What do ‘Thor’ and organisational change have in common?

What do ‘Thor’ and Organisational Change Have in Common?

Meet Thor… my beloved German Shepherd. Below is a short story of what I have learnt from Thor about organisational transformation.

As you can see, Thor is a BIG boy!

When Thor was around 9 months old I started to struggle to take him for walks as he was getting very strong, and he has 4 legs and I only have 2.

After an incident which ended with a broken finger it was clear to me that I needed help from a professional dog trainer.

The first (and best) tip the dog trainer gave me was 5 words: ‘What’s in it for me?’

Why should I listen to you? ➜ ‘What’s in it for me?’
Why should I come to you? ➜ ‘What’s in it for me?’
Why should I walk by your side if other more exciting things are out there? ➜ ‘What’s in it for me?’

In order to influence the behaviour of our beloved Thor and encourage a new way of being around us, we had to show him that it was beneficial to him!

Organisational change: The moral of this story

When companies introduce change or transformational programs they often think about all the different reasons they are transforming and EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE is rarely one of them!

One of the key components in making change easier and integrating it into the company culture is to make sure that everyone knows what’s in it for them!

Here are my top tips when it comes to organisational change are:

👉 overcommunicate what is intended to change and why
👉 include employee impact in reasons for change
👉 ask your employees how they feel about the change
👉 take what they say on board and pivot if needed

Making it clear to all employees involved “what’s in it for them” is part of any transformation effort.

As is making sure that you have considered the impact of change on people to make sure that it’s a win-win-win for all involved as much as possible.

When I understood what was going on in my dog’s head, I was able to work more effectively with him. Together we have transformed a manic puppy into a well-behaved dog that doesn’t bolt out of the door the minute he sees another dog!

Want to read more about me? Take a read of this blog