Managing change when going Greener Now
When going Greener Now you may need help overcoming management or employee barriers. Managing change is a very important factor in the success of every business.
You will need to think creatively about how you manage change, whilst avoiding many of the pitfalls that other companies have encountered.
Whilst you may recognise the benefits of recycling, waste minimisation strategies and resource efficiency, difficulties could arise in the actual implementation.
Issues that prevent successful green implementation include:
- Lack of senior management support
- Lack of staff support
- Lack of resources
- Communications break down
The four key factors for success when implementing change within your company are:
- Pressure for change – senior management commitment and drive for change is essential if momentum is to be maintained for effective implementation. Give staff the opportunity to feed in their contributions and feel that they have joint ownership of the change being implemented. An environmental policy can be the signal to staff that things are changing, and that they have a role to play in making this happen.
- A clear, shared vision – you must take everyone with you. For change to be effective, it needs to be implemented at all levels; embedded in the culture of the organisation. Getting staff motivated to support the changes that are to be implemented is therefore crucial for success.
- Capacity for change – you need to provide the resources: time and finance – It is usually your own employees that have the information, intuition, ideas and instincts necessary for implementing change effectively. When given the capability and the opportunity to participate in improvement programmes, it is your employees who often can find the greatest cost savings and efficiency improvements.
- Action and performance – Keeping up momentum is what matters here and implementing the PLAN – DO - CHECK – ACT management methodology is essential to maintaining the effectiveness and appropriateness of the change.
Greener Now is here to help you manage change as you seek to become more sustainable through your environmental practice. Join us now!
