'Change' in the workplace - Making sure change is 'Effective', by Shamila Nazim

Change is an important element of life. Without change things become stagnant and eventually lose their true importance. Change needs to be perceived as a positive and collective process required for any organisation.

Change is driven by many factors. If a staff member leaves the setting for any reason her place must be filled thus calling for change. There may be changes made in-house or staff may be recruited from outside.

New leadership/management leads to inevitable changes as the new leader may have different visions and ideas than the existing ones. The introduction of new legislations and laws will impact on how a setting is run and will require immediate changes.  A move of premises or structural modifications to the building will also require staff to adjust to the changes accordingly. Certain areas may have moved from one place to the other. 

There may be a desire for growth and a need to improve on quality or an organisation maybe faced with competition – the organisation will reflect on what is required and changes will subsequently take place to accomplish the intended goal. 

However, there are also barriers that may prevent the drive for change. Wilfred Kruger (1996), spoke about the ‘Change Management Iceberg’. He divided the iceberg in to two sections, the ‘hard’ factors and the ‘soft’ factors. 

The hard factors comprising of the ‘Cost’, ‘Quality’ and ‘Time’ – these being the tip of change facilitation. Though the most important factors identified were the soft factors the ‘Values’ – not valuing change will prevent people from accomplishing it, the ‘Attitudes’ – people’s attitudes must be positive towards the change to make it easy to do, ‘Emotions’ – people must overcome the fear of change, they must not be scared or worried about what will happen, and ‘Capabilities’ – people will not be able to achieve the change if there is no knowledge or skill of the area needing change.

People also react to change in different ways. Kruger goes on to talk about four components with reference to people’s reactions to change. We have the ‘Promoters’ who have a positive attitude towards change and are willing to do it, we also have the ‘Potential Promoters’ who may need some sort of persuasion and encouragement to accept the change. Then we have the ‘Opponents’ who hold negative feelings on change and resist it. And finally we have the ‘Hidden opponents’ who do not resist change openly, rather they pretend to agree. 

Once a change has been brought forward people may become shocked or scared by it and may go through denial – attempting to convince ones’ self that it is not actually happening. When this fails they then begin to retaliate by showing resistance to the change, becoming anxious, argumentative and withdrawn. When this resistance proves unsuccessful they begin to accept the change. During acceptance they begin to let go. 

People then move on to exploration where they begin to explore and look for ways to solve the issue at hand. They are not sure how to progress so they spend time exploring the aspects around the change. Once the necessary factors around the change has been explored the individual/s involved move onto commitment. This is the stage at which individuals are feeling empowered.  The importance of commitment is recognised in a positive way and ownership or responsibility for implementation is encouraged. The change takes place effectively. 

This process is a cycle and with the correct support from owners/managers individuals are able to move from one stage to the next with ease. It is also not necessary for people to go through each and every stage simultaneously. People can also move back and forth in between stages.

How shall we support the change process?

Rodd (2006), identified the ‘six C’s of change. Firstly, we have ‘Challenge’ where a potential threat is innovatively turned into a positive challenge. ‘Communicate’, can support the change process as staff will be consulted regularly and they will be informed and supported through the change. ‘Commitment’ is when staff members are empowered and shown the benefits and positives of the change at hand. 

Staff are encouraged to hold shared ownership so to avoid feeling of the change being a forced thing. ‘Control’ also plays an important role in the process of change. Individuals are given some decision power leading them to feel that they do have a say. ‘Confidence’ is created through encouragement, support and appreciation from the management/leaders and colleagues which in turn encourage resilience. 

And finally we have the sixth ‘C’, ‘Connect’ where the support system within the setting, and from outside agencies is strongly promoted. Connecting with people is better than working in isolation. Staff members may go on courses, attend seminars and even visit their colleague’s work environments and have meetings to support them through the change process.

There are many approaches, tools and techniques which can support the change process. Change can occur under many circumstances and will be successful if supported by certain measures. Change is constant though its management needs to be closely monitored.           

Effective change management

If change management is not effective, inevitably then, change will not be effective. The organisation will not make progress, instead they will become obsolete and under these circumstances some organisations close down completely or lose their importance. If there will be no effective changes taking place, people will begin to loose trust in the system. The system will become stagnant or merely go around in circles. 

Effective change management is important as it enables change to be a planned and closely managed process, it makes sure change happens. Action plans are formulated and benefits highlighted thus serving as motivators and incentives. Even before the change process had begun organisations are able to pre-assess the overall impact of the change. If managed correctly, change can be implemented without affecting the daily routines of the setting. Employees are aware of what is happening so they have a sense of confidence and empowerment. Time-management is possible and finances can be controlled through effective management. 

Change is an essential ingredient for continued growth and success – if done by taking the correct measures over time the emerging success will be prevalent for all to enjoy.

Written by:

Shamila Nazim, Nursery Manager