YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY

Springfield, MO

Log in Subscribe

Opinion: 7 ways to fix employee resistance to change

Posted online

I try to see organizational change for what it is, brutally necessary. Many, if not most, leaders embrace the need for change even though their employees may not.

When employees meet change with resistance, the cost can be high. It can create productivity decline, employee turnover, customer dissatisfaction and even reductions in sales revenue.

Change impacts employees differently than it does leaders. Consider the emotion rooted in the following employee comments toward changes that I gathered from client surveys:

“This will never work.”

“You can’t trust management.”

“Management doesn’t have a clue how things work.”

“This is just one more way to cut our pay.”

Maybe you’ve heard or felt them in your own business. Smart leaders gauge the effects that change produces on employee morale and attitude.

Hoping that leaders can be walled off from making significant changes and avoiding employee resistance in the future is unrealistic. Leaders must prepare themselves for leading continuous and, at times, a profound change in an environment that rewards fast adaptation and flawless strategy execution. In my view, leading change will be a significant competitive advantage in the next decade.

The good news is that change is a powerful tool in the hands of a knowledgeable leader. The best leaders navigate their people through the phases of a change cycle, from resistance and anxiety to awareness, acceptance and implementation.

Here are seven effective ways to avoid resistance and win employee support for change.

1. Involve supervisors, team leads and key employees. Too many leaders produce change myopically. When you involve people from various levels and functions, it strengthens employee support and effort to change. People buy in to change much faster when they are engaged in the process.

2. Reinforce the big picture. Provide sensible reasons, including the business challenges or opportunities that necessitate change. Avoid using management-like terms such as agility, streamlining, best practices or lean management. Instead, stick to answering who, what, when, where, how and why.

3. Admit past struggles with change. You’ll earn people’s respect and build more support for change if you are honest about a previous disappointing change effort. To cast a positive vision, explain what’s different in your approach this time.

4. Be clear about the short, mid and longer-term outcomes. People can prepare themselves for what they can expect from the change initiative if you break it down into organized priorities and desired outcomes over a timeline.

5. Have a caring attitude toward questions and feedback. One CEO-client reacted with annoyance and irritation whenever he encountered employee indifference or resistance. Eventually, he changed, and his patience listening to employee views no matter where they came from in his company, paid off in practical, enthusiastic support.

6. Win the cooperation of supervisors or team leads. It’s a big mistake when leaders create change, then demand that supervisors “go make it happen.” Supervisors have the most significant impact on employees, and their support is critical. For optimal results from your change effort, invest sufficient time, training and communication with your supervisory and lead-level managers.

7. Help, don’t hype. Employees can only stand so much excitement from managers about the benefits of change. Avoid printing slogans on coffee mugs and T-shirts to whip up the motivation for the organization’s desired shift. You’ll get better results minimizing promotions initially and maximizing clear communications instead.

Change can leave even the best leaders at a loss as to what to do next. When leaders navigate people through change knowledgeably, resistance dissolves and desired outcomes are easier to achieve.

Consultant, professional speaker and author Mark Holmes is president of Consultant Board Inc. and MarkHolmesGroup.com. He can be reached at mark@markholmesgroup.com.

Comments

No comments on this story |
Please log in to add your comment
Editors' Pick
From the Ground Up: Republic Intermediate School

The Republic School District is on track to open its Intermediate School for fifth- and sixth-grade students for the 2025-26 academic year.

Most Read
Update cookies preferences