Decision Time on CHANGE

Australia’s SME community is facing a big year of change. Half a million very small
business owners will face very significant choices this year: do they
take on an additional employee to maintain the growth of their
enterprise or do they seek equity partners to share the costs of
business development?

A quarter of a million small business owners have reached a stage of development that requires them
to professionalise their management practices, consider taking on more
employees and explore the potential of export markets to expand beyond
being a family business.

Another group of small business owners report that they are feeling the pressure of more government
regulatory pressures and less freedom to operate their business without
many more hours dedicated to winning work and promoting their
enterprise. This group is thinking about exiting and taking advantage
of superannuation incentives.

These conditions create the optimum environment for a review of the change management practices of
small and medium enterprises. I might be dissatisfaction with current
practices and pressures, seeking an alternative path that provides a
way out or a way up to a better quality of life and a favourable social
and economic climate in which to undergo the processes of transition,
or transactions and transformation to a preferred and desired future

The vast majority of SMEs resist the impulse to take on an additional
worker, even from within their own family, because of the added
responsibility and structured demands that come with becoming “an
employer”.

Overcoming this natural resistance in good times requires a commitment to look for new ideas and new directions
for the business that give it a life beyond the “self-employed” status
and enable the expansion into new products, services and experiences
that are associated with a managed enterprise with the range of skills
and competencies associated with medium and larger firms.

In the next month, become aware of the positive trends in the
macro-environment as well as in the micro-environment so as to be able
to identify changes and initiate programs to capture the full
potential, or move quickly to find ways to exit the business in the
most profitable manner by transferring the opportunity to more
adventurous business owners.

The growth and expansion program must be implemented, disseminated throughout the organisation,
monitored for effectiveness, and adjusted to respond to customer
expectations. The owners and top management team must try and predict
what employee reactions will be and craft a change program so workers
will accept change.

The best change management processes will actively engage family and staff members in an active process of
discovery, exploration, exploitation of emerging opportunities and
enjoyment of the rewards to be gained from a combination of innovation,
creativity and entrepreneurship.

Companies that are able to chase emerging opportunities usually demonstrate an entrepreneurial
change management capacity based on five building blocks described by
the ADKAR model:

Awareness. Why change is needed to capture opportunity.
Desire. To support and participate in required changes.
Knowledge. How to manage and direct the changes.
Ability to implement new skills and behaviours.
Reinforcement. To get others to join in and sustain the change through the inevitable challenges and conflicts.

It is decision time. With the resources boom reaching its peak and the
labour market showing signs of inflationary pressure, now is the time
to use strategic thinking to create a longer-term vision.

CONTACT: Dr Colin Benjamin, Marshall Place Associates

Marshall Place Associates Live More of Your Life