As 2021 has come to a close, I am looking forward to the change that a new year will yield. While nobody could have predicted what the last few years have brought us, I am interested in the many ways these unimaginable changes are going to shape the future of business, human connection, and technology. My top 3 predictions for 2022 revolve around employees and the ownership that employees are taking for the workplace they want to see for themselves - and how companies are following their lead. 1. Employees taking accountability Since the beginning of the pandemic almost 2 years ago, to where we are today, employees have seen a dramatic shift in how they work and how they navigate their home and work life as a cohesive entity. As employees have adjusted to working from home or have adopted a hybrid workplace environment, the number of people who want to go back to the office full-time has minimized. In the first three months of the pandemic, we saw panicked employees who did not know how to navigate working from home or collaborate with coworkers without seeing them in person. Now, according to a survey from PWC, 41% of employees want to continue some kind of hybrid or remote, flexible work environment. Because of this rise of employees being vocal about how and when they want to work, I predict that the businesses who can, will need to offer some kind of flexible hybrid workplace. A flexible distributed hybrid workplace does not necessarily equal working from home. A hybrid work environment means providing people the opportunity to work when, where, and how they want to. This suggests that we will also see a shift in the way that work is measured; no longer by the hours that people work or how visible they are, but rather by outputs, targets, and goals. This will give employees a certain sense of flexibility. If they still want to go to a coffee shop and work, or if they would prefer to come into the office and have a desk, these options should be available to them. Some employees’ hours may need to shift if that is the only time they have while also homeschooling their child and that flexibility will need to be made available to them. Because if not, that employee will find someone who does offer that flexibility. Employees are no longer victims of their circumstances. Many have chosen to make the most out of the change they have seen in their work environments. This change is liberating, as they know that they have a voice and a say in structuring their work environment. People are saying no, and employees are demanding more. My prediction is that organizations not only will, but will have to do a better job of creating that flexibility for their employees. Their employees know what they want and are empowered to see a change in their workplace. Check out Harbinger’s Hybrid Workplace Resources page to read more information and access a range of tools to help you manage a hybrid workplace 2. Investing in People Organizations need to start creating opportunities and channels for people to get their job done at their own pace, at their own location, and at their own time. The workplace, especially office environments, will have to develop a more flexible definition of what a hybrid workplace looks like for their company. Therefore, organizations will have to invest in the technology and in the security that they need. But most importantly, they have to invest in their people. As employees begin to realize that they have a collective say in the work environment they want to see, they are going to start investing in themselves, their career, and ultimately their skills. It is up to their employer to determine whether they are going to follow suit. According to Forbes, maintaining a high-development culture can benefit companies by keeping employees engaged, thus increasing productivity. Fostering a culture of learning and empowerment can reduce negative effects or trends, such as a big surge in employee resignation that we continue to see. I predict that we will see a rise in talent development, employee workshops, and skills courses. To stay engaged and connected to their role, employees are going to look to upskill, and organizations need to take advantage of this eagerness to learn and grow. Providing these opportunities for employee development can be the difference between a company with a high retention rate and those who see a high turnover rate. 3. Rise in Interactive Communication Technologies Many organizations use one central communication tool such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Google Workspace to communicate within their teams, keep files in one place, and host meetings. As we see a continuation of people working from home and a rise in the implementation of a hybrid model, I predict that we will see an advancement in technologies that allow for interactive communication. When it comes to engaging coworkers and collaborating digitally, there are other applications such as Mural or Miro, whose interactive functions allow more collaboration than the Microsoft Teams whiteboard feature. I think that companies will acknowledge that their people want, and also need, these interactive technologies. As the importance of collaboration within our virtual or hybrid environments is highlighted, companies will need to invest in these company-wide collaboration tools. I think companies are slowly warming up to making changes such as implementing new technology or applications, rather than being steadfast in doing things “the way they have always been done”. It appears that virtual collaboration is here to stay. Companies need to invest in the tools to foster successful, collaborative communication. Other tips to support and drive an effective hybrid workplace: 1. Help employees connect Many people have struggled with feeling detached because they cannot see their team members and leaders in the same was as before the pandemic. While the communication and collaboration tools mentioned above will help, organizations need to realize that for many people, coming to the office is as much about making social connections as it is about being productive. Leaders need to pay close attention to their team's emotional needs. For example, meetings can be started with a check-in, encouraging participants to share something about their life. At Harbinger, we often take the first 5-10 minutes of team meetings for everyone to share how they are feeling in that moment or day allowing them a chance to connect and for others to have empathy or excitement for their peers. 2. Build team cohesion through Personality Assessments The use of personality assessments such as Clifton Strengths (StrengthsFinder) or SDI 2.0 CoreStrengths (Strengths Deployment Inventory) helps teams build awareness of how their peers and leaders work, act, and respond during both good and stressful times. This knowledge establishes that we are not all the same but that the differences are beneficial to a strong and dynamic team. 3. Get outside help Leaders of organizations are busy and are also experiencing change along with the rest of the workforce. Working with a partner company such as Harbinger will help you build and empower your hybrid workplace, accelerating its implementation, and increasing the rate of success. Read more about how Harbinger can help you effectively transform your workplace in this case study for RSA Insurance Group. Just as we saw in this past year, change happens fast and can catch us off guard. Reflecting on these past changes and using what we have learned to propel us forward will help us prepare, embrace, and take on change - whatever this year may bring. What are your predictions for the new year? Share them with me below. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Siri Maldonado, Director People Engagement, talks about the importance of integrating change resiliency into organizational cultures and how doing so can build companies that thrive even during the most challenging times. At Harbinger, we have been at the forefront of change and are seeing a shift in how change is successfully enabled. While change management consultants like us are needed to develop and execute a change management and learning strategy, organizations have a growing responsibility to enable change by embedding a change resilient culture. Consultants will always have a role to play; we are there to guide by providing the tools and resources required for them to be successful. Organizations, however, need to do the heavy lifting to achieve sustained change and achieve their desired results. What is change resiliency and why does change resiliency matter? Change resiliency is the ability to adapt to adversity or times of significant stress. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is how the ability to rebound, or bounce back after a challenge is incredibly important. Overnight, organizations around the world had to revaluate their business strategies and ways of working. Very few thrived, but those that did experienced exponential growth, increased productivity, and stable or increasing employee engagement levels. How does change resiliency contribute to a positive Organizational Culture? Organizational Culture is defined as the social order of an organization. It consists of values, expectations, and practices that guide and inform behaviours within the company. If an organization includes change resiliency in its culture, it will be able to not only sustain change, but help employees feel and perform their best. Unfortunately, developing and defining organizational cultures is not easy. In fact, contrary to popular belief, culture work doesn’t have an end or start date. As you will learn more below, embedding change resiliency into your Organizational Culture is ongoing and takes effort. To help you with this process, I’ve included my top ten tips on how to embed change resiliency into organizational culture below. 1. Leaders must lead by example. This includes exhibiting change leadership capabilities such as effective communications, ability to inspire others, and embodying and embracing change. If employees are not seeing their leaders exhibiting these skills and behaviours to enable change, they will not believe in the culture or the values that are trying to being fostered. 2. Create an environment where failing is an option. The adage ‘failing is not an option’ is out the door. Organizations that promote innovation, are open to trying and testing new ideas, and failing are the ones that thrive. Let’s use the race to space between the billionaires as an example. Did any of them reach their goal overnight? How many times do you think they have tried and failed before they were successful? What other initiatives do they have in flight that may or may not succeed? 3. Ensure there are two-way communications mechanisms in place. It’s not only crucial to keep employees informed, but it’s equally as important for them to have the ability to openly ask questions, share feedback and participate in communications and engagement activities. It's also important to understand that people will have fears about the unknown and providing them with an outlet to be heard and express their fears can help them move forward with the change. 4. Enhance your focus on learning. If your company is always evolving, so too are the roles. Did you know? Development and learning are why 93% of employees say they will stay longer at a company according to Forbes. Training employees on important skills such as change management helps organizations retain talent, improve productivity, and earn more profit. In addition, reskilling and upskilling has become increasingly important as employees have to become accustomed to acquiring new skills during the pandemic. I mean, how many of us learned how to cut hair or make bread? The eagerness to learn has significantly increased because of what we are currently experiencing. 5. Identify and empower informal change leaders, so that change can be enabled throughout your organization, and not only from the top-down. Informal change leaders are individuals with or without title that are inspiring, influential, and effective communicators that enable change with their peers. 6. Acknowledge your past but continue looking forward. The path to success is never a straight line, and mistakes are always made on the way. The important thing here is to acknowledge that past by taking accountability and learning from these mistakes. Another piece involves having a clear strategy that continues to look forward so that employees have a goal to work towards. 7. Culture must be owned by the senior leadership, not HR. How many times do we see culture owned by HR? The HR function is an important player in driving a positive culture as they hold the tools and expertise to get things into place, however, culture should always be owned by senior leadership. If they’re leading by example, they also need to be the ones accountable for the culture and ultimately shape what it looks like. What’s more, everyone in the organization is responsible for enabling change, not just a particular functional area. 8. Allow your culture to evolve. As I mentioned above, culture initiatives do not have a start or end date. An organizations’ culture is always evolving, and it is important for leaders to allow these changes to take place. Just as we cannot manage change, we cannot manage how external and internal factors such as the pandemic or other social changes like racial injustices or the climate crisis, impact organizational cultures. These are things that cannot be ignored and must be a part of your company’s evolution. Again, to be able to do this successfully, change resiliency must be present. 9. Take risks. Does slow and steady win the race? From personal experience, this doesn’t guarantee a win. So why don’t organizations take more risks? Understandably there could be many reasons contributing to a risk adverse culture, however, times are different now and we know that being able to adapt and embrace change culturally contributes to long-term success. 10. Acknowledge that change is hard. Change is a journey that takes place at the individual level and doesn’t happen overnight. Various change management, communications, and learning activities are required during the stages of change to support individuals throughout their journey. As outlined, embedding change resiliency into Organizational Cultures is becoming increasingly important and a differentiator between companies that thrive and those that do not. The good news is that change resiliency is something that can be nurtured if you follow the right steps and are open to change. Siri Maldonado Director People Engagement Toronto Email | LinkedIn

In this week’s blog, Siri Maldonado, Director People Engagement, discusses the importance of Principles during a project or change, explains how they can be developed, and talks about the reinforcement activities required to keep them alive. Have you ever been involved in a project that could not seem to pick up momentum? Maybe one where you understood the goal but couldn’t connect the dots to the bigger picture? Perhaps none of the project activities achieved the results you had hoped for. While there are many variables that could account for these challenges, one of the most common reasons projects do not achieve the desired results stems from a lack of Principles. Principles are values that drive behaviours. Establishing Principles for all your business transformations is vital as they help to drive governance, decision-making, and shape organizational cultures. They also inspire and provide direction to make informed choices. Even more, the best Principles are developed and communicated from the top-down, providing the structure and alignment required for organizations to function and grow. It is important to note that Principles should not be mistaken for rules, which are a set of explicit or understood regulations with little to no flexibility. Now that you understand the purpose of Principles, what’s next? See below for a step-by-step guide on how to develop and use Principles to support and drive your projects forward. 1. Start with a Principles workshop that includes the right people. The Principles should directly relate to your company values and ultimately should be developed or defined from the top down. The key decision makers can include company executives, the project sponsor, and change leaders. Ensuring strong representation from all parts of the business will help to make sure the Principles developed resonate with employees. Once your Principles are defined you can begin to mobilize them through the completion of a Team Charter which outlines agreed ways of working by each team. 2. At the start of the workshop, provide an overview of the business transformation or project, including the case for change, the driving force of the change initiative, who the key players are, and the desired business outcomes. 3. Make sure you provide an overview of what Principles are and why they are needed to successfully drive a project. Ensure all the Principles are connected to your organizational core values for continuity and clarity. For example, if one of your core values is change resiliency, at least one of your Principles should be focused on this value as well. 4. The next step is to evaluate your Principles by asking the following questions: a. Is this principle prescriptive, directional, and effective? b. Does it support us in making decisions? Is it doable, feasible, and actionable? c. Is it values-based, meaningful, and evoke purpose? d. Is it enduring and can it be applied to different projects? e. Is it measurable? Can we evaluate if it is followed, meets our desired outcomes, and provides the correct direction? 5. Now that you have drafted and evaluated your Principles, you need to socialize them with your people. Develop a presentation for senior leaders within the organization who are decision-makers and influential. Share your Principles with them to make sure they are aligned and have a strong understanding of their purpose and how they will help the business achieved success. 6. Communicate, communicate, communicate! Come up with a game plan that includes specific activities such as leader cascades and intranet announcements to share your Principles with the project team and the rest of the business. It is also important to weave the Principles into all your project communications so that they “stick”. 7. Use your Principles to govern any decisions that are made during the project. As mentioned earlier, Principles are not rules, but rather are guideposts keeping us on course. Keeping Principles at the forefront of your project activities will help to drive decisions and ensure those decisions align to them. 8. We know that Principles help to guide new behaviours, and a key piece of driving behavioural change is reinforcement. Unfortunately, this is often forgotten, but failing to reinforce or invest in reinforcement activities is another reason why many change initiatives fail. To help prevent this, organizations should invest the resources and funding required for a robust reinforcement plan that includes training, leader support, and pivoting to new ways of working where needed. It’s also important to remember that Principles don’t disappear when the project ends. Keep revisiting them and embedding them within other projects where they make sense. 9. Call in the experts! This is a great time to leverage your consulting partners to facilitate and drive the Principles workshop, as they possess the expertise and skills to execute an engaging and successful working session. Interested in learning more? Reach out to us today or visit our resources page here for communications plan templates, team charter examples, and more. Author Siri Maldonado Director People Engagement Toronto Email | LinkedIn

At Harbinger, there are a few things that are said every day. One of them is that change starts at the individual level. Sure, we see entire departments come together to restructure, or a company-wide change of implementing new software, but while that is an organizational change, it couldn’t happen without the individuals being willing to change on a personal level. Humans, by nature, are self-fulfilling individuals. We protect ourselves, make decisions for ourselves, and prioritize our well being. The notion of “what’s in it for me?” is not one that is lost on us. We want what is best for ourselves and what will bring us the most satisfaction. By understanding this, organizations may be able to take a more tactical approach to addressing change within a business. When you want to drive change, you must first understand what it is that motivates individuals and what are the drivers for reactions of people. Then, you must invest in the mechanisms to encourage them to change. Accept that people may not come on the journey While it may seem rare, it is possible for people to act in the interest of the collective good. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a shift in human behaviour — acting not only in the best interest of themselves, but also for the greater good. We were working together to reduce transmission by staying inside, avoiding unnecessary outings, and collectively praising our healthcare workers. We shifted from the “What’s in it for ME” mindset to one of “What’s in it for WE?” But this greater good mindset was challenged, and the optimism that there was a societal shift was met with resistance by some individuals and groups. As rules and mandates shifted, so did many attitudes. Sometimes, there is just an immovable block of a population that does not want to change. This same population is often found in organizations going through change. Some employees dig their heels in and resist the change, whether this be through an obvious outward display of rejection, or a less obvious internal choice to not take the necessary steps for a successful transition. Regardless of the change, there will often be someone who does not come on the change journey. While it is important to understand what motivates individuals and invest in processes that encourage them to adopt the change, there comes a point when the intended benefit of the change needs to be weighed with the cost of retaining an immovable individual. How can we address the “me”? An organizational change likely means that individuals are going to have to learn and do tasks that they have never done before, leading to additional work. Therefore, the sentiment of “for the greater good” may be a hard sell for the individual putting in these hours. Organizations must identify and communicate the real benefits of the change for the individual. There needs to be transparent communication with employees, firstly introducing the what and the why of the change, the benefits at the organizational level and then the benefits at an individual level. For example, if a change results in increased efficiency, the benefits at the organizational level might include an increase in profits and customer satisfaction. But the benefits at the individual level may be more along the lines of additional time to spend at home with family or less stress on the employee. The question of, “Why should I care as an individual?” is one that needs to be answered to address the human nature of self-prioritization. Along these lines is also the importance of addressing what may happen to that individual if they do not adopt the change. Perhaps the individual does not want to fall behind as the organization adopts a new change journey. Additionally, organizations should be cautious of using statements that communicate that employees do not have a choice in adopting the change. Individuals should be led to adoption through proper communication, education, and support. The more an employee feels that they have no choice or no sense of participation in the change, the more resistance they may feel. To avoid pushback, organizations should ensure employees feel heard and that proper education and support is offered. Change is complex and resistance from some individuals is inevitable. While some may choose to stay behind and not come on the change journey, it is crucial that those who do, understand why it benefits them. By identifying these benefits and demonstrating how adopting the change is in their best interest, organizations can minimize resistance and reap the intended outcome of the change. To learn more about combatting change resistance, view Harbinger’s FREE downloadable resources, including Applying a Coaching Mindset to Support Change Resistance. Author Gregory Roth Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Let’s face it, many of us have experienced more change this past year than we may have ever expected or prepared for. Whether it be a loss of a job, a postponed wedding, or a new addition to our daily routine, our lives are always shifting and evolving alongside us. But when dealing with personal change coincides with dealing with organizational change, it can all feel very overwhelming. Within the workplace, change can be beneficial and even necessary to the well-being of the company. A new system or a new team can be all the difference to a successful organization. But when the changes keep coming and are not properly managed, employees can experience what is known as change fatigue. A survey by McKinsey found that the pace of some digital-strategy projects has accelerated from years to a matter of days or weeks due to the pressures and rapid restructuring generated by the pandemic. Simultaneously, the demands of these personal and organizational changes have compounded to become more than many people can handle without becoming overwhelmed. It is evident that during the time when changes are inevitable (working from home, office closures, new systems), employees' ability to adapt to these changes without being fatigued is minimized. If change is not managed appropriately, it can impact the workplace culture, job satisfaction, and even employee retention. Change fatigue can manifest itself into not only employees’ workplace behaviour, but as well as their personal lives. Feelings of burnout, frustration, and being overwhelmed can seep into the cracks of employees’ well-being. But how can organizations work to avoid change fatigue or learn how to identify and minimize it before it becomes unmanageable? Is Everything Important? Have you ever worked on a project or initiative that didn’t explicitly highlight the project priorities? It was likely frustrating, vague, and hard to know when you were truly accomplishing anything. This can be the same case for organizational change in which the priorities and areas of importance are not stated. If executives communicate the message that “everything is important”, employees may be left flailing, investing ample time and energy into a change without seeing substantial results. If an employee is being stretched too thin over multiple areas within a change, then the results will be lackluster. A clear focus on priorities and key areas of change would allow for employees to have targets, goals, and an idea of what is expected of them. When executives narrow the project focus and create attainable success metrics, it allows for more efficient resource allocation. If time and people are managed more efficiently, change fatigue can be minimized. When leaders take the time to signpost the priorities, it allows for targeted success and prevents change fatigue. It is also critical that stakeholders at all levels in the organization clearly understand “first, next, then, after that...” Identifying Brittle Systems If employees are resisting change in response to experiencing change fatigue, then there needs to be a deeper dive into the systems that are brittle, to uncover what is causing them to be this way. Identifying an employee’s barrier to change can be the first step in unpacking the system. Does the employee need more education or training for the skill they are stuck on? Maybe there is a problem with ability — many parents with children whose schools are experiencing shutdowns have limitations in their job performance due to the increased demand for childcare at home. Ultimately, people may simply have limits to how they can adapt to new changes in an organization. By identifying an employee’s barrier to change, the unique mix of activities and support that needs to be brought to that person to “unstick” them can begin. From Reactive to Proactive Surviving a big change undoubtedly feels like an amazing feat. While we know that change never really ends, making it through the thick of it and coming out the other side feels like a win. But leaders often assume that their organizations are change resilient simply because they have survived the change. They see this survival as a measure of success. But is making it through a change truly the best form of measuring prosperity? Surviving is being reactive. Thriving is being proactive. An organization that can move from a reactive mindset to one that is proactive when facing change is one that will be better equipped to handle change and prevent change fatigue for employees. To be proactive requires clear communication channels within all levels of an organization, ensuring alignment with company values and clear outcomes expected from a change. Further, it is crucial that an organization ensures that people have the skills necessary to navigate a complex change environment as part of their standard toolset. Rather than having employees scramble to learn or understand their functions within a change after it has already been implemented, understanding their role, or receiving training in the specific toolset they need before they need it can be the difference between a reactive and proactive approach to change. Change fatigue can be emotionally and physically draining on an employee and can result in change resistance, diminishing quality of work, or even a rise in the frequency of employees leaving the company. By creating clear and tangible goals and identifying employees’ barriers to change, organizations can work towards minimizing change fatigue experienced by employees. By shifting from a reactive to proactive mindset, organizations can not only survive, but thrive, in the face of change. Author Gregory Roth Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Siri Maldonado, Director, People Engagement, discusses if change ever ends, how long organizations should expect a change initiative to last, and what additional pieces are required to achieve sustained change and drive lasting benefits. The pandemic has pushed change into the forefront and we are constantly hearing phrases and words such as, “new normal”, or “unprecedented” and “uncertain times”. But what is the new normal, and how does the new normal go hand-in-hand with unprecedented times? At Harbinger, we have always known a little secret… change is constant and is a part of our lives every day. Every one of us experiences change daily, from Apple software updates to the introduction of a new routine, or cancellation of an appointment, change is always around. While we know that change is constant, the magnitude and pace of change that we are seeing today are unmatched. Overnight, organizations were forced to pivot in a short period and with no clear timelines in sight. With these recent experiences, what have organizations learned and what have organizations done to successfully make it through the pandemic? Leading With the Heart It has been interesting to watch organizations weave their way through this pandemic, with many taking a renewed focus on the people aspect. There is a greater understanding of the importance of leading with compassion; the lines between work and personal are blurred and employees are looking to contribute to organizations that recognize this shift. As we have always said, change starts at the individual level, so focusing on leading change with compassion is a differentiator we are seeing between those that have been successful and those that have encountered challenges. I remember seeing the BBC interview of Professor Robert Kelly on South Korea that was interrupted by his children and how it went viral in 2017. Who would have expected this would be a common occurrence and accepted now? At Harbinger, we have always had a people-first approach and enable our people to choose how, when, and where to do their work. In fact, our fledglings are often the highlights of our day and regularly join our Zoom calls. Family is something we all value and having this embedded as part of our culture from the start provided us with the foundation to pull through this pandemic. Embedding a Change Resiliency Culture Another component in navigating change successfully is embedding change resiliency into a company’s culture. Change resiliency is the ability to adapt and persevere despite any circumstance. To have the ability to embed these characteristics into an organization’s culture, it must be led from the top. Leaders need to create a space where collaboration is fostered, taking risks is encouraged, and making mistakes is acceptable. It is also important to note that change resiliency is a critical element to adjust to ongoing change as it allows companies to bounce back during times of crisis. This is often the discriminator between those that have failed with those that have advanced and thrived during the pandemic. It is hard to believe that two years have passed since this all started. Despite feelings of uncertainty across almost all organizations at the onset, organizations that took on the challenge by accelerating their transformation activities which included enhancing digital capabilities and new ways of working, came out on top. A fitting example of a company that demonstrated change resiliency is Expedia, an online travel company. The travel industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with Expedia experiencing an 82% decline in revenues in Q2. Despite this hardship, the organization pulled through by adapting their online experience with flexible cancellations, simplifying how they do business, and shifting their marketing efforts to highlight destinations that enabled people to be outside, promoted cleanliness, and allowed accommodations for extended periods for working holidays. The resiliency seen by Expedia was not easily achievable, but a significant contributor to their success is their leadership that remained positive and continued to explore new opportunities for their business to thrive despite what they were up against. Acknowledge That Change Doesn’t End In the aforementioned article about Expedia, their Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Kern, also recognized that the change did not end and took the pandemic as an opportunity to execute on activities that would have been challenging in the past. “In a weird way, COVID is a blessing if you want to be a change agent. Obviously, it’s terrible for humanity but in terms of really focusing your company, it gives you an opportunity to focus on what really matters, and that’s a hard thing to do when it’s just business as usual.” – Peter Kern But once an organization recognizes that change doesn’t end, what’s next? Rethinking the End-Date of a Change Initiative We know that the pandemic has impacted all industries and yet many organizations continue to struggle with how to grapple significant business transformations or change initiatives. A big part of this is how organizations manage change initiatives by giving them an end-date. While determining an end-date is a natural part of project management, it is important to keep in mind that almost all change initiatives not only take longer than expected, but require additional efforts like reinforcement, training, and ongoing communications to be successful. With this in mind, all change initiatives should plan for and be flexible with end-dates. In this video, watch as Greg Roth, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Harbinger, discusses what the average length of a change initiative is and how to realize the benefits of your change initiative. My recommendation for clients is to always incorporate additional time for change management activities during each milestone and as part of all project lifecycles. Culture work takes time and embedding traits like a people-first approach and change resiliency is not an easy task. There are several components involved that go far beyond the change itself including revisiting company values, hiring practices, recruitment activities, change management training and leadership, training, reinforcement support, and communications practices. Collectively these actions will support organizations in achieving sustainable change and realizing true benefits. Siri Maldonado Director of Marketing & Communications Toronto Email | LinkedIn

As summer turns the corner and fall is steadily approaching, with the cooler weather comes the kick-off of many new projects and initiatives. The end of summer always brings with it an abundance of change. Here at Harbinger, we are wondering; were you able to take some vacation time for yourself this summer? Do you have plans for a vacation in the fall? While the switch to working from home may have reduced time spent commuting to work, it has also led to a significant increase in actual time spent working. This means that now, more than ever, employees need to take vacation time to recoup and refresh. But with Covid-19 either cancelling, postponing, or obstructing the ability to travel, perhaps people feel as though a vacation isn’t on the table for them. So, why do we feel that we need to have an experience in order to have some time off? When you think of the word vacation, there is no doubt you picture someone sitting on a beach with a drink in hand. But maybe this idea that a vacation must be an experience, or a destination is leading people to simply not take any vacation time at all or to save it until things are “normal” again, albeit we have no idea when that may be. A vacation means that you are taking time for yourself. While this can involve having sand in between your toes, it can also entail you visiting someone you love and really spending some time with them. It could be you finally getting around to fixing up that guest room that you can’t bear to look at as you walk by. If you’re taking the time for yourself, who says it is not a worthy vacation? The pandemic has undoubtedly put a wrench in many of our vacation plans. With travel restrictions, quarantine mandates, and general uncertainty, a destination vacation might have to be put on hold. But this does not mean that vacation time should not be taken. Staying in a neighbouring city and trying out a new restaurant can still be “getting away". There are no rules or guidelines to what your vacation must look like. The benefits of taking vacation time for employees, even in the midst of a pandemic, include achieving high performance levels, increased productivity, and increased job satisfaction. In fact, having time off from work can stimulate an employee's creativity and overall job performance. This means that vacation time for employees is not just for recreation but can actually be a crucial factor of their successful employment. But can we ever truly disconnect? As many of us have transitioned to working from home, our offices aren’t more than a few steps away from our kitchen. And when work emails are sent to our personal phones, can we ever detach ourselves? Perhaps people are not taking full advantage of their vacation time because they know that they are going to receive these emails anyways - so what is the point of trying to disconnect? Workplace culture in Canada and the U.S. often revolves around working long, overtime hours, with a focus on ‘getting ahead’ at work. Being the first one there in the morning and the last one out at night may feel like the only way to grab a manager's attention. Not taking vacation time might seem like a factor in ‘getting ahead’ and proving unwavering commitment to the company. But research from Virginia Tech found that the pressure to always be reachable incites feelings of anxiety for employees, leading to increased strain for both employees as well as their families. Our ‘always-on' work culture is not felt all over the world. Other countries are taking the steps towards a more disconnected lifestyle. In France in 2001, the court ruled that it was not obligatory for employees to bring their work home and being unreachable would not be considered misconduct. In 2012, the German company Volkswagen rerouted any emails sent to employees between 6:15 p.m. and 7 a.m. so that they would not be notified. While it is evident that the ability to disconnect is there, the onus does not only fall onto the individual employee. Managers have due diligence to remind their employees to take their vacation time and to address any hesitation surrounding this time off. Employers should encourage their employees to take the allotted time off and reiterate the known benefits of vacation time. Unnecessary pressure to be online at all times needs to be relieved to ensure that employees are making the most of their vacation and are recharging both physically and mentally. Adequate vacation time can ultimately lead to stronger employee morale and workplace culture. How can a culture of trust increase vacation time taken? From team leaders to individuals working on independent projects, everyone feels the pressure of making decisions. Arguably even more stressful is giving up the control of these decisions. Thus, if you take a vacation - who will make these decisions? And how will they know what to decide? Setting an “out of office” message is redundant if you are checking your inbox regardless. If you have selected your messages to be sent to another co-worker, there needs to be trust that this co-worker has the knowledge and skills to handle any potential situation. There must be an acceptance that others also have the ability to make strong, calculated decisions, even in your absence. If there is a lack of trust within team members or within departments, employees may hesitate to take their vacation time as they do not want to take a week off from receiving communications. Alternatively, if the vacation time is taken but the employee cannot fully “disconnect” from work, they may feel burnt out and not get the physical and mental rest that they need. It is necessary that managers ensure that there is trust within, as well as between, departments. If employees have anxiety surrounding taking time off, the team dynamics need to be re-analyzed. Trust needs to be built and the best way for managers to build trust between coworkers is by displaying trust. When managers allow employees to make decisions and exhibit confidence in their knowledge and skills, they are setting a concrete example of trust. If there is a lack of trust, communication and coaching must be increased to get to the root of the problem. From all of us at Harbinger, we hope you were able to find some time for yourself during these last few weeks of summer, whether that means reading a great book or having a week up at a cottage. We are also excited for those taking your time off in these upcoming months, because we know that vacations are not only deserved, but they are necessary for the well-being and long-lasting success of individuals, teams, and organizations. Check out some snapshots of the Harbingers enjoying their vacations! Teresa Cimino Marketing & Communications Coordinator Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Teresa Cimino is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Harbinger SCR. Teresa will be focusing most of her time on various marketing activities to support and strengthen Harbinger’s brand. She will also be assisting the team internally where needed, and learning the ins and outs of being a project manager and change practitioner. What does your role at Harbinger entail? As the Marketing and Communications Coordinator, I have the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects. From website development and communications to brand management and social media, I will play an active role in conveying Harbinger’s values and developing our voice to demonstrate who we are as an organization. I am eager to channel my creativity into this role as we explore new marketing and communications initiatives. What do you enjoy most about working in marketing and communications field? I love learning about what makes people click (literally). As companies have seen a shift in communication styles and marketing platforms over the past decade, there is still so much to learn about what draws people in, making them feel intrigued and welcomed. Communication in the digital age allows a much further reach, making it an exciting time to be a marketing and communications practitioner. What are you happiest doing when you’re not working? I love to play sports in my free time - anything to get my body moving. After playing competitive soccer for 7 years, I decided to take up some less conventional sports (fencing, boxing, and Spikeball for example). What are some of the values that drive you? Some of the values that drive me are connection, compassion, and integrity. I believe that connection and building relationships is what has led me to this point in my life - without friends, family, mentors, and peers, I don’t know where I would be. Compassion is a key value in sustaining these relationships; I think that compassion builds trust and trust leads to success. Lastly, I value self-integrity as a guiding principle in not only my work, but in my personal life. Being proud of the person that I am is what motivates me to make my best decisions. What makes you most excited to be a Harbinger? If the past year of this pandemic has taught me anything, it would be that change is quick to happen and a force to be reckoned with. While change may come unexpectedly, it is also something that you can plan for. The importance of managing change has been so present in my own personal life, so to have the opportunity to work with a company that helps others embrace change head-on is something I am very excited about. What is your favourite quote? My favourite quote is, “It’s never too late to be who you might have been” - George Eliot. I believe that we are constantly changing and evolving into different versions of ourselves. There is no time like the present to become the person that you want to be. How do you like to learn? I am definitely a visual learner. I feel as though seeing information allows me to retain it better as I can replay it in my head like a movie. Additionally, I like to learn alongside others. Throughout University I was a big fan of study groups as they were a great way to bounce ideas off each other and collaborate with people who have similar goals. What is your next vacation spot? I am a foodie so I would love to go anywhere that I can try something I never have before. I have always wanted to go to Japan and immerse myself in their amazing culture. Also, I would love to go to Italy and see where my grandparents lived before coming to Canada. Rachelle Su Manager, Change Enablement & Learning Toronto Email | LinkedIn Teresa Cimino Marketing & Communications Coordinator Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Siri Maldonado, Director, People Engagement, explores how the pandemic has turned the traditional 9-to-5 upside down, forcing businesses to think about what the New World of Work means to them and what they need to do to make it a success. It’s been almost two years since the pandemic first revealed itself; turning the world and businesses on their heads and shifting the way we work forever. With vaccination rates on the rise and COVID-19 moving to the rear-view (fingers-crossed!), organizations are beginning to explore and plan for the new world of work. But what is the new world of work? And what do businesses have to do to prepare? Let’s start with what’s changed. 1. Remote work became the norm. Before covid-19, remote work was typically offered as a perk. That quickly changed and many businesses were forced to change their work environments overnight. Not only did organizations have to pivot to a remote work environment, but they also had to figure out how to support employees who were working double while home-schooling, or taking care of dependents. The pressures didn’t stop there; immense feelings of job insecurity, financial concerns, isolation and more, impacted employee engagement and highlighted the need for different leadership attributes to support people through this change. 2. The pandemic will have lasting impacts on employee engagement. There are two sides to this story. On the one hand, remote work has empowered employees by providing them with autonomy to decide how and when to do their work. It has also enabled them to think about why they are working, and the value it has to them. On the other hand, the pandemic also resulted in employee burnout as the lines between their professional and personal lives became blurred. To address this, some of the things organizations needed to do were ramp up employee recognition, be creative in their virtual engagement activities, provide coaching, time-management tips and best practices (e.g. blocking off 30% of your calendar) encouraging the use of post script signatures that set expectations or explained unusual response times, and ensure they were creating a fulfilling work environment. Approaches to maintaining employee engagement will continue to evolve, but one thing is for sure, the way people work, and the increasing need to find value in their work will never be the same. 3. Leadership is human. It’s becoming more uncommon, but traditionally leaders have been appointed predominantly based on their experience and expertise. While those continue to be important today, we are seeing an emergence of an emotional and human-centered approach to leadership. In my career, I’ve had many great leaders, and one of the most common threads they’ve shared is the emotional support they’ve provided. Like many, I often found my personal lives intertwined with my professional life. Most recently, this has been the experience for many as people were forced to work and live at home full-time because of the pandemic. This highlighted the need for leaders to focus on supporting their people by finding different, and meaningful ways to connect, demonstrating trust and respect, and showing compassion for their employee’s well-being. These attributes are more important than ever, and organizations must take initiative to embed these qualities within their culture and leadership group to succeed in the New World of Work. With all this in mind, businesses have been busily planning what the New World of Work looks like as they start to welcome their employees back into a physical space full-time or part-time. The New World of Work doesn’t look the same for all. Despite the pandemic illustrating how successful employees can be working remotely, there are businesses that have made a strong stance on having their employees return to the office full-time. Let’s look at Morgan Stanley, where recent headlines like “If you want NYC salary, you need to be in NYC” have been highlighted. Morgan Stanley’s chief executive has been clear that he expects all New York City employees to be back at their desks in the office by Labour Day or they will face salary cuts. This is a stark contrast to what we are seeing from other companies like Twitter, which have moved to a permanent remote work environment for at least two years as they experienced a lift in productivity during the pandemic. Then there’s Salesforce which has fallen in the middle of the two, with their Work from Anywhere model that offers employees three options for how they’ll work going forward: flex, fully remote, or office-based. There are pros and cons to all the options above; being in the office provides development opportunities and pay grades are traditionally based on location, so I can understand why many organizations including Morgan Stanley, have been adamant about making pay cuts if their employees are not in the office. However, working remotely allows organizations to find talent, regardless of socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds as they are not tied to a specific location. It also allows them to save on real estate costs and other operational expenses and has positive environmental impacts with less commuting and the increased use of technology. Whatever choice businesses make, it is crucial they involve their employees in their decision. As we always say, change starts with the people. The good news is there is an abundance of resources available for businesses to use as they transition to the New World of Work. Where to start 1. Survey, survey, survey! Surveys are a great way to collect insights to use during the planning process. It’s also important to note that surveys are not once and done. You should start with a baseline survey, and continue to measure against those results as you progress with your planning. Surveys should also be complemented by other activities, like leader cascades, town halls, and other communications activities. 2. Continue developing a culture that is change resilient, flexible, and adaptable. This is important as we know change never ends and giving the tools and support for employees to embrace the changes are key. The strongest cultures inspire, enable and connect their people. I invite you to read @Krista Schaber-Chan‘s blog ‘Are your people Change Enabled’ to learn more about Change Enablement. 3. Update your team charter. At Harbinger, we love a team charter. It’s a great tool for leaders to use to start crucial discussions on how they will work with each other in the New World of Work. Team charters should be regularly updated and discussed as teams will continuously learn what works and what doesn’t. 4. Stay on top of and share tips about how to work in the New World of Work with leaders and employees. There is a flurry of resources available, including these work-from-home tips for leaders and employees from Harbinger. 5. Don’t stop investing in your people. Employees have more access to information than ever, and studies have shown that the best employees must find value in the work that they do. Human-centered skills and maintaining employee engagement will be key success drivers. As demonstrated, there is a lot to dissect when it comes to the New World of Work, and you’ll be hearing more about this from the team in the coming months. In the meantime, we want to know if your organization has made a decision on what this looks like. We’re also interested in hearing what your preferences are. Do you want a hybrid model? Do you like being in the office full-time? Or do you want to stay fully-remote? Let us know! Siri Maldonado Director of Marketing & Communications Toronto Email | LinkedIn

It is true, change happens at the individual level, but it requires several people to drive a transformational business change like a shift from in-office to a work-from-home model or from multiple small departmental systems to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementation. One of the critical players in driving change is the subject matter expert (the SME); an individual who possesses deep knowledge or expertise about a particular part of the business or the activity taking place. They arguably play one of the most important roles in driving change for many reasons including: They are keenly aware of the impacts, challenges and obstacles that will arise as a result of the change because of their role and the expertise they possess; They are experiencing the change first-hand and; They are one of the top influencers that will drive the change within the business as they are respected, well-known, and trusted members of the team. The Value of a Subject Matter Expert Let’s use an ERP system implementation as an example. For this project, there would likely be multiple SMEs from teams such as human resources, finance, procurement, and warehouse, etc. They’re valued members of the team as they will help direct how the system is developed, ensuring that it meets the needs of their respective teams and streamlines how they work. For example, the human resources department often uses an ERP system like MS Dynamics for time tracking, payroll, or recruiting and onboarding. To ensure the ERP system works for the HR team, it is critical to include at least one SME from that department so that they can provide guidance on what functions and work processes are required. Implementing a new system without their involvement would not be favourable. They also support testing and training, and are an avenue to cascade updates and provide feedback from their colleagues back to the project team. Testing often involves many people from a business unit, but prior to various activities, the SME is responsible for taking the lead to ensure the system meets the needs and requirements for the human resources department. Training is also integral in driving change and a SME who has been involved throughout the entirety of the project, will possess the most knowledge about how the system works for their function. Because of this, they will often be tapped on to lead or support the training with their colleagues and teams. Multi-way communication is another benefit of involving the SME. Being a part of the business unit, they understand the team dynamics and are able to determine the best timing and channels to communicate important updates. They are also great sounding boards for their teams, and will raise concerns, questions, or share insights back to the project team. As demonstrated, it’s never a good idea to implement a system that has such an impact on a particular group without the support of an SME. Over time, it will not only impact the bottom-line through delays or rework, but it ultimately will not work for the business area it was intended for. Why Experiencing the Change Matters Change happens to everyone within the business, including those that are a part of the project team. In fact, it can often be more challenging for those involved so closely like the SME. Like everyone else, they will experience change at the individual level and will have their own moments where they will feel optimism or despair. If you want a reminder of the different phases of change, check out our change curve graph here. Having a valued member of the project team who is experiencing these changes first-hand provides insights on challenges and what may be required to get the team on the right path to support and reinforce the change. For example, if they are showing frustrations about the training process, then it would be important to revisit the training with the SME to ensure that it is effective, or to check if they need any additional support. On the flip side, when they are feeling excitement or accepting the change, this is equally as valuable because it creates opportunities for the project team to share successes and celebrate important milestones. Recognizing wins is one of the ways to enable a team to successfully adopt and accept change. Whatever the case may be, the value of the SME experiencing the change themselves is evident as it will enable the project team to quickly act on and adapt their approach to managing change. It’s important to note that all organizational change management plans are fluid and require continuous attention to ensure the right activities are reaching and engaging the right audience at the right time. Why Influencing is a Key Driver of Change The power of influence is one of the top leadership qualities; the ability to motivate and inspire others can effectively drive behavioural change. It’s also important to recognize that the best leaders are not always who you would expect, but instead can be individuals without title. A SME is a great example of this. They are not necessarily in leadership positions, but when selected carefully are able to influence up, down, and across the organization within other business areas. There are many tactics to influence others during periods of change. In fact, influencing in the right way can help to overcome resistance which can result in the failure of a business transformation. There are several ways to influence which will vary from individual to individual but can include speaking, writing, and networking. SMEs will have their own established ways to influence and will likely have a natural talent for doing so. Another benefit of their influencing power is that they are also very trusted amongst their peers and colleagues. Trust is very hard to earn and having this trait can move mountains when working through a large business transformation like a system's implementation. As many of us have experienced, IT changes are one of the most difficult business changes to implement because it creates uncertainty about the future. Employees have natural concerns including impacts to roles, questions about job security, and they often feel like they are losing control. Having a trusted colleague that cascades information or listens to concerns, makes a huge difference in addressing these fears and helps to minimize discomforts so that the business can move forward. SMEs are a critical success factor for a project and are instrumental in driving change because of their expertise, personal change experiences, and influencing power. Ensuring they are included and engaged in the change management activities of a project is important to achieve the desired business outcomes and successfully transform the way people work. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Transparent and Engaging Communications for Change Enablement We often consider communications as a separate pillar within change methodologies. But the truth is, we need to consider communications at every phase of a change initiative. The reason? You cannot enable people for their change journey or expect engagement without being transparent about what is happening. When we disconnect communications from the phases, we lose the true value. Let us start by looking at the difference between communication and communications. In the organizational context, the key difference between them is that communication focuses on the message itself, whereas communications studies how organizations and their people deliver these messages. To put things into perspective, think about how COVID has impacted elementary schools. Ontario's education system has experienced a lot of change. People are still navigating the transition from in-person classes to hybrid to fully remote learning. With all of these critical decisions, educators and families need to know what is happening to succeed. That is where both communication and communications demonstrate its most significant impact. Without the school boards providing transparency towards the decisions they are making or delivering this information through trusted channels, families would be confused or resistant to any changes. This same concept applies to organizational change; communication and communications are necessary to keep people informed, engaged, and accountable in an organization's change journey. People need to know why the change is happening, what is in it for them, and how it impacts their role to accept it. Today, we're focusing on effective communications and how it can be applied to help you reach the right people, at the right time, in the right way. Change can be intimidating for many people, and effective communications helps facilitate the uncertainty people experience during transformations. Achieving Effective Communications While communication involves sending and receiving messages, effective communications is more than just a single event or an exchange of information. Effective communications drives engagement, impacts change adoption, and builds personal accountability, which is essential to enabling your people for change. When done correctly, communications planning should reach the right people, at the right time, the right way. This means understanding your audience, crafting a message that resonates with them, choosing an optimal delivery method, and executing it when appropriate. Different organizations and changes will almost always have different requirements. So, it is important to ask yourselves these simple questions: What are the objectives? What are the key messages? Who are you trying to reach? When and how will information be disseminated, and what is the relevant timing? How much information will be provided, and to what level of detail? How will comments be solicited? What will be done because of receiving the feedback? Answering these questions is only the first step. Effective communications means crafting messages that are both heard and understood by your audience. The Audience Historically, we may be used to executives delivering communications to our organization through formal e-mails that simply states what is happening and why. These formal messages rarely consider the audience and are simply for the sake of "you were informed" without building any personal accountability for the audience. This leads to recipients often unsure of what to do with the information given to them. Think of the ongoing changes occurring in our schools these past few months. The audience, in this case, is the parents of the children and the faculty and staff of the schools. Informing these individuals of what is happening is not enough. Similar to an organization, the school board also has to consider how they can engage their audience by clearly highlighting expectations and soliciting feedback. Enabling your people for change means creating a sense of accountability for it through your messaging. Establishing what we want our audience to gain from communications is not the only critical component. There also needs to be a clear distinction of who the audience is. Not every message is intended for everyone in an organization. Just as parents and their children are impacted differently from faculty and staff, different people in an organization will have their own change journeys. Different audiences will have different needs, reactions, and expectations when interpreting communications. Organizations need to have a clear understanding of how various individuals, whether they are directors, managers, or employees, interpret these messages and adapt to their needs. Although the medium, message, and timing are all crucial pieces of effective communications, the audience directly affects each one and sets the foundation for the rest of your communication strategy. Choosing your Communications Channel The different types of communications include: Written Communication (i.e. e-mail or letters) Instant Message Telephone Meetings (Including Virtual Meetings) Video Webinars Chatting with Colleagues Each type has its own advantages and depends on the audience, the urgency, and the goal of the communication. Different audiences prefer to communicate in different ways. For example, executives might benefit from an e-mail because their schedules are not as flexible, and booking a meeting where they are all available could be challenging. Whereas a meeting for mid-level employees could be advantageous as it allows the individuals to pose questions for more clarification. This does not mean these are always the best mediums for these audiences. Executives also receive high volumes of e-mails, so there is a good chance any communication delivered via e-mail will get overlooked. In contrast, booking meetings for mid-level employees takes a lot of time and effort to plan and could disrupt day-to-day operations. There is no formula to tell you which messages work best in every scenario; it all comes down to understanding your organization's people and their needs. Communications practitioners are essential to Change Enablement because of their abilities to strategize and plan organizational communications. They take a tremendous amount of pressure off Change Leaders and provide a much-needed benefit to their organization. I started off by mentioning the inaccuracy many organizations have by separating communications as its own pillar. One of the most common causes for this is that there is no communications practitioner to hone in on the business' needs and apply their strategy throughout all phases. The Message Now that you know our audience and the best way to communicate to them, you need to decide what information needs to be included. Not only does the content need to be relevant, but it needs to be transparent. For example, think about if your audience needs to receive important updates or just general information at a particular stage in their change journey. Being thoughtful about your messages' content and structure will give your information the best chance at being heard and interpreted correctly. You may be asking yourself, why do I keep mentioning transparent communications? Well, that is because, in addition to the message informing the audience what is in it for them, it also needs to provide insight into why the change is necessary. When catering your message to your audience's needs and values, you create a more compelling case for the change. Timing the Delivery The last step in delivering communications is delivering the communication. This means answering the question, when does my team need to hear this information? Communications plans need to carefully consider the timeliness of information shared to find the right balance between too little and too much communication. We often lean towards saying there is no such thing as too much communication. Once a message is delivered, you may understand the content right away. However, repetition is typically encouraged because that understanding can be easily forgotten once your focus shifts to your other responsibilities. Still, we need to be careful that we are not overwhelming our audience or delivering irrelevant information that they will dismiss. A second consideration that needs to be accounted for is the action items in the message. Once communication is delivered, there will be associated action items for the audience. The delivery timing needs to account for the estimated time and effort it will take for the audience to complete those action items. Allocating too little time will create stress in the audience and resistance to understanding the benefit of the change. Meanwhile, giving too much time can lead to procrastination or a lack of importance. In summary, providing clear and consistent messages along the change journey builds personal accountability and helps the audience feel connected and responsible as true stakeholders in the process. Results When applying these four components of effective communications in your strategies and plans, you can take your organization from change-resistant to change-ready. Let us think back to our school board example one last time and put ourselves in the audience's perspective. I think we can all agree that we would want to be consistently informed regarding what is going on and what our own action items are. We want a clear understanding of why certain safety precautions are put in place regarding COVID-19 and what we can do to support the health and safety of those in our community. We want to be informed promptly so that we do not feel forgotten. We want to be told through a channel that makes it easy to understand the message and provide feedback when appropriate. Achieving these enables us to be a part of the change journey. The same mindset needs to be in place to enable our people for business changes. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

After one month into 2021, I hope you're still sticking to your New Years' resolutions. I'm sure at some point, many of us have asked ourselves, "why is this so hard every year?" Well, change can be challenging, especially when there is a lack of motivation to drive it. People often identify the start of a new year as the perfect time to make a change in their lives. The calendar year represents our time as a cycle. Every January is like a restart, where you can get back on track to completing any goals that may have been lost during the year or start new ones. January 1st may just be another day from the universe's perspective, but it signifies so much more to us. We rely on the New Year to bring change in our lives, but why is it so difficult to stick to our resolutions, and why can't we have that same focus on any given day? Well, it's possible that we're not well-equipped for change, and there's no shame in that; most people aren't. I'll come back to this analogy later, but first, let's look at dealing with change from a real-world business perspective. What Kind of Organizational Projects Require Change Management? When asked this question back in July 2020, I specified the importance of people. Change is so persistent that you only have time to react. So when you plan for your technology change, you have to ensure you're planning for your people too. More often than not, people respond intrinsically and emotionally to the changes around them. Organizational Change Management (OCM) needs to be proactive in putting together the structure around the plan for the people. OCM is creating a framework to achieve this, where it enables people to change. So it's not Change Management vs. Change Enablement; it's Change Management through Change Enablement. Organizational Change Management The key element in OCM is people. The key components to supporting and enabling change are training, communications, and stakeholder engagement. Every change should have them, and they all need to be planned for. People Organizations don't change, people do. This is why it's critical to plan for them in your change project. At the end of the day, the people within your organization participate in the training and need to keep up with the communications for the project, so you must ensure these components are developed with them in mind. They are the most affected by the change and are often the training and communications recipients. Training We say training is a key component in OCM, but we really want to ensure learning. My business partner Krista wrote a great piece on the differences between the two while explaining why it's important to distinguish between them. OCM's goal is to ensure that training is designed and developed to enable people to learn because, once again, the people are the critical factor. Communications Communication, when done right, enables people. Successful OCM needs effective, transparent, and frequent communications. Managing a change without informing those who are impacted is exceptionally challenging. It leads to discouragement and creates a gap in awareness, knowledge, and desire. Communication is essential to enhancing people's awareness, but it also encourages people's engagement and enablement. Stakeholder Engagement We keep saying people are the key element to OCM. But who are these people? Stakeholders are the individuals in an organization who are impacted or responsible for making decisions and changes. We can't overlook the importance of a stakeholder's overall buy-in to the project's success. The foundational principles around stakeholder engagement that deserve attention are partnering, identifying, trusting, informing, inviting, including, delivering, and investing. Training, communications, and stakeholder engagement are all essential components of OCM. Each of these pieces plays an important role in enabling change and supporting the people. When organizations use them together, they can ensure that their people are learning, staying informed, engaged, and equipped to plan for change proactively. Every change will involve these three components one way or another. OCM's role is to build awareness, a desire for change, and a change community through them. Enablement is simply the approach to managing change. OCM delivers value, return on investment, and minimizes risk; Change Enablement should do the same. Why Stakeholder Engagement? I've mentioned the significance of enabling your people for change but only briefly mentioned engaging stakeholders. The truth is, you need stakeholder engagement to get the most out of the other OCM components. That bridge is built through transparent communications. At this point, it shouldn't be a surprise that it takes one component to reap the benefits of another. Transparency is the key in communications because it builds the trust needed for enablement. There's a lot of oversight on the importance of communications and how much weight it has on a project. In addition to effective communications, there are many other good examples of stakeholder engagement. They all revolve around the foundational components of OCM I mentioned earlier. They all deserve attention, but to highlight a few: Partner The reality is that the most successful transformations are delivered with the business rather than to the business. You should always press for participation, accountability, and engagement. Not because you aren't prepared to lift the load, but because it's better for you. Your adoption rate will be higher, your solution will be more robust, and your benefits will be realized sooner. You will have a proper shot at self-sufficiency. Identify You need to take the time to understand your stakeholders. Not just as departmental blocs of users but as individuals with unique limitations, strengths, and expectations. Inform For stakeholders to be true partners, you must keep them informed—and do so with both truth and candour. If stakeholders are aware of the challenges ahead, they can prepare and be proactive. Invest Powerful and productive engagement takes time. Like most things in life, if there are good examples of something, there are also poor examples, such as starting too late. When you don't have engaged stakeholders at the start, from front-line to Sr. Leader, you end up investing more energy and dollars bringing them along after go-live. The Power of Organizational Change Management Let's look back at the New Year's resolutions analogy I shared earlier. How do we equip ourselves to deal with change our personal lives? Well, it's the same way we do it at work. Harbinger has frequently mentioned that Change Management is evolving to Change Enablement. Whether they're major or minor, all businesses are experiencing change. As an individual, wouldn't you prefer to be prepared to handle change rather than continually being managed and told what to do? Even from the business' perspective, wouldn't you prefer having teams skilled in dealing with changes rather than always telling your employees how to do things? Now bring this back to New Years'. It's nobody's responsibility, but your own, to achieve your resolutions. So why do we still need upper management to help drive change? OCM has historically been top-down driven, whereas Change Enablement is driven by the middle and led by the top. There's a famous graphic that showcases the differences between a Boss and a Leader. As you can imagine, the leadership approach has a greater success probability. In addition to that, the leader's team is more likely to feel empowered. The same principle applies to change. We want our teams to be enabled to champion change and feel empowered and encouraged to participate in the project. The problem today is this notion that it's Change Enablement vs. Organizational Change Management. But that's a common misconception. Remember, Change Management is evolving to Change Enablement, but you still need a mixture of both to achieve success. Now suppose you can effectively enable yourself to deal with change. In that case, you wouldn't wait until January 1st to make the same resolutions year after year. Instead, you would make them regularly throughout the year and move on to new ones once you complete them. So why would an organization want to repeat the same nuisances in managing change with every new project? If they can successfully enable their people, every upcoming project will benefit from the previous one's momentum. The Evolution of Change Enablement OCM is the core of Change Enablement. When something evolves, the roots and historical development are not lost in the new form, they remain in the core. Change Enablement is the result of OCM's growth over the years, and it's been shaped by the rapid and exponential development of people. We are now, more than ever, capable of dealing with change on an ongoing basis, so let's evolve with it. Let's enable ourselves and our organizational culture to handle change effectively and efficiently so that we're equipped to manage our ever-changing work environments and those New Years' resolutions we make every year. Author Gregory Roth Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn