Talking about change is common these days. In various aspects of daily life, the concept is repeated over and over again. And although it is easy to express it, it is not so simple to live together and less easily adapt to it.
If we take it to the business and work environment, both organizations and people have to face continuous change. And in times of pandemic, the situation has been taken to extremes that we imagined, but did not believe could happen soon.
Given all this, the processes of change constantly confirm their presence and the ability to adapt to them becomes a highly valued skill that everyone yearns to possess or cultivate. Is it possible?
What does adaptation to change mean?
We can understand adaptation to change as the ability to transform and achieve a certain goal. In other words, it is the necessary capacity to assume various alterations related to the routines to which we are accustomed, not offering resistance and accepting to do things differently if circumstances so determine.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic took us to an extreme where the need for changes and adaptation to them is displayed at its best, it is a situation that has now become routine. And as a consequence, this professional capacity has also become a constant, despite all the difficulties that we usually have in the face of any change that is imposed on us.
Today we have the need to accommodate ourselves to global times. In this context, changes are constant and unexpected, so adaptation to change is essential for the survival of any organization.
Can you grow the skill of adapting to change?
Luckily, yes. The ability to adapt to change is a skill that we can develop and perfect at all times.
For that, it is necessary to incorporate some habits that allow it to be integrated into the company and professional life.
Considered among soft skills, today many companies value adaptation to change considerably. The vision that is held is that having this condition means that a professional will have a greater ability to easily face difficulties throughout his professional life
How do companies identify the adaptation to change?
In a competitive environment that demands highly qualified professionals, companies are responsible for reviewing the profile of workers in order to determine whether or not they have the skills to adapt to change.
Among the features they are looking for are:
- Versatility to accommodate complete strategy changes or variations
- Ability to solve problems in the face of sudden rule changes
- Quick to understand and execute new knowledge with a high level of efficiency
- Ability to quickly modify a built-in routine, assessing the positive or negative consequences
- Proactivity to exert ascendancy over the team, in the desire to achieve goals
- Resistance to working under pressure and stress, facing and resolving conflicts
- Resilience, strength, tolerance and self-control
- Perception of change as opportunities to learn and grow professionally
- Communication skills such as empathy and knowing how to listen
- Skills to anticipate changes and anticipate potential problems
What benefits do companies look for?
Companies need to have professionals who adapt to change for a variety of reasons. Faced with an increasingly dynamic world panorama, professionals with expertise only in their areas of academic training and experience in the labor field are no longer enough. In addition, today skills are required that allow us to grow, stay current and project ourselves in an increasingly demanding and competitive market.
By having these skills to adapt to change, professionals are valued both in their work and personal aspect, accessing in better conditions to an improved position to negotiate eventual salary improvements or other benefits. In turn, companies benefit from having workers capable of responding better to all kinds of demands, always aiming to overcome adversity and achieve the proposed objectives.
A relationship where everybody wins
Having the skills to adapt to change creates conditions for a “win-win” relationship, which generates interest for both companies and professionals.
Organizations are also protected from the possibility of losing resources in periods of indecision, facing problems with more trained personnel in the face of the ups and downs that are generated. As a consequence, companies acquire the ability to respond more efficiently to critical scenarios, generally unforeseen, and which put the operation and the objectives set a priori at risk.
How to improve adaptation to change?
As we saw at the beginning, the ability to adapt to change can be cultivated and enhanced. For this, it is necessary to identify the need and work to generate the necessary conditions that allow the development of this type of skills, in order to provide better tools to overcome difficulties when managing and making decisions within companies.
Therefore, it is necessary:
- Identify and know the new scenario through the management of key information that allows to identify the dynamics that are maintained and those that will change. Likewise, it is essential to have a perspective of the situation in which the competition and the market are in general, with the aim of having as much background as possible for decision-making.
- Carry out a management that considers the changes, allowing to visualize the new conditions and act in accordance with them. It is essential to analyze the available resources and adapt to the new situation.
- When it comes to adaptability to change, it is important to take the time factor into account. Good action is taken without being exasperated or too hesitant, as time must be viewed as a precious commodity that cannot be wasted.
- Establish that continuous learning and constant change are part of normalcy. By incorporating these concepts into the team’s mindset, it becomes more difficult for complicated situations to surprise the organization without at least a proactive and positive attitude towards change. Each problem will be faced as a challenge to overcome with calm and knowledge.
- The structure of the organization must be flexible and prepared for changes that occur unexpectedly. Management is essential for the ability to adapt to change to be effective. On the one hand, it is required that professionals have that capacity, but also the organization so that everything flows as planned and there is a process behind decision-making, not intuitive improvisation.
Advantages of digitalization
In the digital age, managing during unstable and changing periods plays a decisive role. The ability to adapt to change is extremely relevant, but having digital tools to support decision-making and the organization of each process involved is of great help for companies.
To the extent that the information management is carried out with greater precision, the better the results will be. In periods of fluctuations and uncertainty, where there are planned and forced changes, the ability to adapt is imperative and work is much better supported with specific solutions that allow decisions to be made faster and more safely.
