Managing Change to Manage Results

The rules for running a printing business have dramatically changed. What was once a stable, recession-proof, somewhat static market segment has been replaced by a business activity in which demand has faltered, price competition is fierce, and technology seems to change daily.

Operating in this unstable, dynamic, and many times chaotic environment requires managers to change how they run their businesses and to design organizations that can adapt to change. This is no small matter given the innate fear and resistance to change possessed by many.

Change is not an easy task and many consultants, academics, and corporation staffers have invested enormous amounts of time and resources to develop theories and processes that yield change.

To help printing managers in initiating organizational change, GAM assembled a broad panel of "change experts" to identify the basic ingredients of a winning change strategy. The exercises resulted in the following six items of counsel.

1. Top management support drives successful change efforts.

An organization takes its cues from its leaders; if the leaders embrace change, the organization will change.

Absolute support from top management is critical if change is to take place, in the view of Dr. Joan E. Cassidy, president of Integrated Leadership Concepts, Inc., Odenton, Md., a consulting firm that builds high-performance organizations.

Cassidy says she's witnessed the leadership of printing companies initiate a change effort, then cling to the status quo.

She explains, "Making changes means just that. And that means taking action, not merely giving lip service to what needs to be done. Employees need to see that their supervisors are supporting change."

Stephen J. Thomas agrees that leadership can make or break a change effort. Thomas, author of Successfully Managing Change in Organizations: A User's Guide (see sidebar on page 50), says he implemented numerous change initiatives as a middle manager in the refinery maintenance field, during a 30-year career in the petrochemical industry.

He observes that successful leaders of change possess both transactional skills (accomplishing tasks) and transitional skills (propelling the organization to fulfill its vision). "Very few people can do both," Thomas adds, "but if a company has transitional leaders who can see a vision and can continually plug away at getting there, then a change effort is more likely to succeed."

He also points out that leadership is needed throughout an organization.

2. Winning change efforts begin with solid business strategies, goals, and plans.

Change for change sake is a credo for calamity. "Change for change sake offers no meaningful business benefit, but change to induce a positive result does," says Tom Albrecht, president aQsi (which stands for All Quality Standard Inc.), a graphic arts consulting firm based in Naperville, Ill. "Also, there needs to be ways to measure success so that we know if we've arrived."

Adds Cassidy, "The best results happen when company managers define their plans and strategies based on what they want to achieve. If I want X to happen, then I have to do Y. And understand that this is an iterative process: you don't stop if you make a mistake, but rather you learn and adapt."

To initiate such an approach, printing company managers must understand the factors that most influence their business.

"Managers need to understand the most profitable work the firm produces, where they generate the most sales, what's going on in the marketplaces they serve, how customers view them, what their clients want, and more," explains Pamela Conover, principal of Conover & Associates, a North Caldwell, N.J.-based graphic arts consulting firm that specializes in sales and marketing.

Conover continues, "The point is, managers need to base their goals, strategies, and plans on relevant market and business conditions. Many managers can't tell you their top 25 accounts, which is scary."

At the same time, advises Cassidy, don't try to do too much too fast. She says, "Too much change can be overwhelming, so it's best to serve it in teaspoonfuls."

But turning visions into reality is no simple task. Author Thomas found a powerful tool for achieving desired results in an analytical, step-by-step framework linking visions to goals to initiatives to activities required to performance measures.

Thomas calls this process the Goal Achievement Model and provides the following sequence for illustration:

Mission: operate the facility in a reliable manner;

Goal: develop a comprehensive reliability program;

Initiative: develop a preventive maintenance program;

Activity: gather data to support the work effort; and

Measure: track progress.

3. Communication powers the change process.

Employees need to know the what's, why's, how's, and when's of change.

"One of the first steps in creating a culture conducive to change is to explain to employees why the change is necessary," says consultant Cassidy. "Also, employees have to know what's expected of them and how you'll help them meet those expectations if additional skills are required."

Adds Sid Chadwick, president of Chadwick Consulting, Lewisville, N.C., "There must be clear a understanding not only of what is required and expected, but the underlying rationale for a change. For this to occur, the barriers between departments must be removed so that the focus is on the big picture and what's best for the entire organization."

Managers need to sell employees on change. Albrecht of aQsi suggests that many of the same tools used to market products and services can be applied to market change: "Target marketing has great relevance in change management. Segment your employee base and tailor the message of change to meet the needs and demands of each segment."

After employees buy the change, Albrecht adds, they should sign a "contract"—not a legally binding document, but a form that indicates that they agree with, understand, and will implement a particular change.

He further suggests that managers strive to improve communication by keeping a written record of management meetings. "I'm talking about a set of minutes that log the items discussed, agreements reached, assignments made, and actions completed."

4. Find measures and models to gauge progress.

"As the old saying goes, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it. On the other hand, if it moves, it can be measured," reports Albrecht. "Everything can be quantified; it's just a question of how much time and effort it takes to collect the information."

Thomas developed a qualitative model that identifies the essential elements required to induce change, their relationship to each other, and a way to measure progress.

He calls this model the "web of change" because the eight elements are interrelated:

1. 1. Leadership—direction and development of a culture that supports a change effort.
2. 2. Work process—way in which work gets done.
3. 3. Structure—framework for operation, responsible for how employees are organized within the company.
4. 4. Group learning—manner in which an organization and its employees master new ideas and use them to improve the work effort.
5. 5. Technology—software tools used to gather, analyze, and transmit information to promote data-driven decisions.
6. 6. Communication—flow of information to the employees who need it in order to be effective.
7. 7. Interrelationships—how employees interact both formally and informally to complete their work.
8. 8. Rewards—positive reinforcement for achieving goals as well as negative reinforcement used to identify and correct mistakes and poor habits.

Using a questionnaire that Thomas designed, employees evaluate these elements, then the survey results are used to generate a radar diagram, which resembles a spider web, plotting each element on a scale of 0 to 20. (Thomas's book includes a disk to create the radar diagram in Microsoft Excel.)

"This subjective model is designed to gather employees' opinions and show where a company's strengths and weaknesses are along those eight elements. The first diagram is the benchmark; later surveys allow you to compare results over time," explains Thomas.

While this is not a statistically valid quantitative model, Thomas concedes, he points out that it is a good barometer of the results of a change effort.

5. Develop a plan to reinforce change.

Making change stick is a daily exercise that requires managers to be vigilant with follow-through.

"Most people know that, to lose weight, for example, you must alter your eating habits, which requires daily emphasis and constant attention," says Albrecht. "With change, someone has to keep track of daily events—what's being done or not being done, and so on."

Adds Cassidy, "Without constant follow-up, even successful change efforts will begin to regress. Also, plans aren't perfect so adjustments may be necessary; these changes need to be communicated and justified to employees."

Cassidy cautions that, when initiatives fail because of poor follow-up or commitment, employees become suspect and resistant to any future changes.

6. Seek expert counsel, but don't abdicate the throne.

Consultants have much to offer printing company executives who want to effect organizational change, because of perspectives gained from working with other printers and other industries.

As Pamela Conover observes, "Printers sometimes don't contact consultants because they don't think they can afford their fees. The truth is, consultants work with companies at many different levels, at corresponding fee structures. Printers won't know the cost until they call. Also, many local and national industry associations offer consultant recommendation services."

At the same time, Thomas advises, a manager hiring a consultant is wise not to give up project responsibility or involvement; otherwise, at the completion of the project the consultant walks away with all the insight.

"But if you work with the consultant, you retain the knowledge," he explains. "But it's a fine line: you have to let the consultant do the job you hired him or her to do, or nothing will change."