‘Organisational change’ and ‘transformation’ are terms that seem pretty commonplace in the workplace nowadays. Whether it’s a merger or acquisition, a round of redundancies or legislative changes - like the ring-fencing requirements in UK banks or GDPR rules – changes happen, often.
On a recent walk with my partner, I mused on what could be the next big change. We already know about the very real threat of global warming and rising sea levels that will affect populations (and organisations) based in megalopolises like New York, London and Sydney. But what if we woke up tomorrow to find that a cyber criminal had erased money (and any records of it) from our bank accounts? What if we found all the personal data that ever existed in the world was had disappeared? What if we woke up tomorrow and found the earth was surrounded by an alien civilisation? The last example may sound extreme, but ask yourself if it sounds less extreme now than it would do prior to the arrival of a global pandemic?
Either way, the past few years have produced some surprises that would have seemed unimaginable ten years ago - Trumpism, Brexit and now, Covid. The latter has produced the most radical shake up of all – many of us no longer needing to travel to work in order to actually work - (this is a separate topic, but one that I’ll be covering in a new piece).
Ask yourself this: What would happen if you were an employee at an organisation where change or transformation was so momentous and recurrent, that it became an everyday experience?
What if transformation was your new norm?
If this was the case, how would your needs change? How should organisations be reacting to these changes, ensuring they fulfil a duty of care and protect your psychological well-being so you have sufficient levels of resilience and the resources needed to work productively?
Perhaps organisational agility could become a strategic aim?
One of the secondary unexpected consequences of Covid that saddens me is the erosion of our high street (and the personal impact as a result of job losses). If organisations are to learn anything from this change, it’s that contingency, agility and future proofing must be key components of organisational culture and individual behaviour, if they are to survive.
We've all heard the quote, “it's not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It's the one most adaptable to change.” But are the organisations we work for reading from the same page?
Richard Clements is a workplace, career and interview coach and founder of Clear Cut Selection, a 360 employability skills coaching and consulting service. To find our more, visit www.clearcutselection.com