7. Staff consultation

The previous few pages have described some of the issues that staff may have to deal with when change is required. And as we have said, the key to a successful change is to have everyone's co-operation.

The way to do this is to involve everyone as much as possible at the right point in the process.

Analysis stage. Staff should be consulted, so their opinions becomes part of the process. After all, the staff will know all about the limitations of the current way of doing things. This consultation does need to be balanced though, so not one group or individual has too much influence or bias. During the analysis stage, a business analyst or consultant will visit the various areas that will be affected in order to garner their opinions about a need for change.

Decision stage. If the change is a major one, then senior managers or the board make the final decision to go ahead. But they should also seek the opinion of lower management as they are the ones who will have to push the changes through. At this point a reasonable budget should be set to cover the cost of the change.

Agreement and planning stage: Once the decision has been made then all the groups need to consulted to help set out an implementation plan. If everyone agrees about the way the change is to happen and the timescaleis are set, then the less likely it is to cause undue disruption.

Implementation stage: At this point, getting the right people on board is a valuable task. This includes people with the right technical skills but also people who have the respect of the staff and are able to deal with disagreements and problems.

Assessment stage: At this point people are consulted about the effectiveness of the change. Their feedback allows further changes or fixes to be made.

So at every point in the process, staff consultation is a valuable input.