In the “new normal” of the post-pandemic world, we read & hear of strategic agility, nimble organisations etc. From your readings on the three key topics for this week, share how motivation, change management & organisational structures need to align to develop agile organisations to face the uncertain future.
Work Motivation:
Peak performance among staff is also dependant on the structures that are in place that support performance from the employee. The work environment, access to others knowledge and even technology, all contribute to the ability to attain the best performance from employees. In a post-pandemic world, many employees continue to work at home and are limited to online communication methods. Where Zoom meetings have replaced onsite boardrooms, chat software has replaced personalised communication and networks and internet is dependant on home wifi. There are many security, personnel and technological blocks that are affecting work motivation and therefore impact the peak performance that may be best served on site.
Change Management:
Organisations globally have been forced to revise their change management policy, as this focus on transition and transformation has required rapid mitigation. Plans that were previously in place, did not necessarily deal with immediate disaster such as a pandemic. Successful change management has also been dependant upon the understanding of why the change is necessary, and support from staff and management.
When Planning Change in a post-pandemic world, considerations must be made to help staff adjust from home working back to the office, or perhaps hybrid roles. The staff and management need to support the implementation inorder for it to be best facilitated across the organisation. In order to correctly Implement Change– a sense of urgency needs to be created, to inspire others to get behind the change. A process needs to be created, stakeholders identified who are aware of any training needed and change agents who can put these practices into place must also be on team. Finally when Communication Change some form of measurement would be best, to ensure all stakeholders are on board, aware and supportive.
Organizational Structures:
Both “Structural” and “Technical” change occurs within the framework of Organisational Change and mitigation and planning has been necessary post-pandemic. A major “Transformational Change” has also taken place where there has been “significant shifts in an organisational system that may cause significant disruption to some underlying aspect of the organisation, its processes, or structures.“ (Bright, 2019) I suspect many organisations are also experiencing a “Cultural” change, as the homeworking and cultural attitudes around home/life balance have adjusted during the pandemic.
References
Bright, D.S., Cortes, A.H., Gardner, D.G., Hartmann, E., Lambert, J., Leduc, L.M., Leopold, J., Muldoon, J., O’Rourke, J.S., Parboteeah, K.P., Pierce, J.L., Reece, M., Shah, A., Terjesen, S., Weiss, J., & White, M.A. (2019). Principles of management. Rice University. https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-management
McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). Insights to impact: Agile beyond the crisis with Christopher Handscomb [Video]. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/Videos/video?vid=6182703697001&plyrid=HkOJqCP
