Managing Change: Overcome Resistance by Involving Employees

Friday, May 10, 2002

The Agile Manager's Guide, http://www.agilemanager.com

Better Business & Planning Practices

Without a doubt, involving employees in change initiatives is among the most effective approaches to overcoming resistance. As mentioned earlier, engage employees in the change process from the start. Don't wait until it's a done deal.

There are a number of ways to engage employees:
• Solicit employee ideas in identifying potential problems and their solutions.
• Use employees as a sounding board for testing proposed change initiatives.
• Involve employees in choosing potential changes that might be pursued.
• Identify potential change leaders among the employee group.
• Place employees on the change-initiative planning group.
• Involve employees in implementing the change.
• Make employees involved in the planning responsible for communicating with
their work-team members.
• Place monitoring and control functions in the hands of employees.

Provide Support for Employees
Once employees have become committed to the change process, it's up to you to stand behind them. The manager must be responsible for ensuring that employees are properly trained for their new roles and responsibilities. You have to ensure that staff has the equipment, supplies, training, and facilities necessary to get the job done.

You must also be prepared to recognize and reward staff for the job they are
doing. And don't take forever doing it, either. Sometimes, employees will
confront a very difficult period during a change initiative. Know when the time
is right to say thank you and to recognize people for the sacrifices they are
making.

Ensure Employees Know There Is No Turning Back

Sometimes employees will hedge their bets. They won't commit themselves all the
way because they figure, well, this thing may not work out the way they've
planned. They'll lie back, planning to avoid the fallout if the change fails.

Make it crystal clear: Once the line is crossed, there is no going back. Once
you've committed to a change strategy it can only be successful if everyone
commits to it totally. Julius Caesar said as much when he uttered, "The die is
cast. I have crossed the Rubicon." With those words he committed himself and his
legions to march on Rome. It was an act of sedition. But because he and his
legions were decisive and committed, they were victorious.

So disabuse anyone on your staff of the notion that you can always go back to
the way you did it before. There is no going back. There is no return to the old
days, the old times, the old methods. There is only change, and more change.
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Feel free to forward this to a colleague. Adapted from The Agile Manager's Guide
to Managing Change, by Robert J. Ristino. For details about this book or any of
the other Agile Manager books visit: http://www.agilemanager.com/books.html

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