Tips for Handling Change From the Top Down

Change management is a term used to describe a systematic approach to changing an organization’s processes, leadership or approach, but, for employees, it means absolutely nothing. It does nothing to address the pain points they experience until an organization gets buy-in from everyone affecting the change.

Today on the Food and Beverage podcast, host Shelby Skrhak sat down with Coleman Consulting Group’s Jim Mertz and Frank Pereira to discuss the change management obstacles that companies face in all layers of the organization.

Executive leaders bring in Coleman Consulting when they realize they don’t have the bandwidth to handle the change and need help.

“(It could also be that) change is something they’re not accustomed to doing,” Mertz said. “If we work with a plant that manufactures chickens, yes, they’re awesome with chickens, but that’s not a skill set that necessarily translates to change management.”

In their consulting work, Mertz and Pereira often see top leadership recognize the need for change, but middle managers have more trepidation about how the change will affect their teams. Among the many reasons plant managers fear change are insecurity, turf issues and the fact that they’re often the front line for complaints from their team.

“We never go in without buy-in from someone in the C-Level, but there are many people in that office, the plant and others that can have issues with change,” Pereira said.

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