Change management, restructuring, (digital) transformation and cultural change – are only some terms for changes in the companies.
Organizational changes seem to occur faster and faster. There are many reasons for organizational changes. The strong international competition, legal aspects e.g. the unbundling in the energy sector in Europe some years ago, the German “Energiewende” and the worldwide growth in renewable energies, technological developments, e.g. electromobility, applications based on digitalization, the merger of companies, the setup of subsidiaries in foreign countries to accelerate growth, the sale of parts of the company to strengthen the focus on core competencies or the outsourcing of tasks to a service provider and new forms of collaboration with internal and external partners are some reasons and examples for organizational changes. In addition also a stronger focus on internal functions e.g. procurement and logistics, the creation of a service center lead to organizational changes, changes of the processes as well as changes regarding the staff.
The change management accompanies these planned organizational changes with a holistic approach. In case that the focus is besides the economical aspects of the company mainly on the expectations of the employees, e.g. a respectful behavior, work-life balance, self-fulfillment, content of the work, usually the term “organizational development” is used.
And nowadays very often the companies talk about a required cultural change. In many cases this is based on incidents of noncompliant behavior. Then it is mainly the task of the compliance departments and of the (top) management to verify existing rules and regulations, especially their realization and measures taken in case of noncompliant activities and measures taken to make sure that the business is done in a compliant way. In this context shared values are a very important aspect as well as the role model of the (top) management.
Another significant aspect of the cultural change of a company is the use of social media and the existence of the required infrastructure and competencies. Besides twitter and facebook nowadays many possibilities are used to communicate with stakeholders all around the world and to find a way to realize innovative ideas, e.g. by collecting money via crowdfunding.
In many cases the reason for a cultural change can be found in a change of the strategy. As an example the “old” energy economy can be mentioned versus the “new” energy economy with renewable energies, smart home applications, a more decentralized energy production, new players and a consumer that in some cases became a prosumer.
Based on the development of electromobility and autonomous driving, the way of production and collaboration with business partners has also changed in the automotive sector. Supply chains are changed based on new requirements and different materials and products that are used. But not only the companies have to change their way of thinking. Also the customers have to be enabled to integrate new technologies in their life, e.g. regarding the use of electromobility.
Summary: There are many reasons for organizational changes as well as many aspects that have to be considered. Some call smaller changes, that regularly occur based on the continuous improvement process, evolution. Bigger changes are sometimes called revolution. Besides the change of the organization and the processes, nowadays very often the cultural change plays an important role. It is very important to monitor the markets, to stay open and flexible for changes and especially to involve and develop the staff. A successful realization of organizational changes requires a structured project management, realistic timelines and budgets and the involvement and the communication to the employees. The professional change management accompanies these changes based on a holistic approach.
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