We are creatures of habit. We like our routines. We take the same route to work every day. We like our coffee a certain way and most often, we like it from a certain place. We like predictability and stability. We change when—and only when—we are forced to by circumstances or we desire to because we believe the change will address a need.
Understanding human behavior and what motivates us to go through the pain of change is critical to developing your capacity to lead change within your department and organization. Here are three strategies for getting employees to not only understand change, but also embrace it.
Key # 1: Understand the Circumstances
Before we can begin to embrace change, we have to understand that there is a need for change. We need to understand the problems that the status quo present and that maintaining the status quo isn’t an option. We have to be motivated to act and break through our propensity to do what we’ve always done.
Too often, we want to sugar coat the current situation—so as not to cause stress or anguish. However, it’s during times of stress and anguish that change is most likely to take hold. Although, you don’t want to manufacture stressful conditions just to implement a change that you desire, you do want to be transparent with the current conditions that are requiring the change to occur. If you’re losing customers and profitability is declining, then you need to communicate that—and do so clearly.
If it’s not clear to the employee why they should care, then clarify it for them. You can’t assume that everyone understands the impact of a decline in stock price or the loss of a significant customer or a significant increase in oil prices. So paint the picture for them.
Key # 2: Understand How the Changes Will Resolve the Issues
Once the circumstances are understood, then employees need to be provided with information on how the proposed changes resolve the issues. Again, the relationship must be made very clear. If the long response times for customer service requests are the primary cause of poor customer satisfaction scores and lost customers, then explain how the proposed changes relate to solving the long response times.
Presenting changes that seem like they are non sequiturs will create resistance and will cause employees to question the competence of management. For example, in relation to cost-reduction statements, you may hear employees say:
I don’t see how this change will result in the cost reduction that “they” say that “we” need to have to remain competitive. It seems to me like they are just using that as an excuse to get us to do what they want.
Why are we being targeted? What about the finance department? What do those guys do anyway? I’m sure they can cut some costs there. We are already lean; how much leaner do they want us?There are many variations to those statements, but it all boils down to the same issue. The employees are not sold on the necessity of the change. And when there is no buy-in, you will have problems.
Key # 3: Understand the Personal Impact
The concept of “what’s in it for me” is alive and well within corporate America. Employees ultimately need to know how their roles and responsibilities will be affected. They want to know how what they do will change—and when it will change. This is probably the most sensitive aspect of getting change acceptance. Sometimes, you don’t know how individuals will be affected.
Sometimes, for legal or other reasons, you can’t communicate all the aspects of the change. At other times, you may know the changes, but the timing is uncertain and you’re reluctant to share those changes out of fear that employees will be distracted from getting the work done that need to get done prior to the changes going into effect.
These are legitimate concerns, yet it doesn’t alleviate the need to communicate. In the absence of information, employees will invent their own stories, rumors will run rampant, and productivity will slip. What you feared will happen anyway but not you’ll have to counter all the misinformation that was circulated. Your job has just been made much harder.
Transform Your Team into Change Champions
Getting your employees to accept and embrace change requires communication, communication, and more communication. You need to communicate the circumstances. You need to communicate the change, and how it resolves the issues. You need to communicate the personal impact.
More importantly, when you think you’ve communicated enough, you’ve really just begun. You need to communicate until both the words and actions of employees tell you that they get it—and also support it.
What strategies do you use to get people on board with change? Share your ideas in the Comments below.
