Archive for September, 2014

Change is often and regular and it can come as expected or it can totally take us off guard. But when it comes time to adopt the change the question becomes, “why are we doing this?”

This poses fundamental implications because addressing the question assists people in preparing themselves for change by giving them the information they need to be cognisant of what is happening around them and also the assurance that everything in the ‘new world’ will be ok.

Recently Australia Post has had to shake up its operations to remain a viable government corporate entity. Australia Post has made recommendation to split the business into mail and parcel delivery operations, and segment the mail delivery into three different products based on speediness of delivery. Whilst the parcel delivery operation is making solid profits the mail operation is not, even with advancements in technology.

So what drives the need for fundamental change to a business, and what do we communicate to our key stakeholders as to “why are we doing this?” In many circumstances making a loss is symptomatic of an underlying problem, and in this case it was lack of service uptake. Much of the need for send mail has now been replaced by email or other various online mechanisms. This switch has marked the decline of mail operations. Right there, is the “why are we doing this?” Not the fact that a loss has been made but the reason behind the loss. The next part of addressing the “why” is creating that vision statement about the future (the “how”). A vision statement a vital source of focus through a process of change and it enables buy-in from various stakeholders.

Our experience in driving change management programmes has taught us that addressing concerns like “why are we doing this?” is most effective with a two-pronged strategy. Don’t just address the “why” but also speak to the “how” and this will stop your stakeholders from “going postal”.