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Change Management

Nobody likes change! Even I don't like change, although I always thought I am comfortable in exploring new things, new ideas and new ways to accomplish a task. I am an semi-early adopter of new technologies, I left my home country to start the adventure USA, I travel a lot and I read a lot about new ideas and new concepts. But I don't like change in certain areas of my life: I don't like to change my morning routine, breakfast meetings are to be avoided. I don't like a new workspace and I don't like to update my work computer; all because it disrupts my workflow. Since I realized, that even I don't like change, I look at people resisting change in a different way. And you should too.

The following is to be credited to Mari Peck. She opened my eyes during one of her seminars.

If you are a manager tasked with implementing change in your you would need to be aware of the nature of the change resistance. Do this little exercise: Have the members of a group write their name on a piece of paper. Then have them switch their hand and write their name underneath it. Then asked everybody how it felt writing with the wrong hand in comparison with the 'usual hand. The answer will have a great variety of the feelings: awkward, uncomfortable, stupid and so forth. Then asked them about the difference in time spent and you get answers like: “Much longer”, “Three times longer”. When you ask about the quality of outcome, expect comments like: “Very bad”, “Abysmal”, “Horrible”. That's why nobody likes changes: It makes us uncomfortable, it's awkward, the new way takes too long, and we are much faster with the old way, it's a poor outcome, not the quality we are used to. Barriers of change!

Now “change managers” have to overcome those barriers, and recognizing them is the first step. Your staff needs to hear from you, that it is ok in the transitional phase that it takes longer to finish a job, that it's not always the wanted outcome. Now you need to make them aware, what will be the benefit in going through this torture.
The three things you have to put on your list during implementation of change:

1. Communicate 10 times more
2. Consider the WIIFM factor (“What's In It For Me?”)
3. Never lose sight of the big picture.

During implementation, your employees, peers, friends, need to hear and read very often that it is ok, to feel dumb, stupid and awkward. Communicate success stories when someone accomplishes a major and minor milestone on the quest to learn new things. Regularly publish reports of progress etc. Don't shy away to publish also what doesn't work, so everyone can learn about mistakes. Separate the transitional issues from the results of change. The difference can be quite difficult to communicate. And all that communication builds trust in the process and in you as a manager.

I could write even more about training and testing but that’s the easy part for you to figure out. Supposedly it takes 21 days to change an excercise routine. A swimmer or golf pro changing a stroke needs to practise it 1000 times before they are back on the same level of proficiency as before. How long it takes to change a daily work place routine or even bigger changes?

Of course, employees need to know how they benefit from the change, what will they get out of it? And doing work faster is not necessarily a goal they would share. If you tell them that they will be able to do a particular task faster, sometimes it gets translated into: When I am able to work faster, I will get more work on my plate and I am already overworked. More work is not necessarily what employees want. So you need to find a better WIIFM answer: like the quality improves, the tedious work will be reduced, work enrichment potentials will be much more attractive to employees. The benefit for the company, and higher productivity is a goal that is a big picture item. Be aware that there are as many different motivations to go through the change as there are employees and stake holders. A change manager needs to be able to address many variations of WIIFM perspectives.

Don't let yourself be dragged down by minutia and resistance. Change implementation also gives you a great opportunity to reconnect with your people. You connect with them on a total different level. The loudest opinion makers against change, are your greatest gift in this process. Once you are able to pull them to your side by intensively working with them, they will become to loudest cheerleaders for change. Don't forget the big picture though, where you and your crew are headed.

Change is hard work not be underestimated. The technology is easy to teach. It's the quality of the change management that ensures a successful outcome.

Pauli Systems
web development | web strategy | web2.0 integration
www.paulisystems.net