Change Resistance
Technological advancements, economic fluctuations and changes in culture and tastes have the ability to create a need for organisational change.
Organisational change: the actions taken to alter major components of an organisation's internal processes, culture, underlying technologies or infrastructure, to increase productivity, efficiency and overall performance.
Like any type of change, whether at an individual or group level, organisational change is often met with resistance. This resistance may stem from poor communication, mistrust or emotional responses, among other things.
When you talk at people as opposed to with people, you’re bound to get push-back and resistance to change.
2. Mistrust
When employees don’t trust or feel confident in the person making the change, their resistance to the change can be high. Change advisor and author?Rick Maurer, believes that lack of confidence in change-makers is the most overlooked cause of resistance to change in organisations
3. Emotional responses
Changing the status quo is difficult, and some people may have emotional reactions to anything that disrupts their routine. This is a natural and inevitable response. Ignoring emotional responses only leads to stronger resistance.
Change Management
Involving employees from the very beginning of a change management process has been said to allow minimisation of resistance to change. The change management process typically includes three major phases: preparation, implementation, and follow-through.
In preparation, the manager ought to focus on helping employees recognize and understand the need for change. This involves raising awareness of the various challenges or problems the organisation is facing and that are acting as driving forces of change and generating dissatisfaction with the status quo.
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During the implementation process, more focus should be put on empowering employees to take the necessary steps to achieve the goals of the initiative. Additionally, change managers should anticipate challenges and try as best as they can to prevent or mitigate them once identified.
It’s impossible to tell the success of a change initiative simply by the completion of a change initiative. Thus, it is of essence to follow through. This can involve conducting analyses and reviews. These will help leaders understand whether a change initiative was a success, failure, or has mixed results.
From the explanation above, it is evident that employee involvement is of essence in all the organisational change management process steps. Gaining initial buy-in from employees can remove friction and resistance in the entire process. Repeated communication of the organization’s vision is critical throughout the implementation process as it reminds those undergoing the change why that specific change is being pursued.
Overcoming Resistance to Organisational Change - Tips
1.?Show your employees you value them though education and training
2. Collect employee input prior to change
3. Come to an agreement with your employees about the change
4. Include employees in the change management plan
5. Support your employees during organisational transformation
6. Communicate clearly and frequently
"It's The Stories We Tell That Create Our Future"
2 年Thanks for this, I do wonder. What about when employees are the ones who are leading the change? with the employers and managers being the resistance? (It's mostly the case in the Malawian context, with the majority of youth population)