Editorial
Leaders keep barreling ahead with disruptive changes, in the face of resistance from their change-weary employees.
Case in point: a national financial services organization had successfully lured most employees back in the office for the mandated three days a week.
And despite the early grumbling from many quarters, people seemed happy to be back. They made connections with colleagues they’d never met in person or reconnected with those they’d lost touch with. Team learning activities and all-hands meetings were bringing people together for important conversations. The cafeteria was always abuzz with people chatting across tables instead of sitting at their desks. Newly-hired employees felt more at home. For many, their long commutes were almost worth it.
Fast-forward three months. It was a Friday, a day most people worked remotely. People were finally getting back into the groove of working onsite, when senior leaders dropped a bombshell in the form of a late Friday afternoon all-hands email. “Effective next week, we will be re-organizing to maximize efficiencies and streamline operations. Please plan to attend the All-Hands meeting on Monday morning to hear important details. Rest assured, we do not expect to lay anyone off as a result at this time.”
Wait, what??!! It wasn’t just the timing or the wording of this announcement that made people anxious and furious: It was the fact that management felt compelled to push yet another change on employees whose work lives had so recently been turned upside down, apparently without any input from employees.
“What were they thinking?” people asked. “Don’t they realize how disruptive these changes are? Why would they think this is OK with all of the stress we’ve been going through if they claim to value us so much?”
Great questions. Why do some leaders continuously roll out changes — and are those changes even necessary? Let’s dig into those answers and discuss ways to increase the likelihood that employees will accept (and maybe even embrace) necessary changes.
Why Do So Many Leaders Feel an Urgency to Make Changes?
Impatience
When leaders don’t see instant results from prior changes, they panic and try something new, rather than asking themselves questions like: What evidence do we have that supports the need for this latest change? Who will be most affected by the change, and what are the implications? Are the hoped-for benefits worth the likely disruption and ill-will? Do we need to make this change now, or ever?
They don’t know better
Relatively few management development training learning programs focus on change leadership skills. Plus, many managers believe that implementing this change is not an option, so they don’t even bother pushing back.
Because they can
Whether they’re new to the organization, or bored with the status quo, many leaders have the urge to shake things up because that’s what they think leaders do.
They don’t understand the traumatic effects that constant change can have on employees
Employees describe change as soul-sucking, exhausting and terrifying. And when the change is non-stop, it takes a real hit on morale, productivity and cohesion.
Related Article: How to Manage Change With Change-Weary Teams
Why Is it so Hard Getting Employees to Buy Into Change?
Change fatigue is real. Our minds and bodies have a hard time absorbing and sustaining one change after another. People’s resistance to change is also based on past experiences and can be a result of poor change management.
Many change initiatives have proven to be little more than smoke and mirrors and employees know itWhy should employees go along with the latest change when a change de jour is just around the corner?
Employees often harbor some healthy skepticism about the motives behind the change. They want to know who’s behind it, and why? How was the decision made? By whom? Whose input was considered? Who stands to gain or lose?
When there’s no context or credible rationale for change, people are likely to either tune out, ignore it or actively resist, bringing other naysayers along with them. If their direct supervisors can’t make a credible case for change, people are more likely to fight it.
A final factor which feeds into change resistance is a lack of clarity around the vision. Without a roadmap or process for change that makes sense to everyone, people have a hard time embracing something they can’t visualize.
Can We Please Just Slow Down?
- Consider which changes are really needed, at what point, and why. Is this change a nice-to-have, or an absolute business necessity? Can this change wait until other changes have been absorbed? Can this be rolled out in phases?
- Is there a well-reasoned defense for this proposed change, other than “change is good” or a similar platitude? Test-run your messaging to see if the change makes sense to those who have to live with the results.
- Ask people from affected groups what this change will mean for them. This includes employees, clients, partners, business associates, etc. Will most be receptive, indifferent or upset? Can they suggest other ways to achieve the same goals?
- Assess whether the hoped-for benefits are likely to outweigh the risks. Will reducing the scope or delaying the change make it easier to accept?
Related Article: Communicating Change: Overcoming Resistance Through Empathy
How Can Managers Help Ease Transitions?
Managers play an instrumental part in helping employees understand, envision and ideally, feel ownership in the change at hand. Here’s how they can help employees overcome their resistance.
- Communicate in a way that makes it safe for people to comment, ask questions, express concerns or offer ideas. Ideally, these two-way communications will take place at all levels of the organization, positioning direct managers as chief communicators. Make sure employees hear about it from their managers first in an interactive session before they get a mass email from the C-Level.
- Explain why this change is needed, using clear, simple language. Avoid bland platitudes that ring hollow. Talk about how the decision was reached: the options that were considered, trade-offs made and risks assessed. Show how this change will help support your organization’s mission.
- Acknowledge the impact this change will have, on whom, when and how. If it’s a big change that will cause disruption and chaos, don’t sugarcoat it. Empathize with those whose transitions are likely to be the toughest. Explain what resources can support the transition, which may take the form of coaching, skills development, job shadowing and more.
- Share a roadmap, or process, for this change. When does it start? Who’s involved and when? What are the key milestones? When and how will we know we’ve achieved the desired outcomes? How does this integrate with other change efforts in the company?
- Make it easy for employees to offer guidance. For example, you might ask cross-functional groups to brainstorm ideas for implementation from a variety of perspectives and modify your plans accordingly.
- Don’t make promises you can’t keep. If layoffs will likely be a result of this change, don’t assure everyone they will have jobs. If more big changes lurk ahead, don’t guarantee that this is the end of the change cycle. Do ask people to note what’s working, what’s not, and what lessons learned your organization can use for the next big change.
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If you can choose whether to implement that Big Change now, later (or maybe never), err on the side of slowing down, especially if your team is still in the throes of yet another transition. If you have little choice, get out ahead of the rumors with clear, candid and credible messaging that states why this change is needed, the impact this change will likely have, and how, exactly, you plan to support them.
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