4 Key Analysis Steps for Organizational Change Management (OCM)

What are the key elements of OCM?

OCM has big impacts – regardless of the organization’s size. In this article, we look at 4 Critical Components your team should analyze when attempting to make changes across the enterprise: Change Strategy & Plan, Stakeholder Management, Organization Design, and Knowledge Management.

Analysis: Take the Right Steps to Ensure OCM success.

1. Prepare an Overall Change Strategy and Plan

First, make a plan. We all know plans change (pun intended). Without a basic Change Management Approach your team will not make it to the next step. Once a plan – even a simple one – is in place, you can begin to solidify Leader Sponsorship and Executive Alignment.

When leadership has bought into the plan and have included considerations you may not be aware of, you can begin Baselining the Plan and Designing Iterative Assessments.

In many cases, management may not buy in until the OCM Plan Identifies the immediate and future benefits of the changes. Executives will be looking to satisfy current and future Metrics -> Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) -> Reporting Requirements -> Return on Investment (ROI). 

In order to defend your plan, solidify Sponsorship, and gain Executive Alignment - make sure to analyze current reporting benchmarks and have a handle on future KPIs being developed.

2.   Manage Stakeholders

The next step after a plan has been defined and leadership agreement approved is to Manage Stakeholders

Perform Stakeholder Analysis and further structure the OCM Plan to meet the needs of the key (if not all) Stakeholders.

Often, the most difficult part of deploying OCM is Assessing Stakeholder Change Readiness. As in life, it is easier for people to continue down the path they have been on than accept challenges of the unknown. Ownership of process and systems are definitely going to be impacted.

Be mindful of the potential blockers stakeholders will create ahead of making significant changes – especially when there is a gap in understanding Enterprise-wide benefit.

Now, Planning Communications is critical. Different stakeholders may need to consume OCM plans in different ways. Make sure the Communication is in line with how leadership intends to distribute information in the future.

The best (and really ONLY) way to convince a broad audience of stakeholders is to Create a Network of Change Agents. Including leaders and team members that others have confidence in will help you get through the blockers that will without any doubts come from some stakeholders.

3.   Organizational Design and Structure

Once an OCM Change Strategy is in place and Stakeholder Analysis well in hand it is time to Engage Management. You may have already done this by empowering your Network of Change Agents. Either way, management teams across the organization will need to be a part of the program.

Once management has been included, your team should know more about the Impacts to Organizational Structure. Document them.

Defining Roles and Responsibilities will ensure ownership across teams.

All the while you should be organizing the plan to include any Governance and Security Requirements and/or upcoming moves being made in other projects related.

4.   Knowledge Management

Finally, the OCM plan will need to identify and execute overall Knowledge Management. You may also be re-defining how Standardization Documentation, Training, and Education works going forward.

Analyze Training Needs. This might be an opportunity to restructure Enterprise Standardization Documentation, Training, and Education going forward.

Knowledge Management Design and Development Planning will be the hinge-point to future success. Compliance, Regulatory Requirements, and Organizational Vision / Strategy are the most important elements to include.

Finally, creating a stable and inclusive Production Support Plan will enable everyone to participate, stay up-to-date on changes, and over time will improve overall ROI.