Those who do not adapt to change, they are destined to doom. This goes the same whether we are talking about societal changes, technological changes, or business changes. Since we are talking about ocm business here, businesses need to understand that the change is inevitable, and the harder they try to resist, the greater the loss they bear.
Now, in the business world, adapting to the change often refers to the implementation of organizational change. Interestingly, implementing organizational change is easier than done, primarily because most businesses comprise various departments; each with its essential systems and processes. And with so many nodes to handle, implementing organizational change essentially becomes a burdensome task if not done with best Microsoft dynamics partner company. That’s where the OCM change management comes in.
Dont forget to check our Ecommerce CRM Software guide.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_toggle title=”Table of Content:” open=”true”]
- What is OCM Meaning?
- Reasons for OCM Implementation in Organization
- Roadblocks in OCM implementation
- Benefits, Advantages, and Pros of OCM
- Step by Step OCM Process
[/vc_toggle][vc_column_text single_style=””]
What is OCM?
Organizational change management (OCM) is a specialized field that assists businesses to implement the chance and transform their internal systems and processes from the existing stage to the stage where they want they want it to be in the future. The essence of OCM meaning lies in keeping the disruptions to a minimum while implementing the chance. The OCM meaning and scope may be defined at the initial stage of the business transformation initiative. Throughout the process of OCM change management initiative, different OCM change management techniques like communication, training, and stakeholders’ analysis are to be conducted; in order to create a homogenous and positive culture for the change. The OCM meaning may be deemed as a set of levers, which businesses leaders can leverage to fasten the implementation of change management in the organization, with minimal business disruptions, so as to ensure keeping up with the core business operations and avoiding any loss of customers or missing deadlines.
Businesses need to consider OCM strategy when they believe that the change required in the organizations spans the triad of systems, processes, and people, as well as when they believe that the chance is going to be widespread and significant for business. Integrating the OCM strategy with the business transformation plan only fastens the process of implementation of the change and delivers results sooner.
Now, in order to understand the essence of OCM meaning and why it’s important for businesses, it is important to take a deeper look at the factors that drives the organizational change implementation by businesses.
Reasons for OCM Implementation in Organization
There are various scenarios that drive businesses to implement an OCM strategy to pull out smarter strategies for the future, including;
– Business Mergers and Acquisitions
Often during mergers and acquisitions, there is a need for the total transformation of departments (consolidating the essential resources and removing the redundant roles). This essentially can be achieved by implementing a proactive OCM strategy
– Regulatory compliance
Businesses operating in strictly regulated industries and sectors are required to keep up with the updation of their internal systems and resources to ensure regulatory compliance.
– Technological updation
The technology is fast changing the business landscape. The fast pace of evolution of technology requires businesses to fasten their adoption pace to remain competitive and thrive in the market. In order to integrate the latest technology with the existing financial systems effectively, there’s a need to put up the significant effort, not just for integration, but also to improve the adoption rate of the technology through training programs.
– Learning from failures
While failures may seem a big backward draw for business, in reality, failure gives organizations an ideal opportunity to return to the drawing board, assess the reasons for failure, and determine the changes required to pull out success in the next run. Integrated OCM with the business change management plan can help greatly in identifying the existing loopholes, as well as, to adopt best practices for the future.
– Reimagining the businesses
With the tough market competition, businesses are often required to reimagine their products’ offerings and come up with creative branding strategies and dynamics business intelligence to maximize their reach and potential earning, which can be implemented with a robust and effective OCM change management strategy.
Roadblocks in OCM implementation
Now that we saw various motivation for OCM implementation for businesses, it is important to understand the barriers towards the OCM implementation, so as to be prepared for those when implementing the strategy:
– Internal Resistance
Often the greatest barrier to the implementation of OCM in businesses comes in the shape of internal resistance from employees and staff. Many people are too afraid of change that they don’t shy away to resist any change management initiative. However, most of the times the fear is all about their perceptions of the employees towards that change. At this point in time, business leaders have the great responsibility to take up to themselves to initiate a comprehensive communication campaign with all the people and convince them for the positive impact of the technology. They can also look up to the tech-geeks amongst the staff to help them soften the people’s stance towards the OCM implementation.
– Ineffective Leadership
The best way to implement OCM is a top-down approach, which means that leaders and executives have a greater responsibility to lead from the front and take the entire team with them. It is important to consider that if OCM implementation fails at the upper-management level, it would be hard to set the tone for the lower management team and convince them to embrace the change. Thereby, it is important for the top leadership to come up with a robust and well-planned OCM strategy to ensure it’s a success story.
– Lack of vision
Without a definite vision and clarity in terms of project scope and KPIs, it isn’t possible to implement a successful OCM plan. Thereby, before launching the implementation phase, it is important for businesses to have a well-defined scope and clarity of vision for the expected outcomes of the project
– Poor Communication
The when, why, and how questions arising from the staff are likely to be expected whenever organizations look up to implement an OCM plan. This is why OCM best practices highly recommend businesses leaders to initiate positive and comprehensive communication with the entire team to let them know the goals and expectations behind the OCM meaning and ensure they are well-aware of the expected KPIs of the project
– Project complexity
It is to be expected from the staff and employees to get overwhelmed with the OCM implementation if the core processes of the plan are too complex or convoluted. Again, the key here is to take onboard the entire team and discuss with them all possible complexities that may arise in due course during the implementation phase.
– Ineffective training
Last but not least, it is important to train the staff for the utilization of new systems and processes that are implemented through OCM. Failure to conduct proper training and workshop sessions may lead to complexities on behalf of employees to adapt to new systems and processes.
Benefits, Advantages, and Pros of OCM
Mitigates Resistance
Any change management program will fail to achieve its stated objectives, as well as, won’t be able to deliver of projected ROIs given that the program faces resistance from staff and stakeholders, or if the staff for which the program is indented for are not able to comprehend to the knowledge required to use the program.
This is why before the implementation of an OCM change management program, it is recommended to soften up the resistance. This could be achieved by improving the overall awareness level of the team and motivating them for the change adoption. By initiating an OCM process, businesses enhance their chances to achieve stated objectives, while exceeding the expected ROIs.
Costs Savings
Change is always associated with disruptions that subsequently leads to the loss of productivity and lost revenue for businesses. However, by taking a well-planned OCM strategy that comprehends all possible disruptions, businesses can significantly reduce the level of disruptions, thereby keeping up with their efficiency and productivity levels. Once you are able to take your employees through the change implementation process, it significantly enhances the confidence level of the entire team to integrate the next change smoothly and efficiently. And by breeding confidence into the organization’s fabric, businesses are in a great position to control the cost of the change.
Check our ax amazon integration service
Organizational Structure
During the change implementation in the business, you are going to test the strength of the business structure. As the process of change implementation proceeds, businesses have a great opportunity to test the strong and weak areas and take appropriate measures to reinforce the identified weak areas. In a nutshell, OCM gives businesses a chance to test the waters for its organizational structure and made any necessary changes to further improve the efficiency and strength of the business structure.
Corporate Relationships
It is important to remember that any change implemented in the business, doesn’t just affect the respective business, but also impacts all companies which are associated (do business) with the business. This means that when you implement an OCM to strengthen the internal controls of processes of your business, all your clients, vendors, and business partner will also be impacted, as they would have to adjust to the new approach to accommodate the changed systems and processes.
Hence, it is of great importance to undertake the change implementation process with thorough planning and high-efficiency, in a bet to preserve the vital corporate relations you have built over the years. Any disrupted change in your business may shake the trust and confidence of your customers, vendors, and partners; subsequently leading to loss of business in one way or the other. When implementing the change, try to keep a strong focus to avoid any possible disruptions that may impact your corporate relations.
Step by Step OCM Process
Irrespective of the organizational change businesses intend to implement or different barriers faced by businesses during the implementation phase, the key to the successful implementation of OCM starts with a clear vision from top-down.
Below we have come up with steps that need to be followed by business leaders to improve the readiness of their company towards the change.
- The first steps towards the change implementation process are to get an unbiased and honest opinion from the entire team about the existing systems and processes implemented in the company. This feedback is going to provide the rationale and clear perspective of areas that need change and areas which don’t need a change from employees’ point of view. This will also help in making expectations for OCM implementation
- The next step is to have a clear and well-defined vision about the outcomes you want to achieve with the OCM implementation. Having a well-defined vision also help business leaders and executives to communicate their thoughts with the employees and soften their resistance towards the change implementation by making them aware of potential benefits to reap from the project
- Although business leaders have the greatest responsibility to define the project scope and implement it successfully, it is important to remember that the technical leadership may come from any level in the organization. Thereby, it is recommended to screen through the employees and identify the employees who share your vision. This won’t just help you to have a strong technical opinion on the subject matter, but also these employees may prove to be a great resource in motivating and raising awareness of their peers for the OCM process
- While the implementation phase is carrying on, make sure to come up with a comprehensive training program for the employees. This program may include educational videos, interactive tutorials and course work that can enable employees to understand new systems and use them efficiency; thus improving the overall ROIs of the OCM project
Best OCM Software List in 2020
-
Whatfix
Whatfix is a popular and highly interactive digital adoption platform that comes with strong workflows; enabling businesses to fasten the adoption of the new systems and processes. The personalized onboarding and training program offered by Whatfix ensures that the end-users are able to understand the processes in detail and use it to the optimum utility.
We have updated our best Shopify crm blog.
-
BMC Remedy Change Management 9
Developed by BMC, it is a creative and robust tool for IT departments with consistent need to coordinate with various changes. The BMC Remedy Change Management 9 tool enables IT professionals to assess details of change requests, to come up with strong change implementation plans and monitor the implementation status.
-
StarTeam
It’s a specialized OCM tool that is meant to enable development teams to enhance the software delivery process. The tool connects the distributed by a single source of truth, thus improving the efficiency and productivity of the entire team.
-
Rocket Aldon
It is yet another specialized OCM for the development teams. The tool can be accessed by multiple users remotely at one time, which enables managers to track the changes in real-time. It also automates the process of software delivery and change management.
-
ChangeGear Change Manager
It’s an OCM tool that employs advanced automation and controls to users for efficient and seamless change implementation. The Change Management OCM tool is a multi-role software that can be used for IT, DevOps, and change management in other business functions.
FAQs:
What does OCM stand for?
Organizational Change Management (OCM) is a specialized software that is used to manage and control the implementation of change processes in the business structure.
What is an OCM consultant?
OCM consultant leverage the data-driven solutions to resolve the human factors hampering the businesses’ capacity to achieve its organizational bottom lines.
