and protocols, ensuring consistency in operations throughout departments. Developing and documenting SOPs helps employees understand their roles, responsibilities, and the specific steps needed to perform tasks well and in line with what others are doing.
2. Visual standards
Visual representations of standards are invaluable tools to guide teams towards the desired outcome or goal. Aids, such as flowcharts, diagrams, or infographics, allow employees to visualise what successful processes look like. Therefore, this clarity helps them fully understand what is required of them and ensures that everyone is aligned with the expected standards.
3. Employee training and upskilling
Training sessions on the new processes give employees the skills and knowledge required to navigate evolving scenarios effectively. Continuous upskilling encourages a culture of learning and adaptability within the organisation and ensures teams can deal with challenges around the new changes quickly and effectively without a desire to resort to the ‘old’ way which may be more comfortable.
4. Effective communication
Clear and continuous communication is essential before, during and after implementing any change. This approach ensures that employees understand the reasoning and need behind the changes and feel valued by having their voices heard. It will also help ease any uncertainty or even fear around how the changes impact them.
5. Remove old documentation
To avoid confusion and ensure new processes are followed, remove any documentation related to outdated procedures from your systems. This will prevent accidental (or even intentional) use and encourage employees to embrace the new standards fully.
6. Allow for feedback
Regularly capturing employee feedback is critical in ensuring the new processes are valuable and are making the desired difference. Encourage feedback from those directly interacting with the processes daily. This feedback loop allows for continuous improvements, addressing bottlenecks or inefficiencies almost as soon as they arise.
7. Measuring and tracking progress
Finally, measure and track the progress of the new processes. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics relevant to the changes that have been implemented. Monitoring progress allows for corrections, identifies successes, and provides insights for further improvements further down the line.
Starting your Continuous Improvement journey
Overall, sustaining change involves creating a culture of continuous improvement within the organisation. The clue is in the name ‘continuous’ meaning that the processes you undertake will need constant evaluation to ensure they are doing what the business requires of them.
However, by implementing these strategies, businesses can effectively embed change and sustain it, ultimately fostering an environment conducive to long-term success.
So, if you’re ready to embrace the transformational power of continuous improvement, then feel free to email us at enquiries@redjam.co.uk or head on over to LinkedIn to connect with us and learn more about how we could support your process improvement journey.