Managing Change In The Workplace

Throughout your leadership career, Managing Change in the Workplace, is certainly going to be a constant. Whether it is big change or small make use of the tips in this article to help your change management process run more smoothly. Before you begin the process of organization re-design to create a high performance workplace, you should take account of these five key steps:

• Build a Sense of Urgency
• Create a Clear Tomorrow
• People Are The Key
• Have Clear Actions and Expectations
• Change Begins With You

Build A Sense of Urgency

For most people, any change is uncomfortable. Therefore, when managing change in the workplace, it is your job is to help people to see that whatever they've been doing in the past can no longer take place. That neither they, nor the business, will be relevant without change.

Ignite the fire of urgency to change do so without frightening people and destroying your teams' self-confidence and perceived ability to win. Create a belief that "We can do better!". You do this through finding compelling and real evidence that people can feel, see and touch that change must happen and happen now!

Create A Clear Tomorrow

People want a clear, simple-to-understand 'promised land' to which they can travel. All organizations are challenged by the need to remain relevant and must re-define their future regularly.

It is essential that people (employees, customers and suppliers) feel connected to your business and Share the Vision of a new tomorrow that they can buy into.Show people how the vision will contribute to their long-term development, security and enable their work experience to be engaging and energizing .

Signal to people that things will be different - without denigrating the past. Remember the glory of the golden past - but promise a brighter future. And most importantly, remember to celebrate once you're on the path to the new way.

When Managing Change In The Workplace, People Are The Key

Make sure you have the right people on board (behaviour, skills attitudes) to deliver the tomorrow you eed.

Authentic participation in the change process, with many opportunities to raise issues of concern, will help keep your team open to the possibilities contained within the change. With participation you enable them to become a driving force in creating the new bright future.

Address and reduce the fear of change

... it is going to naturally exist within your team. Recognize that people will complain about change. It's just human nature. It is your job to identify whether people are complaining for the sake of complaining or whether they have valid concerns that if addressed appropriately can enable the change process. If you have already considered the concern that is being raised, then an appropriate response could be 'Thanks for your input, we have considered it and here's what we found... We are going ahead with the announced change." However if the person is raising a new issue and one that is important, then obviously stop and consider the impact of the issue raised.

There three levels at which people are involved in change

1. Aware of;
2. Accepting of
3. Committed to

Allowing people the avenues through which they can raise questions and concerns and complaints is a necessary step in gaining "acceptance" and "commitment." Therefore

• Announce the change,
• Give people ample time to become informed about whatever they feel they need to be informed about (particularly if they need to take action or make decisions as a result of the change or the need for the full acceptance is critical)
• Make sure there is a mechanism in place for them to get their questions answered and make good decisions based on information they have had time to digest.

All jobs and people in an organization are important, but when managing change in the workplace, some are more important than others (just like the pigs in Orwell's Animal Farm!).

As you begin a change initiative, be aware of the level of involvement each of the major stakeholders need to have in the change process. You then use different communication processes and strategies for these different stakeholders.

As an illustration. Supposing, your manufacturing department decides they wish to introduce a new multi-skilling initiative within their area. This change impacts directly upon the manufacturing department; they need to be "committed" to the change.

The Human Resource Dept probably needs to be 'accepting of' this new way of operating. For exampley they possibly may want to be involved in reviewing the compensation and performance review processes, that support this change initiative.

Maybe no one else in the organization even needs to know. Or maybe you may want other departements, whose day-to-day work is not affected by this change, for example the accounting department, to be "aware" of the new way of operating in case they may like to use a similar system themselves at some point in the future.

Have Clear Expectations

People are motivated to achieve things they can see, touch and measure. Imagine bowling and each time the ball was half-way down the lane a big screen came down and you couldn't see how many pins you knocked over. You'd soon get bored with the game and quit.

As you are managing change in the workplace it is important to:

• relate your measures to your strategic advantage and clearly spell out a numeric expectation for every job/process in the organization.
• Chart a few key behaviours that indicate progress in using the vision.
• Post them graphically in high-visibility areas - lunch rooms, etc.

Get people to think and act like owners. Empower your people by rewarding the 'right' behaviour - using your vision. Use many different rewards - formal and informal - monetary and non-monetary - group and individual.

Managing Change in the Workplace Begins With You

Get clear on the actions that reflect your vision of how it will be once the change is implemented (use the technique of visualization) and then demonstrate through your actions your belief that the vision will come to pass and it is worthy of your and their efforts.

Your leadership integrity is one of the most important variables in any successful change process. People trust their leaders' actions more than they trust their words, accordingly they watch and study your every move. Live your vision consistently by acting in parallel with your pronouncements i.e walk your talk. Because if you use the vision today and then don't tomorrow your people will resist using it at all.

JW Marriott Jr spends time visiting his properties personally taking time to care for the associates (employees) and checking the little things that 'spell the difference for guests'. During his visits he makes certain that team members see him personally using the vision. 

Speak with conviction that you are serious about the change. You probably have 30-40 daily interactions with people, here is your opportunity to drive home and communicate your vision.

Make it a priority to highlight and talk about the times when the new way of operating is working. People will then be encouraged to move toward the new way.

The trust you have previously built will either pay off or pay back!

As you are managing change in the workplace, rumors will flow rapidly through the business. Unfortunately, as more and more people re-tell them, they gain greater validity in the minds of people than the formal communications that you deliver.

If you have not previously established a high level of trust between you and your team members there will be a price to pay. That price is that people will prefer to believe in the rumours and myths that fly around than what you are saying and what is really happening.

When you are managing change in the workplace, you can best manage myths and rumours by consistently guiding people toward a new set of priorities and values. Which means you need to be accessible, open and a rock upon which people can rely.