Push-Back: When Your People Resist Change

Change has become such a constant in the workplace that we are beginning to delude ourselves that everyone likes it. Although some people do thrive on change, it is a stress for most. I'd like to share with you some ideas that other managers are finding useful in lessening resistance to change.

Open up 2-way communication. Really 2-way. I saw a well meaning manager spend most of a meeting convincing his employees that a proposed re-structuring was going to be a good thing. Caught up in his own enthusiasm, he left only 5 minutes at the end for questions. Many of the employees walked out grumbling. It's scary to invite questions because you don't know what will come up but it's scarier - and less effective - to avoid that dialogue. When change hits, run Q&A meetings, get together small focus groups at lunch, send out surveys.

Listen. To what? To facts and feelings. When you listen to the ideas people have about a change, you foster commitment for that change. But you need to give them an opportunity to have their feelings listened to as well. One company, preparing for a departmental move, posted the layout of the new location in the employee lounge and invited staff to give suggestions on how to best use the new space. Not only did employees have their ideas listened to, the posted layout also became a focal point for them to share their feelings about the move: "I really hate to move; I like this place. But, you know, if we have to, why don't we use that space for…"

Sell the change. A common mistake I see is that management oversells the positive side of change and looks at it solely from the company viewpoint - "We're going to save money." What's in it for the employees? I watched a Vice President field questions at a meeting called to familiarize people with a changeover into a more technologically-driven workplace. One employee said, "We're already understaffed. Where am I going to find the time to learn this new technology?" The answer was, in my opinion, masterful: "It will be time-consuming. The thing is that this is the direction our industry is going in. Without this change, in a couple of years we may not have a company or jobs. In the long run, this is your security."

Help people give up the past. We humans use ceremonies to help us mark important changes in our lives. When introducing change, build a ceremony around bidding farewell to the past. In one high tech company I worked with, a group of engineers finished a project - the creation of a prototype. The project leader knew that his staff was still thinking and talking about modifications to the finished model and he wanted to prepare them for the next project. He physically took the whole team to the mail room to "ceremoniously" send off the package with the prototype. His staff was now more ready to move on.