Emily was a model employee for ABC Company. Always punctual, she performed her job at 100% of her ability. Emily enjoyed working at her company, and got along well with her coworkers and managers. One day, while working on a large project, Emily was pulled into a meeting with other members of her department and the upper management team. Emily went into the meeting with optimism; she had been asked to attend emergency meetings before. How could this be any different? Then she heard the word that concerned her -- "restructure." The company was restructuring in six months and her department would be going through some change. Emily voiced concerns during the meeting and did not get the response she was seeking. After that meeting, Emily appeared to be a very different employee. Her enthusiasm for work declined and her attitude became negative. Her company was in the midst of change, and Emily did not know how to handle it.

Change is constant. In fact, the world around us is in a state of change every day. Some people simply accept the change and incorporate it into their daily lives. Other people struggle with it. When change happens in the workplace, management can take the lead to help guide the employees through it. With clear communication and strong leadership, even the most resistant employee can accept change.

The System
Why is change such a difficult thing for some employees to accept? Companies and the people who work for them can be viewed as systems. Generally, employees develop workplace habits, behaviors and relationships over the course of their employment. When the company is running at a normal pace, the system is near equilibrium, in a "steady state," a condition where people can depend on certain things.

When something different takes place, such as downsizing, company reorganization, new management, new software integration or even office remodeling, this can cause an upset to the equilibrium or a disruption in the habits and behaviors of the individuals and the system resists. Managing change would have companies simply moving from one status quo to another. In the business world of today, there is no status quo for many companies, only continuing change. Therefore, the ability to manage change must be built into the system.

Resistance to Change
Employees who resist change do so because they believe that the daily operations of the company are in jeopardy and lack confidence that the change will result in something better. Typically, resistance to change is likely to occur for these reasons:

• Uncertainty

• Concern over personal loss

• Belief that the change is not in their own best interest

• Belief that the change is not in the best interest of the organization

An example of how this would manifest itself would be the introduction of a new software program. Switching to a new software program will result in employees learning how to run the program and adapting it to their daily work. Conflict arises because employees may fear that they will be unable to learn the new program, which in turn results in a negative attitude toward the implementation. Employees who act on their fear of the unknown can even sabotage the effort since their unwillingness is so strong to the change. The fear can even take the form of cynicism, especially if the company has previously attempted changes that have been implemented unsuccessfully.

Overcoming Resistance
So as a manager, what do you do to prepare your employees and the company for change? Generating receptivity to change requires that employees understand the pressures both external and internal, which make the change a necessity. Below are methods to help overcome resistance to change.

• Communicate an awareness that an existing situation (crisis or status quo) has become unsatisfactory or is otherwise in need of change.

  • Do not wait until the change is happening to inform the employees of the situation.

  • At weekly meetings, talk about ways to improve or change current process or operations. That way, when change happens, employees are not caught off-guard.

• Understand that the situation and the awareness must be significant enough to produce motivation to do something about the problem.

• Tell the employees what is affecting the organizational change (e.g., competition, regulatory issue, etc.).

• Communicate that top management is involved in supporting and implementing the change efforts.

• Share with the employees any operating, behavioral and/or organizational performance data.

• Devise a change path or strategy to begin the change process.

  • This is often a rocky road -- for a change effort to succeed, both management and employees must be willing to put difficult, uncomfortable issues out in the open.

  • It may be necessary to bring in an outside expert to act as a facilitator.

  • Outside experts often play a major role in analyzing a company’s existing structures and facilitating communication on issues and attitudes that managers find difficult to identify or would prefer to ignore.

  • Maintain on-going communication with employees.

Setting Boundaries
To increase a company’s ability to deal with change, it must not rely on boundaries that are dependent upon a particular set of procedures and policies. The key is to introduce the change as a concept or value, rather than a set-in-stone procedure or policy.

A manager should eliminate most boundaries, but not all. For example, one important boundary to develop would be to define the authorities: who is in charge of what and who is responsible for certain tasks. In establishing some boundaries, it is important that a company takes into account the following:

• Boundaries are porous: they do not put barriers on communication and information, either from outside sources or sources within the organization

• Boundaries are clear enough to provide "safe havens," and are needed to guide individuals as they evolve their processes over time

• Employees must understand the boundaries and have input in establishing them

Success and Change
We all resist change when we fear the loss of something -- status, money, friendships, personal convenience, benefits, etc. Emily reacted to the restructuring of her company in a negative way because of the fear she was experiencing. She enjoyed her daily activities and now they would be changing.

It is important for companies to communicate with employees regarding the change before it becomes a problem. When change does occur, the company and managers should understand the program it has in place to help employees deal with the change. To create well-executed change, a company must build on constructive interactions. A company that communicates regularly with its employees on the subject of change will have success when a change needs to be made. Employees will welcome the change and in the end will assist in making the change successful.

If you do not wish to continue to receive our monthly newsletter
please click on this unsubscribe link to be removed from our distribution list.

To subscribe to our newsletter, please click on this subscribe link.

Past articles are available to read here.