10 Tips For Rockin’ Remote Organizational Change Management
Many of our consultants recently transitioned to remote organizational change management (OCM) support of their clients for the first time, while others have been supporting their clients from afar for a long time. We reached out and asked them to share the top critical success factors for providing effective remote organizational change management support. Here is what they had to say:
Establish a work mindset. It is all too easy to look at your home surroundings and think that you can lounge around and watch TV, clean, or tackle a project that is on you To Do list. “You must mentally separate work from home and learn to focus on work as priority number one during work hours,” says Michelle Spencer, an experienced OCM consultant.
Establish a productive physical home office. Ideally, this includes a dedicated space and desk. Upgrade your internet if necessary and ensure that you have the right version of applications on your computer to do your job remotely.
Be persistent about OCM inclusion. Ricky Mathis, an OCM and Training consultant, cautions, “It can be too easy to work in solitude if you don’t remind colleagues of the value that OCM brings to discussions such as listening skills, the ability to stay present in a conversation and check for understanding of what others have said so they feel heard, and follow-up, the ability to move things further than just talking and the ideation phase.”
Maintain a good relationship between OCM and the project manager. A mutually collaborative relationship between OCM and the project manager is where the magic happens, regardless if you’re face-to-face or remote.
Engage fearlessly. Pamela Merritt, an OCM and Marketing consultant, shares “It can be intimidating to reach out to key stakeholders who don’t know you because you have not had an opportunity to be properly introduced. Doing so and working to establish credibility is critical, especially when persuasion is part of the picture.”
Develop a personal communication plan for the way you want to communicate with people on the project team, in the same manner that you would develop a communication plan for a project. Remote working can be enhanced by thinking through how you want to communicate as an individual and how you can add value by what and when you personally communicate to others.
Be transparent about OCM activities. Mark Freeman, an OCM and Business Process consultant, advises “Go out of your way to leverage available technology and tools to verbally and visually share OCM activities for the current week and plans for the coming week, encouraging all comments, suggestions, concerns, questions, and issues.”
Demonstrate your humanity. Mark adds, “Be ‘friendly’ when writing emails or extending a meeting invitation with language and expressions that are welcoming and positive in their content, paying extra attention to how your written words are coming across.”
Continue to build informal relationships with regular touch points. Mara Kershaw, a Strategic OCM Consultant and Coach, encourages us to “Chat with your co-workers as often as you can. Be sure to turn that camera on, especially for smaller meetings and one-on-ones. All of these actions help to build camaraderie in what can otherwise be a lonely workplace.”
End your workday! Michelle cautions that, “It is too easy to just stay at the computer and continue to work well into the evening. Set an alarm and close your computer or workspace when the workday is done.”
Contact ChangeStaffing to learn how our organizational change management consultants can help your organization rock OCM remotely.