Change Management Strategies That Lead to Business Growth

Change – love it, fear it, but it’s as inevitable as taxes. Businesses that learn to harness change strategically are the ones that see profit rise. 

J. Scott, founder and CEO of the consulting firm 120VC, has seen it happen. We sat down to discuss change management strategies that can take your business to the next level, specifically evolving your team's approach to work by adding new technology, employing new methods, or revamping old processes are all ways you can help your company grow.

Below are a few change management strategies we discussed that can help take your business to the next level.

• Re-rationalize the work your team is doing to boost efficiency.

When your business enters a growth cycle, review operations to determine if your team is working as efficiently as possible. While efficient operations are a pillar of a well-run and profitable enterprise, if your team is working efficiently without boosting either customer satisfaction, team satisfaction, or profitability, you may be moving fast but actually treading water. 

Align your team’s output with these three categories to bolster your company's bottom line – and consider eliminating anything outside of them. 

• Repurpose your team to work more effectively.  

Business owners often think they need to onboard more people to get more work done. However, hiring additional team members can lead to more challenges. To avoid adding this layer of complexity to your work environment, consider repurposing your team by matching their skill sets with work opportunities that directly align with the three categories bolded above. This approach will help you run a lean and effective team.

• Get your team to buy into operational changes.

Teams can be resistant to change, which is understandable. As J. Scott says, “[We’re] wired to push back on anything that conflicts with a previously held belief.” Humans are creatures of habit and, sometimes, companies roll out changes that unintentionally make it harder for employees to do their jobs. 

In order to get employee buy-in, J. Scott encourages businesses to consider using marketing techniques. "Marketing, fundamentally, is making people aware of the possibilities and inspiring them to action." In this instance, consider hosting “experience shares” with your team members where they can discuss the work challenges they face. After listening to your employee's stories, ask them for recommendations of tools or methods that they've used in the past that have helped them do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. 

By giving your team time to voice the challenges they experience and soliciting recommendations for solutions, you can create a demand for change. In doing so, you're more likely to succeed at making your team active and willing participants in implementing new resources or processes into your current business model. 

Change doesn't have to be painful. Transforming elements of your business can be a collaborative and exciting process. You can remove some of the roadblocks and avoid common pitfalls associated with change management by rethinking the work your team is doing, how your team is operating, and the approach you take in getting your team to adopt the changes you want to implement willingly. The key is shifting your team's thinking around, and experience with, change. 

"If you want people to do differently,” J. Scott says, “first you have to help them think differently." To grow your business, you must shift your team's mindset and, ultimately, your company's practices.

To find out more about how we help our clients embrace change and grow their businesses, book a consultation below.