Professionals have described the term “Change Management” as being vague and confusing.  I have even had clients refer to the term as “completely baffling” since it does not specify whom, nor what we are trying to change, let alone manage.

I find that throwing in the descriptive term “People Readiness” to be helpful since it suggests preparing the workforce for successfully crafting and implementing a project.  You are making sure people are ready for a technology roll out (such as SAP), a new process (such as lean manufacturing) or an employee initiative (such as team building).  Regardless of what is being rolled out, the focus of People Readiness is making sure that your human capital can successfully navigate through a change, leading to organizational performance.

Why is it important for us to have a clear understanding of the term “Change Management?”  If we do not grasp this concept, we are more likely to ignore this critical aspect of successful project execution.  In pushing ahead without preparing people, we miss out on significant positives:

• Rally your entire team to work together – Build employee understanding and support for your project across the organization by ensuring that the workforce is prepared and feel involved and supported.
• Optimize the benefits of the project – Receive the highest return-on-investment from your project as a result of your people operating at full capacity (Operating on “all cylinders”, so to speak).
• Reduce the risks of going off course – Avoid projects running off-course with all sorts of negative, unintended results since your human capital is focused on the change at hand. This helps with employee motivation, resulting in organizational performance.

The term “Change Management” is used much more frequently than alternative monikers, such as “People Readiness”, in the blogosphere.  As a result, perhaps we should stick with the term “Change Management”.  However, let’s more fully explain this term by always “humming a few more bars” for our organizations so that they comprehend the power of People Readiness.

What terms do you use for Change Management?  How do you get your organization to understand it?

Note:The views expressed in this blog are my opinions and do not in any way reflect the views of my employer.