Change Management Process At Biogen Idec

The Importance of Change in an Organization

Change is one of the only constants in every organization (Hayes, 2014). It is that imperative aspect of the business that allows and assists the business to grow and succeed. The case study in reference talks about a massive organizational and cultural change witnessed by Biogen Idec. The organization has decided to shift its center to excellence to Zug, Switzerland. The team responsible for the change put efforts in ensuring that every aspect of the change is catered to in the most efficient manner. This included the changed culture of the business, changing legalities of the new office, changing employment scenarios as well as changing communication strategies within the firm. This report throws light on the individual change encountered by employees, team change encountered by the project team, organizations change encountered by the business at large and the leading change encountered by the project leader.

There are two major changes that are taking place at Biogen. Firstly, their center of excellence would shift from one place to another. Secondly, the organizational culture would be more decentralized, affiliates would be empowered further and decision making would be quicker. Both these changes directly impact an individual working with Biogen Idec.

Herzberg gave a two-factor theory of motivation which is directly applicable in this scenario. There are certain factors in every business that lead to employee satisfaction while there are certain factors that lead to employee dissatisfaction. Certain factors are hygiene factors. Hygiene factors do not cause a long-term satisfaction or increased motivation in employees but an absence of these factors surely leads to dissatisfaction (Alshmemri, Shahwan-Akl & Maude, 2017). Biogen Idec has worked towards ensuring that these hygiene factors are present in the new office and the new culture adopted by the firm. The organization ensures proper employment policies in place and safe relocation of employees who are willing to shift. Such steps are a part of the hygiene factors. If these factors would be absent, employees would not be able to accept the change easily or would end up showing some resistance towards the change.

In addition to the above-mentioned hygiene factors, Biogen Idec has also worked upon its motivators. These motivators are additional factors provided to the employees which motivate them to work harder and remain associated with the business (Redmond, 2015). Such motivators ensure a longer-term satisfaction of employees. The new culture adopted at Biogen Idec empowers the affiliates, provides them with more resources and ensures quicker decision making. These are the factors that would motivate employees and ensure longer levels of satisfaction.

When more responsibility is given to employees and they are allowed a certain level of decision making in the business, they feel empowered. This is also because by doing this, the organization is satisfying employee’s esteem needs. Maslow’s theory recommends that upon fulfilling the needs of physiology, safety, and belongingness, people crave to fulfill their esteem needs (Anderson, 2014). By clearer roles, increased authority and a higher level of responsibility, employee’s esteem needs are satisfied and hence this would ensure increased employee motivation.

Team dynamics are automatically affected when an organization goes through a changing process (King, Newman & Luthans, 2016). However, bringing a massive change in any organization requires teamwork. There are different points of views that need to be considered and hence teamwork is largely advocated in designing and implementing change within the business.

No doubt that a teamwork involves slower decision making and sometimes increased conflicts, but for the long-term satisfaction of employees and success of the implemented change, it is recommended that teamwork plays a vital role throughout the process. Teamwork helps in analyzing different strategies for adopting the change. A group of people working together will be able to provide new outlooks and look at things from different perspectives. Teamwork would also ensure that any employee grievances with the change process can be addressed at its initial stage (Unsar, 2016).

Teamwork also leads to a division of work among members of a team rather than the entire pressure on a single person. A single individual may not be able to visualize the change from different perspectives and may even demonstrate a biased approach towards the change management process. Such a massive amount of responsibility on a single individual also impacts the effectiveness of the change implementation.

Creating a team to bring about a change also demonstrates the increased participation of employees. This helps in enhancing the sense of ownership within these employees. If the employees feel like a part of the change, it is easier for them to accept the change. On the other hand, if employees are not participating in the change, there is a possibility of an increased retaliation from their end regarding the change process of the business.

Therefore, changes in the organization’s geography or culture, as in the case of Biogen Idec strongly advocates a teamwork through different stages of the change. This would lead to increased efficiency, reduced stress, enhanced sense of ownership and improved employee motivation towards the adopted change (Cascio, 2018). It is imperative to manage conflicts effectively when a large team works together but the pros of the team way down its cons and hence is highly recommended.

In order to execute any change within any business, it is recommended to follow a certain set of steps to ensure a smooth transition. The change process at Biogen Idec has gone through the following steps:

1. Create a sense of urgency: In this step, the entire organization was made aware of the need for an improved relationship with the affiliates and optimized organizational structure (Rajan & Ganesan, 2017). The need for the change must be established clearly for all the employees so that appropriate efforts can be taken for the same. In the case of Biogen Idec, employees were facing problems like delayed decision making and lack of control. This created a need to change the structure of the organization. Employees were made to understand that a geographic change in the company’s center of excellence would largely help the employees and improve employee communication within the organization.
2. Build a guiding coalition: this step involves creating a team of people who would initiate the movement and lead the change within the organization. It is important that a group of people come together and coordinate in an effective manner and plan the change process (Doppelt, 2017). At Biogen Idec, initially, only the board members and the top management were involved in the discussions. It was their vision and plan which was later brought into the light and executed. The top management at Biogen Idec understood and identified the need to bring about a change in the organizational structure as well as the need for a geographic shift. Once the leaders of the business understood the need, they started to coordinate and guiding through people about the same.
3. Form a strategic vision & initiatives: This step ideally involves devising an action plan to conduct the change. Through this step, the members of the organization work towards creating a picture about how the future would be any different from the present (Rosenbaum, More & Steane, 2018). For Biogen Idec, the change would help in improving communication within the organization. The affiliates of Biogen Idec would have a lot more control and additional resources would be provided to them. Such an additional control given to the affiliates of Biogen Idec would provide them with more control, enhance their decision making and improve communications within the firm. Moreover, the strategic geographic shift of the location of their center of excellence would also ensure improved relationships and better coordination between the head office as well as affiliates. The changed organizational structure at Biogen Idec is also expected to improve the working environment at the firm.
4. Enlist a volunteer army: This step involves setting up a team of people who would be involved in executing the change. It is important to note that this team of people may or may not be different from the team previously involved (in step 2) in leading the change movement. Biogen Idec involved the appointment of a project team to conduct a reassessment of the business strategy. The objective of this team was to conduct a benchmarking study for the best location that would be ideal to shift the company’s center of excellence. This team also required to plan and execute the change in the organizational structure and culture at Biogen. It was the responsibility of the team to ensure that the European affiliates of Biogen would be given more control, resources, and authority. It is important to note that such a massive change also requires support from all the employees for the change to be effectively implemented. This step involved ensuring that all the employees voluntarily support the change and their support and acceptance towards the change would be a massive cooperation.
5. Enable action by removing barriers: This step involves removing all the barriers that come in the way if bringing about the change (Hornstein, 2015). At Biogen Idec, the massive communication barriers, the inefficiency of control given to European affiliates, lack of authority, slow decision-making process and a highly centralized organizational structure are certain barriers that impact the success and growth of the firm.
   In order to ensure that the situation at Biogen Idec is improved, these barriers need to be removed. Therefore this step involves the implementation of the process that provides increased authority and resources to the European affiliates. Shifting their center of excellence to Zug also requires collaborating with consultants and legal authorities of the country. This step also involved encouraging employees to conduct site visits to Zug especially for those who showcased an interest in relocating to Zug. Tax simulations were also run by for individuals keen to move to Zug. This step is very crucial to the success of any change management. This is because of the actual implementation of the change takes place in this step. The employees and the management at Biogen are putting their efforts into making sure the change process begins and conducts smoothly.
6. Generate short-term wins: Once the change process has been planned and the implementation of the same has begun then it is imperative to mark the small benchmarks that would eventually lead to the successful implementation of the planned change. Generating short-term wins is important for employees to remain motivated throughout the change. Every small win is a step towards the accomplishment of the ultimate goal.
   At Biogen Idec, once Zug was finalized as the destination to shift the company’s center of excellence, small wins included terminating French contracts and getting Swizz contracts signed by employees who demonstrated an inclination to relocate to Zug. The new staff was also recruited at Switzerland, The UK, and the Netherlands in order to fill the employment gap.
   Various centers of excellence were established across the whole of Europe. The company also established its international regulatory, clinical research, data management, and pharmaco-vigilance center. Support was received from the Zug authorities. In order to make it convenient for the employees, the office was established at a distance of a five-minute walk from the railway station and a 45-minute drive from the airport.
   Such wins of any change process motivate employees as well as ensure that the change is being conducted in the right direction.
7. Sustain acceleration: Once the first bouts of success have been witnessed in the firm, it is important to accelerate this success and ensure that the change implemented in sustained in the business. The shift to Zug needs to further ensure that all the employees are satisfied with the move. Moreover, it is also important to ensure that the idea or the reason with which the change was executed still holds true. Biogen Idec must not lose sight of the ultimate vision which was to improve communication, decision making and culture at the firm.
   Efforts must be made to make sure that employees are satisfied and they have accepted the change thoroughly. It is also important to make sure that the European affiliates have received access to additional resources. It must also be ensured that they are given the authority and control as promised and such a step is helping the communication and coordination within the firm.
8. Institute change: This is the last step of the change process. This step is marked by ensuring that the changes that have been implemented are being actively adopted and no one is slipping to old methods (Cameron & Green, 2015). These changes must be regularly incorporated in the everyday lives of employees till the time they are strong enough to replace the old ways.
   Biogen Idec must make sure that the employees working in Zug continue to work there effectively. The organization must also ensure that the European affiliates are provided with the additional resources and control that they were promised.
   The essential purpose of bringing about this was to ensure improved communication as well as quicker decision making within the organization. Therefore efforts must be put to ensure the same in the long run of the business.

Throughout any change process in any organization, it is important to lead the change in the most effective manner so as to ensure that the change is implemented smoothly and the retaliations arriving from the same are dealt with efficiently. The project leader at Biogen Idec must be well equipped and skilled to lead such a massive change.

According to Goleman, emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in the success of any leader (Goleman, 2017). There are a fixed set of competencies within an individual that range across four different personality areas. These different personality areas also include various personality attributes or competencies that a leader must possess. The project leader at Biogen Idec must possess the following competencies in order to effectively lead the aforementioned change at the firm:

1. Self Confidence: Confidence in a leader is the driving force that motivates the leader to continue with the change that has been initiated. The project leader at Biogen Idec must be confident enough to lead the change so as to ensure that he has enough faith in the change and that he will be able to carry out such a massive responsibility upon his shoulders in an effective manner. The confidence of the leader would also be instilled within the team and would further motivate the team to work harder towards the desired goal.
2. Transparency: As a change management leader at Biogen Idec, it is important that transparency is maintained. It becomes the responsibility of the leader to make sure that there is sufficient transparency within the team and that everyone is aware of the all the steps that are being taken. A huge change in the organization directly impacts the employees associated with the business. At such a time, transparency within the team creates trust and allows them to accept the change with little or no retaliation (Colombo, 2017).
3. Adaptability: Adaptability is the ability of the leader to flexibly handle change and accepts situations as and when they arise. Adaptability of the leader makes sure that he or she is prepared for the change and can accept the changing situation as well as be prepared for them. Throughout the change process at Biogen Idec, it is important that the leader is prepared for unforeseen situations and can adapt to the changes as faced by them.
4. Initiation: The biggest responsibility of a leader throughout the entire change process is to initiate the change. It is the leader’s role to take that first step towards the change and ensure that the team follows. A sense of initiation within the leader allows the team to follow his footsteps and avail guidance from the leader (Matteson, Anderson & Boyden, 2016). At Biogen Idec too, the initiation towards shifting the office at Zug, informing employees about the same, addressing their queries and empowering the affiliates is the change that must begin with the project leader.
5. Optimism: Optimism of a leader refers to the leader’s positive attitude towards the changing environment. While an organization is going through a major change, it is important that the leader remains optimistic about the results because it is through his optimism that he will be able to make sure that the team remains positive throughout the positive. This largely improves the working culture and helps build trust.
6. Empathy: Empathy is the ability of the leader to step in other’s shoes, understand them and take steps accordingly. At Biogen Idec, it is imperative that the leader understands the impact of the change upon the employees and addresses the change in an effective manner.
7. Inspirational leadership: Throughout the change process at Biogen Idec, the leader must inspire employees to accept the change and continue to remain motivated to work hard (Yusuf, 2017). The leader must lead by example and inspire others to embrace the change taking place in the organization.
8. Conflict management: While going through a change process in any organization, it is natural to face certain conflicts. As a project leader of the change management team, it is of utmost importance that the leader possesses the ability to handle and manage conflict in the most effective, peaceful and sustainable manner as this will lead to a smoother flow of the change in the organization (Saeed, 2014).

Conclusion

Change management within any organization is extremely crucial and leads to the growth and development of the organization. This report throws light on the change process taking place at Biogen Idec. The idea behind the change is to move the company’s center of excellence at Zug and empower its European affiliates with additional resources and authority so as to ensure quicker decision making and improved coordination.

Individually, the change process would satisfy the need for achievement as well as psychological needs of the employees by granting them additional authority. As a team, the organization’s employees would have to work together and collaborate for successful implementation of the change. As an organization, there are a set of 8 steps that need to be successfully advocated to implement the change. Lastly, the project leader must be highly capable and equipped to take on such a role. All these factors combined would lead to a smooth flowing change process at the firm.

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