Change management is a process for ensuring that the people affected by change understand the nature of the change and the reasons for it. Successful change management is an all-hands-on-deck activity.
In a recent gathering of quality professionals, the subject of unsuccessful change implementation surfaced. Most people understand change is necessary for survival, but in this era it is happening at an unprecedented, almost vertical rate. The bottom line though is that change is uncomfortable for most and it is common for people to resist change.
Since change has been constant since the dawn of man, it might be reasonable to think that industrial management has the process institutionalized...but that simply is not the case, at least in many organizations.
This year has been an adventure into the unknown. By the end of March, many of us were enclosed in makeshift offices at home, while others were looking at production lines that were only partially staffed.