Managing performance during change

In order to manage change successfully you need to address the personal impact of change as well and the outputs you wish to achieve from the change. To do this you must:

• Ensure there is a good reason for the change, and communicate that clearly to staff.
• Plan the involvement of staff through the project.
• Analyse the impact on staff and provide support.
• Also, although it is sometimes difficult do to the uncertainty of change you must consider if there is a change in expectations in terms of performance for staff and communicate that clearly.

In terms of managing performance a good place to start is with McKinsey’s 7S’s. This models provides a checklist of aspects of change to address as well as a reminder that these aspects are inter-related.

In terms of the ‘hard’ aspects you should consider:

There are also the ‘softer’ more intangible elements of change:

When going through change managing performance can potentially become problematic as you are dealing with change on an organisational level as well as the emotions and responses of your staff. Also, during change you may find yourself with new staff from other Schools / Departments. However, during change the key principles are the same to ensure effective performance: