Whether dealing with major projects or small shifts, managing change is a core part of growth and success. There’s no project too small to have a change management mentality. Strong leadership and clear communication are required to work through inevitable challenges and empower employees to understand why change is necessary.
You can’t overcommunicate. This might include status meetings, kickoff meetings, emails, one-on-one conversations, or trainings. It will involve delivering a message in multiple ways. When people don’t hear from those they trust most, change doesn’t sink in as well. Delegation is important here. The larger the organization, the less likely one is to lean on a singular person. When needed, distribute leadership and empower departments and roles to be accountable leaders who can understand and communicate change.
A leader serves as a role model and is accountable for change. Leadership’s approach to change should give employees, colleagues, vendors, etc. confidence that change is valuable and has some merit. Their outlook shapes everyone else’s.
Communication should go both ways. Give people the opportunity to give feedback and be open to their thoughts. This helps create a culture where employees contribute to the company’s mission and vision, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm. It helps to have a department or group championing the change to foster eagerness. Champions can back the vision and ensure the optimism of the change spreads.
Even with great leadership, not everyone will accept change as fact. A key to combating resistance to change is giving employees the tools they need to be successful. For example, a company was implementing a new field data software system, but back-office employees were hesitant. The back office dealt with large amounts of data and had trouble viewing and analyzing data to generate billing and invoices, and the new software system was a burden. The solution? A second computer monitor to more easily view and parse through data. Employees were able to see the value and efficiency with the right tools.
It's not always that simple, however. There's a difference between passive resistance and active resistance to change.
Often, hesitancy to change stems from comfort with current processes. It’s not always an active resistance or refusal to adapt. People are accustomed to routines and change often means disruption. Communication and the right tools can give people the push they need to understand change and respond positively.
On the other hand, active resistance is typically born out of fear, poor communication, or concern for job security. Addressing these concerns is critical. The best way is to communicate what’s happening all the time or to provide information in a way that’s accessible. The method of communication is just as important as communication itself. Transparency is also critical throughout the process, whether a change is forthcoming or in progress. If employees don’t know a change is coming but suddenly see consultants rolling in, they’re going to be blindsided.
Project vision statements and descriptions can quickly become verbose. The longer and more jargon-filled the communication, the less likely people are to read it.
The best way to keep messaging simple and readable is to:
1. Consider the audience. Messaging should be role-specific, delivered via the right channel, and delivered by the right person. For example, a message will be delivered to night shift warehouse staff in a different way than accountants. A conference room presentation might work for accountants. For warehouse staff, it might be better coming from a shift supervisor who knows their day-to-day activities.
2. Tell people what’s in it for them. Make it a goal to convey how change makes their life easier. A new ERP system will impact warehouse staff and Accounting differently. The warehouse doesn’t care how Accounting uses the system and vice versa. They only need to know how it will directly benefit them.
1. Prepare – Make a plan to communicate the change before it happens. This includes establishing the audience, channel, sender, etc.
2. Manage – Deliver the message, address resistance, champion the change.
3. Reinforce – Don’t let the change management practice die. Continuously identify leaders and the best methods to deliver next steps.
At Trenegy, we help organizations through projects that require the orchestration of technology, process, and people changes. To chat more about our approach to change, email us at info@trenegy.com.
