Three Change Facilitation Questions

once worked in an organization that was implementing a significant change.

The managers and their employees knew that the change was coming, but that was all they knew.

Even the managers were kept in the dark and unsure of what to answer when asked for updates. The limbo was killing everyone.

Morale was low, productivity even lower, and gossip was rampant.

I finally advised the managers to provide weekly updates to their employees, even if that meant acknowledging that there was nothing new to report.

This helped to calm the employees’ fears, since they felt they could rely on their managers to let them know when information was available.

The change consultant, William Bridges, says that it isn't the actual change that employees resist, but rather the transition that must be made to accommodate the change.

If the employees do not make the transition, the change will not work.

"Change is not the same as transition. Change is situational [and external]: the new site, the new boss, the new team roles, new policy.

Transition is the inner process through which people come to terms with a change, as they let go of the way things used to be and reorient themselves to the way that things are now.

In an organization, managing transition means helping people to make that difficult process less painful and disruptive.”

It does this by answering three key questions before introducing the change initiative.

The first two questions relate to the external changes taking place.

The third question relates to the internal psychological transition that the employees need to make.

Question #1: What is changing and why is it happening?

Employees need to know what the change is and why it is necessary.

Employees will not buy into a change if management cannot explain it in a clear and simple statement without any jargon. The statement should also be brief- Bridges recommends that it be only 1 minute!

Question #2: What will actually be different because of the change?

Employees need to know how the change will affect their lives, their jobs, and the functions of their department.

Management should be able to explain in specific terms the actual differences that the change will make in how programs and procedures will operate, where staff will be located, and how functions will be organized.

Question #3: Who is going to lose what?

Employees need to let go of their old situation before they can start something new.

Management should take the time to understand how the world looks to the employees and use that as the starting point to help them identify the losses and endings they are experiencing.

This will get the issues out in the open, give the employees the tools they need to move forward in a difficult time and build trust by showing that management cares.