Changing the way businesses operate is one of the hardest things an organization can undertake, and it’s perhaps no real surprise that so many change initiatives fail.
This has led many of the big names to offer their own prognoses on how we can become better at change. For instance, a study by Booz&Co (or Strategy& as they’re now known) suggested that culture was key, and organizations should involve employees in the process (more on that later), and not overwhelm them with too much change in one go.
Culture also emerged as key in a recent McKinsey exploration of change, alongside excellent communication. One interesting aspect of the study was however that employees generally felt much less involved in the process than leaders thought they were.
Changing change
Last year I wrote about the Swedish startup Challengera, who take lessons from social networks to try and make change something that engages employees. They provide organizations with a social platform that uses techniques such as gamification to encourage employees to do what they need to do to change.
As regular readers of the blog will know, I have a vested interest in the Czech Republic, and have previously covered growth in more social approaches to business in the region.
So it was good to hear recently that Challengera have expanded their operation, with a new office opening in Prague that will cover not only Czech but also Slovakia and other Visegrad countries.
I spoke recently with Michaela Palata, who will be heading up the Czech operation. She told me that it’s an exciting time for the business, and she can see tremendous potential in Czech for the approach to change offered by Challengera.
With the automotive industry so strong in the country, that is obviously a key target for growth, but the company will also be looking at other sectors, including healthcare.
“I am very excited to be leading the expansion of Challengera into the Central & Eastern European region. With its humming economy and the lowest unemployment in almost a decade, Czech Republic’s workplace has become a battleground for attracting and retaining people that are motivated and engaged. This presents a great opportunity for Challengera to step in and help create workplaces where people care more,” Palata told me.
“Our approach to improving organizational culture, accelerating change and collaboration through better, faster, more empowering internal communication is unique – as is every one of our clients. We don’t sell a “one-size-fits-all” software product – we build lasting relationships with clients to become their trusted advisors on a topic that matters – their people. Our enterprise social network is tailored to each and every client but always delivers on simplifying collaboration and improving communication,” she continued.
