Mohammad Khuzaini Ismail, Managing Partner The relevance of the age-old proverb ‘change is the only constant thing in life’ in business management is very much understated. Yet, when it comes to managing the changes within organizational setups, many enterprises fail. The lack of clarity among employees about the impending change in an organization is perhaps one of the primary reasons behind such failures. In 2007, a group of consultants— united by a core belief that people lie at the heart of any change—started enabling change and ensuring its effective management in such enterprises and HumanCapient Consulting (HumanCap) was born. They held on to the principle that initiative requiring change must start and end with the people in mind without undermining the business aspects of the change. HumanCap consultants are trained to approach any engagements as professionals with integrity, who think innovatively to perform diligently and deliver exceptionally.
Mohammad Khuzaini Ismail, the managing partner of HumanCap, says, “For a change to be successful, first people (the employees) must be aware of the ongoing change process. To enable change, people need to be empowered. Once people gain this clarity and empowerment, enterprises can start focusing on other critical areas to support the employees to thrive in the new environment.”
Substantiating his statement, Ismail talks about HumanCap’s association with a client planning to be an RM1 Billion company in five years. The client entrusted HumanCap with the task of crafting the transformation plan. The change readiness assessment (CRA) by HumanCap unveiled a few blind spots, including the lack of engagement with their employees. Surprisingly, the employees were holding on to a wrong perception about the five-year strategic plan. According to the plan, the client was aiming to establish itself as the halal hub—where ‘hub’ meant a technical platform—for the food industry. However, on questioning the employees whether their company was entering the food manufacturing market, the HumanCap team found that a majority of them affirmed to it. HumanCap addressed this misunderstanding with a communication plan, saving the company from facing an adverse situation during a massive change and aligning the organization toward a common goal, garnering critical support from their internal stakeholders.
For a change to be successful, first people must be aware of the ongoing change process. To enable change, people need to be empowered
The CRA also revealed that the client also had a lack of understanding of their customers’ requirements or the initiative to look for new products. In an attempt to bring a change to how the client served their customers, HumanCap onboarded a team to carry out cold calls and identify the customers’ pain points. Based on their responses, HumanCap consultants developed a successful solution for the client which incorporated a more holistic approach to their transformation plan, which helped the employees to realize that change is not impossible after all.
The consultants at HumanCap follow a well-defined process to address Change Management issues, which starts with developing an understanding of the desired outcome of its client’s change journey. This is then followed by the study of the current business environment, vis-à-vis the future plan. These two components will then contribute to understanding interventions required and crafting the change journey. HumanCap’s tested and proven four-phase Change Management Model and tools, guide the consultants in navigating efficiently through this process to enable change and empower people. Equipped with this efficient model, tools, and strategies, HumanCap has successfully managed numerous changes in many large organizations, including government and financial institutions, Fortune 500 oil and gas companies, and more.
Differentiating itself from other competitors in the Change Management space, HumanCap aims to make its consultants ‘irrelevant’ at the basic level of operations. “Instead of having our consultants full time on a project, we are looking at an approach where we ‘productize’ our model and provide clients with fit for purpose tools. Our consultants become the curator of the change journey instead of the executor of the change,” adds Ismail.
In the coming years, HumanCap looks forward to expanding outside Malaysia and introducing its newly developed tool, Change Compass. “The launch of this new tool, which is an attempt to push our Change Management tools toward digitalization, would help organizations understand their change landscape and navigate through it,” concludes Ismail.
