Change Management at Zoom: Leadership in Organizational Change

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The ongoing coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced entrepreneurs and leaders of giant corporations to transform their business models. Most of the affected companies have applied different techniques and approaches to support organizational transformation. To remain relevant, maintain its profits, and meet the demands of its key stakeholders, Zoom had to implement a powerful change following the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Such strategies associated with this company present the best case study for learning more about change implementation and the most of the applicable concepts. This report offers a detailed analysis of this transform and how it could influence sustainable transformation in other companies.

Topic Relevance (Managing Organizational Change)

Zoom Video Communications Inc. is one of the companies that remained profitable despite the challenges linked to COVID-19. This achievement is directly linked to the strategies and efforts the leaders put in place to achieve meaningful change. The selected case study and topic presents an opportune moment for learning more about organizational transformation (Joia & Lorenzo, 2021). The insights explore some of the challenges corporations need to address when pursuing additional processes and ways of doing work. The case also provides an in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of different models and theories that companies can adopt to implement organizational change. The lessons arising from Zoom could also become practical guidelines for addressing the issues associated with COVID-19 to large and small-scale business enterprises.

Objectives and Questions Addressed

The research objectives used to guide this study are presented below:

To explore the nature and effectiveness of change at Zoom
To explore the companys application of an effective and practical change model.

The leading question for this study is outlined below:

What strategies and change processes did Zoom implement to overcome the challenges and problems arising from COVID-19?

Discussions (include subsections)

Zoom and COVID-19

From 2020, Zoom reported an increasing number of customers relying on the use of its video-conferencing and meeting applications. Bond (2020) reveals that the percentage of Zooms app installation increased by around 728 in 2020. During the same period, the company had attracted more than 81,900 firms that relied on its apps. Most of these companies were associated with 10 or more employees (Bond, S. (2020). In the stock market, the price for its shares rose by more than 100 percent during the pandemic period (Bond, 2020). These developments were observed to strain most of the available systems and resources. In some instances, the increasing demand for services led to systems failure and app instability. The time had come for this company to consider a long-term change project that could help overcome some of the identified challenges and promote a sense of sustainability.

Change Process at Zoom

Before launching additional services and support mechanisms, Zoom was keen to audit the nature of the existing strengths and weaknesses that had the potential to affect its sustainability. Some of the major attributes associated with it included the presence of a customer driven business model and the presence of a preferred product (Ittelson, 2021). The managers at Zoom also realized that its resources were limited and incapable of meeting the changing demands of the increasing number of clients. With this kind of understanding, the leaders decided that there was a need for a new change that could help address the pressure and ensure that more firms and people were able to receive timely and personalized support.

To begin with, the company introduced a complex project that would support overall organizational growth. This kind of change would revolve around opening and providing adequate resources to additional offices in Santa Barbara, Sidney, Amsterdam, Kansas City, San Jose, Paris, Tokyo, and London (Bond, 2020). These new locations were strategic and capable of meeting the demands of learning institutions, business firms, and individual citizens. The change will also result in an expansion in overall processes and operations.

On top of these critical offices, Zoom decided to increase its workforce and increase remunerations. It also decided to identify and partner with a number of companies and cloud-computing services providers. During the period, the change process ensured that the company hired additional 2,000 employees (Ittelson, 2021). The existing members of the workforce had to be guided, informed, and updated about the nature of such processes. The change manager was also keen to identify the importance of such a change and how it could address the pressure COVID-19 had triggered (Ittelson, 2021). The leaders also observed that such a change was a new opportunity to get additional revenues and eventually maximize overall profits (Serhan, 2020). The consideration of all these issues made it possible for all key stakeholders to focus on and support the transformation.

Change Model

The process of maintaining change is usually complex and capable of affecting the overall performance of a company when done poorly. This problem could emerge when the level of resistance from workers and other key stakeholders increase. At Zoom, the involved leaders relied on the power of an effective change model to ensure that the relevant results were recorded. Specifically, Kurt Lewins change theory was identified as the best choice since it resonates with the demands of all key stakeholders, including the top management, employees, and the anticipated clients (Hussain et al., 2018). The managers at the company appreciated the fact there was an increasing need for video-conferencing services due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The partners had to appreciate the fact that the companys essential product and the related services were vital for helping schools, firms, and individuals to continue pursuing their goals.

Having considered most of these issues, Zoom applied the first phase of Kurt Lewins framework. This step guides leaders to unfreeze the established operations in a given organization (Hussain et al., 2018). The professionals supervising and guiding the entire process applied this stage to create the much needed perception about the need for a change. Specifically, they liaised with all key partners and cloud computing companies to appreciate that the need for the available services had increased tremendously. Most of these partners were keen to consider the emerging work weeks and the need for learners and workers to complete their activities remotely. The stakeholders also acknowledged that Zoom had the potential to implement change successfully and address the constraints that could affect its overall performance. With this strategy in place, the company realized that the level of resistance from workers remained low. According to Molla (2020), most of the individuals supported the approach since it could result in increased profits. The stage had been already set for Zoom to pursue endless possibilities.

This achievement set the stage for the implementation of the intended change. Specifically, the company pursued the intended project with the help of different professionals, partners, and even employees. The managers liaised with the relevant departments to streamline operations and allocate additional resources. These considerations allowed the key partners to expedite the process and help deliver functional officers with more employees in the cities identified above (Molla, 2020). After these gains, the change manager went further to apply the third phase of Lewins change theory. The organization went further to freeze the practices and operations at the global level.

The case of Zoom reveals that companies that encounter unprecedented challenges and capitalize on them to maximize their goals. This organization considered the issues experienced in the global business environment. The change, supported by Kurt Lewins framework, became the best approach for addressing such concerns. The expanded operations made it possible for the targeted clients to complete their roles more efficiently (Molla, 2020). The stage had been set for Zoom to dominate the industry, record unprecedented growth in business portfolio and profits, and present new support systems for designing befitting remote working processes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, organizational change is a powerful process that can allow companies to overcome emerging challenges and meet the urgent demands of their clients. Following COVID-19 outbreak, Zoom realized that there was a need for transformation to introduce additional offices and make them functional. The power of Kurt Lewins theory made it possible for Zoom to maneuver most of the emerging issues and improve the efficiency and reliability of its services. This case study is worth analyzing since it presents powerful guidelines for helping companies achieve their goals and overcome emerging barriers.

References

Bond, S. (2020). Zoom turns record profit thanks to coronavirus shutdowns. NPR. Web.

Hussain, S. T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M. J., Hussain, S. H., & Ali, M. (2018). Kurt Lewins change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(3), 123-127. Web.

Ittelson, B. (2021). A story of agility and innovation: Findings from the impact of video communications during COVID-19 report. Zoom. Web.

Joia, L. A., & Lorenzo, M. (2021). Zoom in, zoom out: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the classroom. Sustainability, 13(5), 2531-1549. Web.

Molla, R. (2020). The pandemic was great for Zoom. What happens when theres a vaccine? Vox. Web.

Serhan, D. (2020). Transitioning from face-to-face to remote learning: Students attitudes and perceptions of using Zoom during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 4(4), 335-342. Web.

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