Change Management in a Startup

I'm often asked about the combination of Marketing leadership with the implementation of change management methodologies.  My answer is,  for me, it's impossible to conceive one without the other. Marketing is about change, adaptation, correction, revision, and starting from scratch, once and again. And if we talk about People-Centric Marketing, my question to you is:  how can you do all that without a process that takes people into account? 

Without processes, there is no peace for anyone 

In my experience with startups and SMEs, there are two types of companies: those that manage change well and those that don't. Most often, you encounter the latter.

Let's get to the point. What are examples of change motivators in a startup?

• Available cash changes and adaptation are necessary.

• The market demands a change in our product or service.

• A new Go-To-Market strategy or marketing plan with substantial changes (especially if there's a shift in solutions to problems or problems without solutions).

• We've done something wrong, and it's not working. We must change it.

• Competition has taken over the market.

• There's a change in management: a team member leaves the company or there's a change in managers.

• There are needs to be interdepartmental communication or communication from C-levels to departments. No one knows anything or understands what they're doing?. Then, you must do this.

• There's a change in the ways of work, likely introducing agile methodologies or OKRs.

• Others.

In many cases, startups arise from what I call 'speculative posturing,' meaning, 'my product is wonderful, everyone wants it, and they'll pay for it without hesitation.' They raise investments with a huge amount of risk. Let's not forget that these are investment products. And then comes the different reality, that it´s like slap on your face. 

How does change affect employees?

Here, my interest is helping startups become sustainable companies, not just investment products. Are you IN?

People, as far as I know, are not products or marketing plans that can be changed rapidly with a couple of instructions like “do this” and “do that”. 

A person is an ecosystem of emotions, needs, and desires

What happens if we don't take care of them? Employees will likely experience some of these situations: burnout, shock, anger, and depression. And if we do nothing at that point, we have a high probability of having burned-out, unproductive, depressed employees, and they may become 'Silent Quitters' or seek other jobs or need medical leave.

So, I ask you:

1. Are you interested in your employees and their well-being?

2. Do you want your company to be productive and sustainable in the medium to long term?

The good news is that 1 and 2 are directly related, and there's no 2 without 1. So:

Take care of your employees. They are your greatest investment.

How to manage change to protect and care for our employees (and our company)

We can accelerate change in products, but we,  people, need to go through the phases, in an order or disorderly (depending on each person).

 It is the responsibility of employers and team leaders to provide the right tools to preserve the mental and physical health of our employees and team members.

What change management methodology shall we choose?

The best general pick would be Kotter with adaptions to the specific case. Let go through Kotter phases revised: 

1.How much urgency do our teams need for change management?

For example, Kotter starts by conveying a sense of urgency to the teams. In some cases, that's ideal because teams don't know what's happening. In other cases, urgency is already felt for various reasons. One of them, and probably the clearest, is that things are not working. In those cases, more than urgency, we need to convey CALM. And that is very common in the startup environment, where things are seen without being said. Because employees see much more than we think. And often, they see things that we (from management) don't see.

Open communication channels with your employees

2. How to approach the creation of coalitions in our teams for change management

Kotter continues with the creation of coalitions. I would change that to "identify coalitions." There are already many coalitions created by people who connect in values, ways of working, and motivations. Those people have already formed invisible coalitions. Isn't it better to identify the existing ones and then give them more prominence within the organization? Because, I insist, most managers are unaware of these things. It would be quite counterproductive if, for example, a CMO decides that persons A and B are going to lead the change management in a unit or department when A and B don't know each other or are not compatible. While C and D (or A and C) may have connected in values and ways of working. Does what I'm saying make sense?

Know your employees and ask them. Listen to them. You can save a lot of work.

3. Defining the objectives and strategy of change

Kotter continues with objectives and strategy. Okay. But make it as horizontal as possible. We know that management decides; that's what they're there for. But beware, if we don't take into account those who work daily, those who know a lot about something specific, we're in trouble.

Align objectives and strategy with your middle managers

4. Communicating to our teams how we will make the change

Continue communicating the change strategy to the entire company or department involved. To everyone. Question: Do we have a consultant? If not, we go into Houston mode. We need therapy. We can't do it alone. Okay, entering about the importance of promised external consultancy.

And another thing: if we have involved employees from minute 1 (at least with middle managers), half of the work is already done, right?

5. Empowering workers in change processes

If we have involved them before, we have already empowered them. It needs to be done more, okay, but it's best to apply what I call Sustainable KPIs (called Power KPIs elsewhere):

Keep them informed & Keep them interested & Keep them involved &Keep them inspired

I promise a post on this. It's a big topic. Because it's very easy to say and very difficult to do.

6. Defining the objectives and strategy of change

This should already be more or less defined from the beginning. The goals, I mean. Now, it's about making them SMART. From 'we have to change to a more productive model' to 'where, when, how, and how much.' Of course, I promise a post.

7. Consolidating Victories and Celebrating them.

The real good ways to celebrate victories with your people are (the ones they woould really appreciate):

• Direct economic incentives

• Additional bonuses in the paycheck

• Extra benefits in the meal voucher

• Paid training

• Days off

But these should be genuine incentives for employees to appreciate. The next time you ask them for something, they will do it with pleasure.

Which ones are not incentives (I don't know what they are):

• Beers

• Fruit in the office

• Going to karaoke together

• Eating together

• Anything done with some people and not with others

• 
  

Real-case example of what not to do, to celebrate a victory: I remember a CEO who, when something went well (for him, of course), sent a message on the same day saying, "We need to celebrate X. See you this evening at bar Y at 7. I'll cover the beers." And this is when 70% of the company's employees worked remotely (or had previously acquired personal commitments). Ultimately, only 3 people showed up for the beers (and the CEO).

Message 1 to the CEO'`s: Don't mix personal life and work. If you want to go for a beer, call a friend. If you want to incentivize your employees, do it. These two are different things.

Message 2 to the CEO's: Don't do things that serve no purpose.

 I promise a post with the title: "CEO's Foolish Moves That Serve No Purpose."

Important aspects of other change methodologies:

The McKinsey 7-S model and the Kubler-Ross Change Curve model. I work with them together (although they are not the same). I promise a post on both systems and how to combine them.

The ADKAR model. The acronym ADKAR stands for "awareness," "desire," "knowledge," "ability," and "reinforcement." From here, what I would incorporate into Kotter's model is "awareness," and I promise an extended post on this.

We can discuss other methodologies (no promises for a post, although one might come), but for now, I stick with these three.

See you soon!