6 Types of Organizational Change Businesses Should Adapt To

At some point, 96% of companies said that they were going through an organizational change.

There are many different types of organizational change that a company can go through, so you’ll have to find which one is perfect for your company.

Keep reading to learn about change management and the different organizational change models.

1. Organization-Wide Change

Change across an organization is normally a large transformation that will affect everyone in the company. This might be something like adding a new policy, introducing new technology, or restructuring leadership.

With this type of change, every single employee will feel this change. However, once the change is done, your company should see improvements. This can be a good indicator to understand how policies can be outdated or reflect the company’s identity. 

In order to have a change that is successful, you’ll have to have a good implementation strategy and great leadership to guide employees through the scary time. 

2. Strategic Transformational Change

For a strategic transformational change, it can be helpful to have an organizational effectiveness consultant that will help guide your company through the change. 

Big changes are likely transformational changes and will make the company feel different. Whether the transformation is good or bad will depend on what strategy you use.

If you want positive results, you’ll have to do some planning to make sure that it works. You’ll have to figure out what the goal of your plan is and then find a way to get there. 

One example of this type of change updating the mission of the company as you grow. When a company first launches, normally they’re focused on generating leads and getting clients. But once the company has a good customer base, the focus will go to upselling and maintaining the employees.

This will require a change in employees’ priorities in order to do this.

3. Adaptive Change

The adaptive changes are normally small, and they’re made in small adjustments. The organizations and managers will likely be more affected, and they’ll have to meet weekly, daily, or monthly challenges and goals.

These changes are normally meant to fine-tune a process. It might also be changing products or company culture. 

Some other examples of this change might be adding a new payment method for customers who are ordering something online. It could be creating a new intake form or a sales pitch. 

You might want to add a new page to your website or do some AB testing to figure out which option will work best. 

Some companies also want to upgrade equipment or software to different brands or versions while also seeing different changes in functionality. 

In order for this to be successful, the managers will have to monitor these goals and ensure that the small adaptions are actually necessary. They should also be beneficial in the long run.

4. In-Between Change

An in-between change is normally going to fall in between a transformational or an adaptive change. The important value is to think about the change on a spectrum. This will help you identify which change yours falls into.

For example, if your business is growing, you’ll likely encounter change that would be natural or happen over a small portion of time. This could be something like transitioning from informal to formal management. 

This happens with most startups as they turn into mature businesses. The strategy of the company might not change, but you’ll need to manage your employees differently. 

While this transition might not be drastic, it’s also not something that’s small. Employees might still notice a shift and find it scary, so leaders should always be clear and transparent about the changes that are happening. 

5. Personnel Change

Personnel change happens when a company will experience layoffs or hiring a lot of employees all at once. These will start causing a change in how you retain employees and keep them engaged. 

It could also start to affect the company culture as well.

If companies are worried that they will be laid off, then the employee morale and productivity will start to lower. However, the company still needs to move forward, so find a way to communicate this while also displaying compassion and motivation to help employees work through this hard time. 

On the other hand, while hiring is normally better for a company, it still has its challenges. This means that cultural changes and disorganization can happen in the company. 

This also means that you’ll have to provide new employees with support and training. If you don’t handle this transition very carefully, it can be inefficient, stop further growth, and make everything more chaotic. 

6. Remedial Change

Remedial changes are normal changes that happened because of something else. When you identify a problem, then you’ll have to come up with a solution to implement. 

This may not be the most ideal kind of change, but it has to happen at some point. 

For example, this could be dealing with a loss of some talent. If someone important to your business leaves, you’ll have to act quickly.

You’ll have to answer questions to current employees while also finding someone to fill that role. 

Discover More Types of Organizational Change

These are only a few types of organizational change, but there are many more that your company can experience.

We know that going through a type of organizational change and still running your business can be stressful, but we’re here to help you out.

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