I’m Old School! Can Organizational Change Management Really Be Done Remotely?

The transition of millions around the globe from office settings to working from home, has left many wondering if the old way of working is dead and gone. What does the new normal mean for organizational change management (OCM) practitioners? Can they continue to add value in a remote capacity? I recently sat down with one of our consultants, Tori Tipton, an experienced OCM and HR consultant, to discuss potential challenges of providing OCM support from afar:

Executive Leadership

Studies show that an active and engaged sponsor is a top driver for meeting project objectives. Fatigued senior leaders are now often finding themselves on video conference calls all day long. Will they still have the necessary appetite for driving major change through their organizations? Will OCM practitioner continue to have necessary access to the leaders?

Stakeholder Engagement

The manner in which we engage stakeholders will be limited as the majority of stakeholder engagement will be facilitated via technology, such as Zoom, rather than face to face. Will stakeholders still have the necessary desire to change in this more robotic environment or will change lose its momentum and die on the vine?

Communication

The old adage is that one has to communicate 7 times, 7 different ways for a message to be heard. In a remote environment the options for communication mediums are greatly reduced. No more posters in break rooms, physical signage around the office, nor desk drops. Email is suddenly in vogue again! Clients who have resisted “all digital” in the past, will need to learn to adopt these communication mediums for a remote audience. 

Training

One could argue that training is best positioned for the new remote world order. The transition from traditional face-to-face instructor led training to multi-media on-demand training has been underway for years. The current remote office environment will likely serve to leverage and accelerate this trend.

Consulting

Organizational change management is about managing the risks associated with the people side of change. Organization change management consultants are often wired to be the people-person in person. OCM consultants who are used to a high touch, high visibility, very present approach, may find it challenging to practice their craft emotionally and tactically in absence of people.

While it’s important that we are aware of challenges that we may need to navigate in the new normal, the good news is that no one knows better than organizational change management practitioners that humans, including OCMers, have an endless capacity for adaptation. With some gentle nudging, perhaps even the old schoolers can successfully adopt remote OCM!

Contact ChangeStaffing to learn how our organizational change management consultants can help your organization transition to remote OCM. 

A special thanks to Tori Tipton, OCM and HR consultant, for her thought leadership and for collaborating with us on this blog.