Business Change - The Advantage of Formal Structures in Driving Change Efficiently
Corporations have few features that are more beneficial than formal structures. Businesses would be lost in their absence. Formal structures, from assigned parking to scheduling meetings with clients, facilitate the business of doing business. In large part, this occurs due to the way formal structures reduce the complexity of processes. Yet, these formal structures are prone, like most things in business, to be directed at running the business. They are used to maintain the status quo.

Business change, is often bereft of the benefits that formal structures provide. What typically happens is that change initiatives are scattered across and subordinate to the formal structures of running the business. The person in charge of a change initiative may normally report to a program manager. What executive should reports be given to, if that program manager has no involvement with the change initiative? Has it been made clear? If the answer is no, there’s a good chance that formal structures are absent from the business change plan.

Chains of command are an example of formal structures that assist in successful business change. Sometimes this can mean creating positions so that a chain of command can exist. Developing lines of communication between change team member is a must. Reporting to the right person keeps the process moving forward. When project managers have to maintain activities related to run the business, there should be total clarity about who receives what information.

A formal structure that is an effective change tool is a forum. There is no substitute for leaders to get interaction time with each other and forums can provide that. They can exchange ideas, problems, and receive feedback. It also provides program managers with the opportunity to keep everyone on track with the vision and how each project fits together with the long term vision. It is also a chance to assess the impact of new opportunities on change initiatives.

The use of scorecards can be of inestimable value as a formal structure for change. As most of run the business projects employ scorecards, using them for business change aligns it with the rest of the corporate culture. The utility of scorecards can be maximized when they closely resemble scorecards from other areas of the organization. The value of change scorecards will be greatest when there is specificity on the grading process. At a mental level, this can make the change process seem more like "real" business.

By employing formal structures, an organization can begin to create better and more effective business change. One way to enable change success is with a straightforward chain of command. Forums are great tools for information exchange. The introduction of scorecards can lessen the perceptual gap between running the business and changing the business.

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