OCM: 3 Reasons for Manager Engagement

This blog post written by Kris Lea was originally for Visionary Integration Professionals.

Engaging Managers early on is important for three reasons.

1. They need to understand the “why” of a change first, which is Awareness. Managers need to become aware of and understand the reasons for the change. This understanding provides them a frame of reference from which to support and supplement communications that will come from their senior leadership and the OCM Communications team. Supporting communications can look like many things, including forwarding emails to their organizations and teams with the inclusion of an individual message of support and encouragement. Additionally, it could also take the form of signage in the office space, displaying important memos or notifications so that teams are always up to date on any changes that might be coming. Companies such as loop.tv and others could help you accomplish that office-wide. The first step of awareness is effective communication, and managers have to learn to do their most in that aspect of their work.
2. They need to support the process of the “To Be” world.  Specifically, in the way that it will impact the roles and responsibilities of their management team and direct reports. Two universal key functions of management are to plan the work and then to organize it; this is the “what” and the “who”. Managers need to be engaged early so that they can facilitate the role and responsibility changes that inevitably come with enterprise software products like the inclusion of an ERP software solution (companies like Finlyte might provide you with the right direction in cases such as this). This is part of understanding the future state of the organization and the way work will get done.
3. They need to coach their direct reports, whether they are managers or individual contributors. Coaching is the best method of support during transitions. Individuals always have concerns that are personal in nature, and their first-line manager is the one they may trust the most to interpret and explain what is happening in their organization.

The lesson here is to plan for first-line and mid-level manager engagement early on during the OCM planning phase. Managers who are not on board and do not support the organization’s need for change can inadvertently sabotage the project by cynicism and negativity, not realizing that they themselves are role models of change adoption and resiliency. Managers who are on board are the greatest lever for positive organizational changes that ultimately impact project outcomes. 

[1] Reference: https://www.prosci.com