Organizational change is never done simply for the sake of change. Usually there are internal or external factors, sometime very obvious factors like an impending budget cut or a deliberate change in senior leadership, driving change initiatives. Yet regardless of the recognition within the organization for the need to change, people resist. Partly this is because people fear the unknown, resulting in an attitude that things are just fine as they are and they don’t need to change. Partly this is because most people have seen change efforts fail in the past and they become cynical – cynical about change in general and about any means used to introduce change. In addition, organization-wide change usually will conflict with the culture and values of an organization. This is particularly prevalent on college and university campuses where some faculty, administrators, and staff have been employed for upwards of 30 years or more. Simply put, the change may go against how members of the organization, sometime very powerful members, believe things should be done.

There are strategies an organization can use to significantly increase the likelihood of success for change efforts. They include significant and persistent support from executive leadership, a champion or change agent responsible for persuasively and consistently translating the change vision into realistic plans, an empowered team of the organization’s subject matter experts, and open, honest, and frequent communication about strategy and plans, changes in policies, procedures, and structures, and the progress of change efforts. At AVCOR, we integrate change management strategies and activities as a part of all client initiatives.