Small Business Change Management

Change is a delicate area of business that most owners would rather not discuss but change is important in all types and sizes of businesses.

Some businesses do make changes with the best intentions, but can also be misguided based on poor advice or misdirected agendas.

As business requires change often, some business owners may feel that the pressures of an inefficient business place them in a rut they cannot get out of and accepting the inefficiencies of their business becomes commonplace for everyone in the company.

Unfortunately employees are in a rut just like you and your business are. If you start demanding change, no one is going to take you seriously. Why? Probably because they are used to you ranting and raving about this and that and they may have become complacent with you and your management style.

As business owners, it is easier for us to rant and rave about something than to actually make a change. Think about that.

Let's talk about change and the art of managing the changes you would like to make in your business. Before you begin making changes, you will need to get support for the changes you want to make. This support is valuable in all levels of business.

Whether you are Microsoft, Starbuck's, Sara's Hairstyles, Jim's Auto body, or Lehman, Schwartz and Horowitz, you need support to make your changes smooth, seamless, and sticky.

Some of you may think, oh heck, I'll just go out there and change what I want changed because I'm the boss and if no one likes it, I'll fire them!

Large businesses today use consulting companies because they themselves cannot manage their own change initiatives. Your business is no different than the large companies but there is one exception: Your business is much easier to manage than a larger company.

Think about it, your revenue may be significantly less, you have fewer employees, and you're not stressed with big business issues such as Sarbanes Oxley compliance or public stock investors. Either way, you still need support, known as "buy-in" to install changes in your business.

Before you start making changes to business issues you have reviewed and analyzed, I suggest you get buy-in from other management personnel in your business. If you have the opportunity to query your management staff, you could come away with other great ideas, but mainly you will come away with support from people who are viewed as leaders in your business, which could help make the transition smoother.

You also may survey other employees to get feedback on a particular business issue you find bothersome. You can also ask some of your friends outside of your business for their thoughts about improving your business as well.

Your goal is to insure that what you are thinking of changing is not going to come as a shock to your employees or interpreted as "the boss" imposing his authoritative figure on the employees. It is important to take into consideration the psychological aspect of management.

Human nature can be a formidable adversary. At any level of business, the appraisal of change to all employees is the same.

To illustrate, I will use a fantastic example of what employees believe when they hear change is coming.

I have found three types of employees in most businesses. The first employee realizes that change is coming, and that change is coming from you or a professional, usually a consultant. This particular employee believes he/she will be found out doing something wrong that may have a negative impact on his or her future and management will eventually find out.

Do you know what this employee does? They begin thinking that their days of getting away with unacceptable work habits or inappropriate behavior are over. They quit before you or the consultant begins to change the business. Interesting isn't it?

The second type of employee is the one that really appreciates your efforts in making the company better than it already is. This employee will support the company and the consultant, as long as they see an effort of positive change. The problem is that they feel that the changes will not last. This attitude may result from your lack of committing to changing things in the past.

This employee has you figured out and will try to appease you while you try to implement your changes, as long as they can make it through the attempted change. They know that after you've made a big deal of making the changes, and your consultant leaves, business will go back to normal. Sometimes this employee can be helpful in supporting your ideas, but most of the time they will be the catalyst that causes your ideas to fizzle.

The third type of employee is the one who loves you so much they would take a bullet for you. Believe me, there are employees like that. I hear this often from client's employees. This employee is willing to support your ideas no matter how crazy they seem to be.

One thing you must realize is that you employ individuals who are not as marketable as those straight out of college or those who may hold 20 years of experience. Your small business employs the average "Joe" and to some employees who fit this label, you are a hero.

You need your average Joe within your organization to champion your ideas and make them stick. Sure, you are not going to run out and start interviewing your own employees for loyalty, but you do have some idea as to who likes working for you and who does not.

Don't be confused that those employees who don't like working for you dislike your entire business. One of your goals in changing the organization of your business is to create jobs that work from the functional requirements of your business; those jobs should be filled with employees who fit the job's functional requirements.

Re-evaluating functional requirements may allow you the opportunity to place a burned-out employee in a position where, they feel like they are contributing to the growth of your business. Also, the individuals you have chosen to make up your management or leadership team should be individuals who can function in their particular capacity.

For example, you must choose a qualified individual to be vice-president of operations, instead of a friend or relative. It is important to remember that each position in your management team must be created based on the functional needs of your business.

If, after you have gone through functional evaluation exercises in determining your business process needs, you have determined that everyone on your leadership team is there for a functional reason, you can move forward garnering support for your change ideas.

If you have chosen your leadership team based on functionality, the decision and implementation of the changes you have all agreed on will be much easier if there is mutual agreement among the management team.

You really don't want to create an "I'm the boss" attitude when changing operational aspects of your business; rather, you want to foster an understanding of the logical reasons why changes are necessary.

Human nature allows us to accept new things when we understand them, rather than having those new things disrupts our way of doing things. These new ways of doing business are a disruption for employees because they may not understand why it is necessary to make the change.

Most business scholars and large business are advocates for informing employees of changes and ideas before they are implemented. This is a great vehicle for feedback as well as seamless transitions to new policies. Remember, knowledge is power.