Kotter’s Approach to Managing Change at Work
The initiative to discontinue remote work and mandate that employees report to the office at least twice a week can be effectively implemented through Kotter’s 8-Step Model. This structured approach not only makes the change management process more efficient but also helps gain employee buy-in and reduces disruption during the transition.
Create a Sense of Urgency
The organisation should first inform staff about the need for change. Push factors are less about the negatives of continuing with the norm and more about illustrating how a change like hybrid working is beneficial (Haas et al., 2020). For instance, posting results showing that face-to-face communications increase efficiency and creativity at the workplace encourages staffers to adapt to these changes.
Form a Powerful Coalition
An effective change management plan requires forming a team of top management officials, managers, and key employees (Laig & Abocejo, 2021). Through this coalition of change, individuals can be empowered to take control of the change process, address their concerns, and become advocates for the new Blended Workspace.
Create a Vision for Change
It is essential to depict a clear vision of a hybrid working environment. The vision should describe the desirable organisational change regarding working conditions and relationships between employees and the organisation (Ong & Walker, 2022). A clear vision can provide direction and engage an organisation’s employees during change.
Communicate the Vision
A constant and transparent information exchange process is mandatory. The organisation must ensure that the change management vision and the reasons for the change are communicated appropriately through emails, town hall meetings, and even the organisation’s intranet. Regular updates can help answer uncertainties and inform employees regarding the imperfections.
Remove Obstacles
Forecasting and mitigating risks are also very important. This can include considerations such as transportation costs, flexible working hours, or childcare support for employees with young children. Additionally, it is advisable to offer training sessions to help employees adjust to the new working model.
Create Short-Term Wins
To address the tension; organisations should identify and publicize early wins by increasing awareness of the advantages or opportunities the change will bring (Ong & Walker, 2022). For example, acknowledging the achievements of organisations that engage in hybrid work and performance and rewarding such efforts may encourage others to achieve the same or improve on those results.
Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change
Therefore, the organisation should develop the hybrid working model further by adapting it based on the preliminary outcomes. Here, it is necessary to actively solicit employee feedback and make adjustments when and where needed to ensure the change is long-lasting and efficient.
Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture
Last but not least, the hybrid working model that has been formulated needs to be integrated with the organisational culture. This can be done through policy and procedure implementation and performance metric reorientation towards the new work methods (Ong & Walker, 2022). Ensuring that successive communication and leadership will support change ensures that the change is a part of the organisational culture. When applied to the current scenario of managing the transitional phase to incorporate a hybrid work culture at the organisational site, the 8-Step Change Model of Kotter paves the way for an efficient change management solution with employees’ adherence.
