Managing Change and Uncertainty

“People don’t resist change, they resist the way people put change on them.”
by Sam Walton

Most change efforts in organizations fail, not be-cause of the merit of the idea, nor its timing or its practicality. They are unsuccessful because management failed to recognize what it takes to implement change and the impact it has on employees. Organizations instinctively slow down in response to new initiatives. Employees grow more committed to protecting themselves and less committed to productivity and profitability. The employees’ trust level of management typically drops during periods of change. People grow cautious and more self-protective. They are quick to interpret management’s actions in a negative manner.

Employees who aren’t comfortable and don’t understand the rationale for the change will be against it – inadvertently, perhaps, but their in-tent is not the issue. What matters is whether their actions are helping to bring about the change or causing the old pattern to continue. The typical workforce responds to change in this manner. A good 20 percent of employees will buy into management’s vision and rationale immediately. They will embrace the idea, enjoy the challenge, and help drive the effort. Another 50 percent of the workforce will be undecided – perched on the fence – slow to commit them-selves one way or the other. The remaining per-cent will be anti-change, pure and simple, and that attitude isn’t likely to go away. Some of this group will choose to seek employment else-where. But, the most damaging employees to the company are those that quit but remain. Their names are still on the payroll but their hearts don’t come to work.

Using the standard operational procedures during periods of change simply won’t be sufficient. To successfully implement change, management must do three things.

First, management will need to establish a communication plan that answers the why, how, when and effect of the change. Employees have an unlimited capacity to accept the truth and will support management’s efforts if they feel that they are being dealt with honestly and fairly. Management must communicate with the employees and give it to them with “the bark off.” If management is uncomfortable doing this they need to reassess their motives and decisions.

Management’s communications must be compelling and frequent. Management must take every opportunity to “sell” the change. They should “speak” to the employees through large formal group meetings, small group meetings, special bulletins and in-house papers. Spontaneous small group gatherings are especially effective when they are the result of management doing “Walk Abouts” -- meeting employees on their turf in the hallway, at the water cooler, or sitting down with them during a break. These meetings provide critical feedback from the employees, add insight as to the effective-ness of the communications and provide ideas to improve the implementation of the initiative.

Second, management must convince the employee that this initiative is real and won’t fade away. They must be united and unbending in their resolve to implement the change leaving no doubt in the listeners’ mind about their commitment. Their actions must be thoughtful and de-liberate. Each employee needs to see and be told how the actions of management contribute to accomplishing the change.

Third, management must prove to the employees that they play a critical role in achieving the change. Managers should give employees identifiable actions that they must perform to accomplish the change and state clearly their accountability for carrying them out.

Management must continually solicit with the employees to share their thoughts and advice. They must create and implement a plan that allows employees to have meaningful input. The plan must have a clear and easy method for the employees to share their views and ideas (if there is a lack of trust the plan must provide for anonymity).

It is management’s responsibility to energize the workforce and encourage them to look for ways to achieve the change. It is management’s obligation to build a dynamic sense of momentum, create a sense of urgency, generate enthusiasm for the goal and solicit the employees’ help.

If management understands their responsibility, accepts their role and follows the preceding steps they will implement the change successfully and with minimal distractions. Stated another way, it is not change people fear - it is the uncertainty and lack of clarity regarding change.

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Presented by Three Dimensional, LLC.
For more information contact Walt Tomenga or Terry Myers at 515-240-1510 or info@3-dllc.com