Why Change Readiness Saves You Money

In this article we examine why change readiness saves you money.

Think of this question:  why are some changes easy and others difficult?  In reality, change is only easy when you are ready for it.  Change readiness makes change less difficult and makes you more likely to succeed.

The lack of change readiness ends up costing the organization time and money, and increases risks.

Some changes are hard no matter how ready people are.  But here’s the thing – if the changes you need to make are difficult ones, they will be even more difficult, more risky, and more costly if your people aren’t ready for them.

The fundamentals

Notice the concepts raised above – ease and difficulty; efficiency, risk, effectiveness, empowerment.  Change readiness impacts on the fundamentals of organisational life – how staff experience working in your organisation, how efficiently they work and deal with change, how much risk they pose to your long-term viability, how effective they are in delivering successful change outcomes, and how empowered they are to meet the challenges of the future.  These are fundamental because they reflect the ability of the organisation to adapt to future demands.

The bottom line

In the everyday world, how much difference can change readiness make to a business’ bottom-line?   Company A struggles with change. There’s lots of resistance, wastage of management’s time, and poor change outcomes.  Company B changes much easier. There is general ‘buy-in’, creativity and innovation, enthusiasm, and successful outcomes.

Change readiness makes the manager’s job easier; staff who are ready for change are adaptable and generally need less management-time.

So, how can you develop change readiness in your organisation?  We can help you assess your current strengths and weaknesses and, through specialised coaching, help you develop the change readiness you need.

Dr Steve Barlow