Today’s entrepreneurial culture has rendered classic static business models inadequate. The rate of change of business landscapes requires businesses to exercise the highest levels of vigilance and create cultures and structures that enable the business to cope with arising opportunities and threats. For instance, only two decades ago, social media platforms were virtually non-existent ( Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2015). In a span of about two decades, social media platforms have been launched, grown and evolved. Social media platforms whose business model could not sustain their survival were phased out such as Friendster and Google Inc.’s Orkut were phased out in favor of platforms that were able to satisfy user’s needs ( Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2015). As a HR manager of an organization going through change, there are a number of areas on which utmost emphasis should be put.
Training
Training of all staff is important because it equips them with the necessary knowledge and skill to navigate through different circumstances that may arise. Training allows the organizational staff to be at par with the current industry needs (Musselwhite & Plouffe, 2014). Employees are exposed to new ideas and trends in the market as well as different models that work. Moreover, training propagates the organization culture and integrates the employee as part of the larger unit.
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Training is essential especially for employees who have little experience or those who are fresh from graduation. There is often a significant knowledge gap between the content learnt in higher education institutions and the nature of functionality that the employees are expected to have. Training ensures a smooth transition of the worker offers a solid foundation in the organization. Moreover, the vision of the organization is passed down through training ( Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2015). On-the-job training is usually one of the most efficient methods of imparting the values of the organization. An apprenticeship model is also effective as it enables employees who have more experience to monitor their subordinates thereby facilitating an organic flow of information and knowledge.
In order for change to occur, it is usually instigated from the top management. Training enables the management to pass the vision to the employees who will ensure that it is actualized. Employees are also motivated and achieve higher job satisfaction when they are having their skills developed (Musselwhite & Plouffe, 2014). Training also eliminates knowledge gaps and ensures that employees are efficient and effective in their work with less mistakes and errors. Training is a prerequisite for career development.
Organization structure
Organization structure is an important factor in the functionality of any organization. It consists of the organizations hierarchy and job descriptions as well as the distribution of various responsibilities and duties among the employees (Boonstra, 2013). The organization structure must be evaluated regularly because it must correlate with the organization’s mission, vision and objectives. It must also facilitate the achievement of the organization’s goals as per time.
An organization needs to be governed using a structure that is adaptive to change. Adaptability to change often distinguishes the organization structures of different organizations per industry. For instance, most technology companies like Google Inc. have a mixture of a formal and an informal structure. Such a structure facilitates the sharing of ideas and the flow of information both vertically and horizontally (The RSA, 2010). This structure also promotes freedom and liberty at the workplaces whereby even lowly ranked employee in the structure are able to forwards any ideas that they may have to their managers. Such a structure enables the organization to easily track and adapt to change within the highly dynamic technology sector.
Organization structures are some of the company`s components that are most affected by change. A change in a company’s vision, for instance, often leads to a restructuring of its workforce in order to align to the new vision. During acquisitions and mergers, organizational structures have to change in order to cater for the needs of the newly-formed larger organization ( Linnenluecke & Griffiths, 2015). They may also need to be reconfigured when there is need to introduce new skills or knowledge. It is important for the top management to create organization structures that are easily adaptable whenever change is required.
Facilitation
If an organization is to be adequately prepared for change, and to go through change effectively when need arises, it needs to have built a system in which the staff are free to present whatever ideas that they have. Such a system improves confidence among the employees and gives them s sense of purpose (The RSA, 2010). An organization that is focused towards flexibility and adaptability must ensure that their organization culture allows for freedom of expression within the ranks.
A business can achieve this culture by encouraging employees input in all the ideas which are in development. Over and above that, employees should be encouraged and given credit for their effort (The RSA, 2010). It may, for instance, be a good idea for an application development company to facilitate employees to develop their own applications during their won time, whereby the company may appropriately compensate the employees for the best applications (Musselwhite & Plouffe, 2014). Whenever the management is receptive to the employees input and opinion, employees have a sense of importance and ownership of the organization, and are likely to do their best to ensure its success.
There are various steps in the creation of a company culture that is not only easily adaptable to change, it shapes the market by leading in shaping trends. First, the company should have an elaborate recruitment process that is designed to source personnel based on the specific need of the company (Boonstra, 2013). Recruitment marks the entry of all the people who are tasked with shaping the organizations future. They should therefore be meticulously evaluated to ensure that they fit the criteria set.
Secondly, the training process should be thorough, targeted and continuous. The company should be structured in such a way that the employees are always learning. The employees should always be exposed to new stimuli to activate their need to learn. The company should also give a first priority to existing employees whenever there are new job openings, as they are trained and conversant with the company’s culture.
Third, the organization should build a culture that encourages the sharing of ideas and information. Aside from training employees in order to induct them into the organization, the best organizations are able to tap into fresh ideas brought by new mindsets (Musselwhite & Plouffe, 2014). Employees are more productive when they derive a sense of worth from their craft.
Fourth, an organization that seeks to create a strong corporate culture should seek to create a conducive working environment and favorable conditions for their employees to express themselves. Employees are more productive when they feel appreciated (Boonstra, 2013). One way to do this is to allow for leisure-work balance in order to reduce stress and depression. Employee are more alert, receptive and productive when they are not under stressful conditions.
References Top of Form
“RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us.” YouTube, The RSA, 1 Apr. 2010, youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc.
Boonstra, J. J. (2013). Dynamics of organizational change and learning . West Essex, Eng: J. Wiley & Sons Inc.Bottom of FormTop of Form
Linnenluecke, M. K., & Griffiths, A. (2015). The climate resilient organization: Adaptation and resilience to climate change and weather extremes . Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub. Ltd. Bottom of Form
Musselwhite, C., & Plouffe T. (2014) “Four Ways to Know Whether You Are Ready for Change.” Harvard Business Review, 23 July 2014, hbr.org/2010/06/four-ways-to-know-whether-you.
