Making Changes in a Business
The marketplace requires businesses to change or face elimination by more profitable competitors. Some companies resist change because they do not see and understand quickly enough the need for change. Part of being competitive is having the ability to remain flexible when changes are required for business operations.
-
Reasons
-
Businesses make changes to improve their competitive edge, innovate processes, or enter emerging markets. While change can be difficult, it should not be avoided. Management must be open to reviews on all areas of their business in order to make changes. The first thing that management must do is select a change agent; this individual will handle the daily tasks involved with making changes to business operations.
Change Agent
-
A change agent is a person who reviews business operations and evaluates the best ways to change current operations. A change agent can be a company employee or an outside consultant. Company employees who are selected as change agents should be at the supervisor or manager level; this allows them to meet with other departments and have the authority to view sensitive financial information.
Most change agents need a strong personality to handle any conflict from other company employees. Many times individuals resist change because it can increase workload and require more time in re-developing their department. Change agents should also be excited about the new ideas that can be generated for the company; this enthusiasm can help influence others to accept the upcoming changes.
The goal of the change agent is to discover specific areas or process inside the company that need changes and make recommendations to upper-management. Changes can be operational, financial, or departmental.
Change Process
-
To change operations, change agents should state the current operational standard and then indicate what changes can be made to increase productivity. Operational changes help businesses remain competitive in their industry. Increasing output and maintaining cost levels can create a better market share for company products and boost sales.
With financial changes, ways to automate workflow and reduce collection time for payments can increase the cash flow for a company. Many times the accounting office should be reviewed and workflow processes documented. This allows the change agent to determine how improvements should be implemented to increase the accounting workflow.
Departmental changes are made when certain operations become obsolete or become too expensive for the company to maintain. Change agents may recommend relocating personnel, closing offices, or selling aging facilities that offer no value to the company. Sometimes these changes may be expensive up front, but my save money over time.
-
