How to prepare your team for change?

“Progress is impossible without change. And, those who cannot their minds cannot change anything.” - George Bernard Shaw.

Change is a necessary evil. Those who are resistant to change end up falling back in the race to success.

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It is a general notion that teams resist change. No one likes to shift from processes and work styles that have been there for years to something new. But, they forget ‘change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end’. So, you need to transform the way things are done to keep your pace up with changing times. Or else, you will be left behind in the crowd.

But, how can you bring change in your processes without upsetting the team? That’s the big question! As a manager what can you do to prepare the team for this transformation? Well, here are some tips that might help -

• Identify the roadblocks

Planning is the most important step for any process. And, it becomes even more important when you are thinking to bring a change in the work culture. You must begin by identifying the roadblocks in your path to change.

Think of reasons that the team might put in front of you to resist the change. And, then find out a satisfactory answer for the same. Putting the idea of transformation in front of the team, without preparation is like going for a war without letting your soldiers know where they are headed. You are surely going to fail.

So, before the team questions you something about the change question yourself. And, find a satisfactory answer to it. If you can satisfy yourself with the answer, you can satisfy everyone in the team. And, they will accept the transformation with happy faces.

• Bring it out in the open

One of the biggest reasons why teams resist change is because they feel uninvolved in the decision. So, the best way to bring the change is to bring it out in the open for the team. Let them know that you are going to start anew, with new strategies, new philosophies, and new vigor.

Ask them for feedback. Get to know what they have to say. This will not only help to win trust of the team, but at the same time will help you understand their perspective as well. After all, at the end of the day they are the ones who have to work in the new work culture. If they are not happy with it, then the change is going to be of no-good.

• Explain what will it mean to the organization

Changing times call for a change in work strategies. And, that’s exactly why you are bringing a change in the team. You need to explain this thing to the team! You can begin by creating a list of the benefits that the transformation is going to bring along. Let the team know how you are going to move from good to better, and better to best with this change.

Moving from a smaller premise to a bigger building. Or, shifting from using emails to a project management software? The workforce must know what you are trying to achieve here! And, they will not ward it off straight away, without paying heed to what it is going to mean in the longer run.

• Show them - it is for their own good

Most important of all, you need to show the team that transformation is for their own good. Explain them about how changing the work style is going to simplify the way they run their work-life. As a manager, you have to win the trust of your team so that they know you are not just a yes-man of the management.

That’s why you need to be transparent. You need to explain the team about how the change is going to help them become better at what they are doing. This will help them understand that change is for good.

For e.g. Let us suppose your team has been using email for managing their projects. And, now you think of switching to a project management tool. Unless you are able to put forward the benefits of it, they will have an urge to resist this change. But, once they know the change going to make their life easy, I’m sure they are going to love it.

Change is the law of nature. If you don’t keep your pace up with the change you are going be left behind in the crowd. And, I’m sure no one would want that to happen. So, if you want to move towards a better future, then keep up your pace with changing times!

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Vartika Kashyap is a seasoned marketing professional who is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. Connect with Vartika on LinkedIn,Medium and Twitter.

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