Change management for boards

Change management for boards: a corporate governance education guide to safeguarding your company’s future in a rapidly shifting business landscape. Change is inevitable, and no organisation can afford to stand still. In recent years, organisations have experienced massive changes in both external markets and internal structures. The key thing to remember is that managed change is an opportunity; unmanaged change is a risk. Because of that, we need dedicated, dynamic and reliable change management programs. They must be broad enough that the entire organisation can depend on them, thorough enough to produce expected results, and adaptive enough to embrace unexpected results. The basics: what is change management? It’s a staged or systemic approach to dealing with a change in the way an organisation works. The change can be big or small and impact one team or the whole company; the possibilities are endless. The most important thing, however, is that change will always be on the horizon, and the true test is how companies deal with it. Companies that feel they don’t want or need change management will inevitably end up in trouble. What are the benefits of change management for boards? A good change management plan will help improve communication and morale, enhance productivity, and improve decision-making. They also allow for a measured approach, letting an organisation adapt without making employees or management feel out of their depth at any point in a transition process. This breaks mammoth projects into bite-sized tasks that feed meaningful progress from one year to the next. However, change management's biggest and most important advantage is that it future-proofs an organisation for shifts occurring in the wider industry. This safeguards profitability and dramatically reduces the possibility of becoming unsustainably irrelevant. What does good change management look like? Like anything, it’s a staged approach: The first stage is identifying the core specifics of the change: what will happen, why it will happen, how it will happen, and when. Following that, the company needs to decide how they’ll implement the change. How many stages will implementation take, and what will happen at each stage? It will then assign responsibility for each stage and the overall change After that, every single stakeholder who may be affected should be notified of the plans. This is core communication and must continue at all stages in the change process. Stakeholders should be informed of the plans, asked for feedback, and regularly informed. Through the change process, the company should keep details on progress and monitor implementation. This enables them to assess and communicate the success of any change. At the end of the process, the evaluation stage will review whether the change has been successful overall and will identify areas of improvement. What is the board’s role in change management? The board should focus on maintaining the organisation's high performance. As wardens of top-level strategy, directors don’t need to get into the nitty-gritty of change management, but they should always ensure they offer their best advice and ask the right questions about progress. Therefore, the board should address any projects involving significant organisational changes. This could mean involvement in initial planning meetings, education of executives and other employees about change management, and involvement of at least one board member in the project team. Also, it’s usually essential that the board formally approve changes and the management programs that will implement them. This is often a legal requirement and ensures consistency in communication. To help this process along, the board can take the following steps: Stay well-informed about the need for change. Get governance education to understand the need for adaptability. Provide support to the executive staff. Encourage and embrace feedback at all stages. Keep an eye on the cost of change to ensure financial sustainability. Monitor the impact of change on talent management. Consult with experts where necessary. The bottom line is that if the board is not acutely aware of all parts of the change management process, you have a problem. Good change management means the top levels of governance are always informed, and this is a careful balance between the board being told the correct information and asking the right questions themselves. Change management for boards: the challenges Sometimes, the change process can be messy. Here are some of the most common causes: Executives and the board simply don’t know how to manage change. A crucial skill set is missing from the executive team or the board. Communication breaks down through inadequate reporting and informal updates. The need for change may suddenly become obsolete, potentially wasting resources and company time. The best changer management plans will recognise these risks and take every step to ensure they don’t take hold.

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Diploma in Corporate Governance

Certified Company Secretary Professional

Diploma in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

Technology & Governance for Boards

Company Secretary

Overview of Corporate Governance

AI Governance

CSRD Reporting

The director's challenge

Attend online and in-person events to get the practical skills and insights you need to make an impact as a leader.

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