Everybody loves change – if it works for them! People go through change all the time – change in jobs, moving house, new skills learned etc. What people don’t like is having change ‘pushed’ on them, especially if the change doesn’t seem to make sense for them.
There are many reasons people ‘resist’ change such as threat to job security, fear of failing at something, their future prospects, money, quality of life [e.g. change in shift work patterns], work relationships etc. Team members who have these concerns are likely to be resistant to change, less productive (due to worrying about the effects of the proposed change, and to actively consider options to protect their current situation up to and including leaving the business.
Set out below are a number of the reasons people resist change and suggestions on how you may be able to overcome these challenges so that your team members accept and support the need for change.
| Reasons We Resist Change | Your Challenge |
|---|---|
| Hearing about the change second-hand. | Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Use the change plan template approach to manage communications effectivelyapproach to manage communications effectively |
| Bad timing of the change. | There is never a good time for change. Business as usual doesn’t stop, and so added pressure for a short period will occur. Ensure crucial business deadlines (such as reporting or financial) are not negatively impacted, or resource appropriately to manage. Justify the timing vs. cost of delay. |
| Change simply adds more work and confusion. | Identify up front what the impacts to employees will be. Many change initiatives require more work up front while setting up the proposed change, before improvements can be realized. Plan for this with employees – can any work be put on hold / delayed / delegated elsewhere while the change transition occurs. Be ready to demonstrate the benefits. Walk people through what the future looks like so they can accurately assess the positives and negatives of what you propose. Where there is truth in their point, acknowledge the short-term pain for the longer-term gain and support them through it. |
| No opportunity to have input. | Use the change plan template approach to ensure multiple opportunities for people’s input. |
| Objection to the way we are implementing the change. | Use the change plan template to manage the change process so you maximize the chances for engagement and provide communication and training to support people through the transition. |
| Proposed change does more harm than good. | Re-validate the business case – have you actually got it right? If the change does more harm than good then, unless imposed on by external forces (such as legislation etc…) why are you continuing? It is better to stop a project early and admit you got it wrong, than forcefully continue on due to stubbornness costing money and people’s good will. |
| The change is perceived as implying personal criticism. | Demonstrate the business reasons for change, and focus on process. Emphasize that we are committed to continuous improvement and point to other examples of successful change elsewhere in the business. If personal behaviours / skills need to change then address separately to the change, and individually with employees providing training and coaching as necessary. |
| Negative attitude towards Rotorua Lakes Council before the change. | Learn where the resistance comes from. Face the past. Pull apart the issue to know what the resistance is to the change vs. unrelated historical issues. Provide a strong rationale for change, emphasise benefits for wider ‘stakeholders’ |
| Lack of respect for person leading the change. | When people see someone advocating for a change who they trust/understands their situation well, the reasons for the change are better accepted. Ensure that leaders of the change are credible to stakeholders. Work with opinion leaders/those who have the most mana with the team explaining the case for change and asking for their support. |
| 2. Believe change will disadvantage them personally e.g. job security, feeling successful, future prospects, money, working conditions, freedom of action, pride and satisfaction, friends and contacts etc. | Some changes will negatively impact people e.g. redundancy, increase/change in workload that is not welcomed etc... Discuss these concerns with the person(s) to better understand their point of view. Understand what is at the root cause of their concern; is it lack of awareness of the change, lack of training/knowledge of the change, or (as in the case of redundancy) carefully and respectfully discuss the reasons and offer support services such as EAP. Remember, using the change impact assessment tool at start of your planning process can reduce, or assist in supporting people through the change. |
| We believe change is not needed – the status quo is working fine. | Make sure you have a strong case for change and can articulate it well. Use our change impact assessment to understand how the change will impact individuals and groups so you can address their concerns and explain why they should accept the change. Strongly communicate the case for change i.e. the benefits and ‘threats’ that are in play so it becomes clear why retaining the status quo is not the best option. Give people facts, information and an opportunity to ask questions. |
To understand the impact of change and then plan a successful change process you are provided with two tools. The change impact assessment tool, helps you identify the impact of the proposed change on groups or individuals and to evaluate what needs to be done to get them ‘over the line’. Next use the change plan to help you plan successful change. These tools:
- Advocate early involvement of employees in your change efforts to “create a climate for change”.
- Recognise that ‘people in the front lines’ know a lot about how things are done there (often more than senior managers) and can contribute usefully to finalising any proposed change.
- Must be applied keeping in mind our legal obligations in regards consultation and involvement.
- Can be adapted for large or smaller scale change.
- Can be streamlined for simple and uncontroversial change or fully developed where resistance to change is expected to be high.
Change impact assessment tool
The change impact assessment tool allows you to evaluate, at an individual level, the potential impact of the change you are contemplating and what needs to be in your implementation plan. The better you understand how people will potentially be affected and how they may react the better you are able to plan a successful change process. It walks you through a process of identifying; who will be affected? How will they be impacted? What will their likely reaction be? What do you want their ultimate reaction to be? What will best help them change in the way you would like them to?
Change planning tool
Your change impact assessment will give you clear insight into the impact change will have on various individuals and groups. It will help you understand what the challenges are and where resistance is most likely to come from. With that information, you are ready to plan your change process using the change plan tool. Research has shown that successful change plans require you to think about eight stages of change and that there are typical traps and risks at each stage of the process.
Where change has the potential to impact people’s job content, responsibilities or may result in their job being disestablished they have a degree of legal protection. This is recognised in our process for handling restructuring or redundancy. A summary of our legal rights and obligations in relation to restructuring, re-organization and change that impacts people’s jobs is set out below. However, every situation is different and the law is evolving all the time. Before you make the decision to begin a restructuring and redundancy exercise, discuss your plans with both your manager and Organisational Development and Capability.
Employers Have the right to restructure: NZ case law clearly establishes that we have the right to restructure provided the reason for the restructure is genuine and provided the process applied is fair. As a rule of thumb, you can make change to a team member’s duties and responsibilities, which do not fundamentally change its content, or terms and conditions of employment provided there has been a degree of prior consultation.
We need a ‘genuine’ reason: your reason for restructuring must genuinely be for the benefit of our business as opposed to a way to punish, disadvantage or dismiss a team member. Poor performance is not a reason for change.
Our approach must be ‘procedurally fair’: the elements of procedural fairness that must be present when you restructure including making redundancies are:
- Consultation: You must genuinely and meaningfully consult with employees directly affected before determining changes that significantly impact their role or disestablish that role. This means providing sufficient information for them to understand the proposals, providing a genuine opportunity for input and a genuine effort to accommodate feedback received.
- Selection criteria and process: where you are selecting for redundancy the criteria you use must be relevant, communicated, contestable and as objective as possible. You must also ensure that the process is fair and that you seek feedback on the criteria and selection process when you consult on the change.
- Redeployment options: wherever possible we will try to identify alternative options for ongoing employment (redeployment). Generally, you should be able to show that redeployment options were considered as an alternative to redundancy.
- Redundancy compensation: may be payable if employment agreements commit Rotorua Lakes Council to redundancy compensation.
- Employee representation: the team member, whether or not they are a member of a union, has a right to professional representation.
- Notice: the notice period for redundancy is outlined in the relevant employment agreement. Typically, you have the right to ask the team member to work out the notice or pay them in lieu of notice.
You will need to talk ‘one on one’ with people about proposed changes that impact them. Use the conversation plan– talking about change to help you prepare for the conversation. The preparation notes below explain the various stages of the conversation while the template itself allows you to draft the particular conversation you wish to have. Note: If the change has any degree of complexity, it is recommended that you put the proposal in writing so the team member(s) can reflect on it and take advice if they wish to.
Conversation plan – Preparation notes
| STEP | PREPARE QUESTIONS/TIPS |
|---|---|
| Do they have any questions and are they clear? | Is there more information they need to have to consider what is proposed? Consider asking; What impact do you see this situation having on you? What barriers, if any, are there to your implementing the proposed change (or something similar)? Organise follow-up. |
| Give people a reasonable time frame to respond and be open to their ideas. | People need time to digest new information. Particularly if they are being asked to take what may appear to them as risks or adopt new ways of doing things. Be realistic in giving a timeframe to consider and respond to your proposals. Give them the opportunity to get additional information if necessary. Accept there may be two or three conversations before you reach your conclusion. History proves that often employees have very valuable suggestions about how change can be made more successfully. Be open to the possibility they can improve the outcome through their knowledge of the organisation and what works or may not work at a practical level. Negotiate a mutually satisfactory timeframe if you can. HOWEVER, be firm in establishing that the issue must be progressed and don’t accept a date that doesn’t work for you. |
| Explain the ‘Why’, ‘What’ and ‘How’ of the change. | Our objective is to persuade people of the need for change. Provide facts, figures or other proof that change is necessary. Show why the status quo cannot continue and both the potential costs to them of not making change and the benefits from making the change. Detail ‘what’ change you propose in enough detail that people can usefully respond. Make clear ‘how’ changes proposed will impact those involved. People’s natural response to change is caution, and until the ‘me’ impacts and outcomes are clear, they struggle to be positive about change. You need to be prepared to talk about the possibilities. People are not going to warm to an approach that says “lets agree what’s best for the business first and then talk about how that impacts you”. If you have arrived at a proposed change by eliminating options then share the options you have considered. Ask if they have any alternative or better solutions – and talk these through. It’s far better if you DON’T rush to a decision BEFORE you get some recognition or agreement that change is necessary and worth some delay while you build support for your ideas. Remember, as a rule of thumb “Any idea or decision I don’t understand is a ‘dumb’ idea”. If more evidence is required – consider taking a break and getting the facts they request. Moving on to solution too quickly is a classic fail point for change processes. Circle back and reiterate the case for change if necessary. Ultimately, you have the right to reorganize your business but its better if people come willingly on the change journey. |
| Opening | It’s important that people know that this is not a ‘done deal’ and that they will have a chance to have input over ‘whether’ change happens, ‘how’ change will happen and ‘what’ the change will be. Your legal obligation is to make it clear ‘no final decisions will be made until those affected have had a chance to understand what is proposed and have any feedback considered’. Also, make it clear that people have a right to take advice before responding. |
Some types of change, such as restructuring, or downsizing can put considerable strain on the leaders of an organisation.
Manage your stress
Because you have obligations to your team not only do you have to deal with their stress but you also need to recognise the impact the change process, and some of the decisions you may need to make, are having on you. Stress is part of your job, but in times of change, it is critical that you recognise that it may cause you to act in ways that are less effective than usual. As with anything connected with change, the major concern is not short term but long term. If your stress levels result in marked loss of effectiveness, the risk is that a cycle will be set up, where ineffective leadership results in creating more long-term problems, which increases your stress, which reduces your effectiveness even more. Advice: Where you feel yourself under more pressure than you feel able to manage immediately talk to your manager, the Organisational Development and Capability team, or call EAP services (free and confidentially).
Avoidance – a common response
A common response to the need to make unpleasant change is to ignore the situation. Avoidance can take many forms. Most commonly, the avoiding manager plays only a minimal role in moving the organisation through the swamp. After announcing the change and doing the minimum required, the manager “hides” from the change, through delegation, or attending to other work. This tactic involves treating things as “business as usual”.
The outcomes of this tactic can be devastating for the change process and for the manager concerned. By avoiding situations, the manager abdicates any leadership role, when staff needs it most, during and after significant change. In addition, the avoidance results in the manager becoming out of touch with the people and realities of the organisation.
Such avoidance will typically destroy your credibility and result in poor decisions. The long-term consequence of such action is that your team tends to deteriorate in terms of morale, effectiveness and productivity. Sometimes this deterioration is irreversible. Advice: if you feel yourself avoiding taking the appropriate role in your teams change process you need to re-engage fast. Revisit your change plan to get clear on what you should be doing. Get advice or support from your manager or Organisational Development and Capability team. They can help but you must lead.
Denial – another ineffective tactic
The denying manager tends to refuse to understand “what the big deal is”, and shows little empathy with employees in the organisation.
As with avoidance, the denying tactic tends to drop your credibility and destroy any personal loyalty on the part of your team. Advice: if this is you, revisit your change plan. Remind your self of the case for change and consequences of not changing. Discuss any concerns you have with your manager and get back in the game.