Leading Change from the Human Side

Consider the following scenario:

Your division has been undergoing major changes to its business processes for the past several months.  As one of the leaders in the division, you have been closely involved in the planning process.  It is now apparent that significant human resource changes are needed to align your internal structure with the new business goals.  These changes will involve the creation of new positions requiring higher-level skills than many of the current employees possess, outsourcing, promotions, reassignments and layoffs.

You and the other members of the leadership team have mapped out exactly what change need to be made, when they will occur and how the changes will help you meet your strategic goals.  You have checked with corporate counsel to be sure there are no legal issues, and you have checked with Human Resources to be sure no policies have been violated.  The changes are announced and the next week you find yourself spending all of your time meeting with irate employees – some of whom have filed grievances or lawsuits – all of whom are upset about the way you implemented the changes.

Sound familiar?  Even if the exact details don’t mirror a situation you may have dealt with during your career, you likely have found out the hard way that not only is organizational change hard, but that there are some actions leaders take that can make it harder or easier on the people affected.  It’s just simply human nature to be concerned about and to resist change, to some degree.  As a leader, you play a key role in helping employees to navigate their reactions to the change.  Now, don’t get nervous – I’m not suggesting that you have to add a therapist’s couch to your office or put up a sign that says “The Doctor is In.”  You do, however, have to be intentional about planning for the human side of organizational change.

Here are 5 keys for leading doing this:

1.  Involve others.  I’ve heard it said somewhere that change imposed is change opposed.  Most adults do not respond well to unilateral changes imposed on them, especially when there is a direct effect on them that is perceived to be negative.  Involvement can be as simple as explaining the long term goals of a change effort or seeking ideas on how to streamline operations to leading focus groups or establishing working groups to work on significant aspects of the change.  Involvement should not be confused with getting employees to agree with your rationale or with the planned actions.  Involvement will decrease resistance and more importantly, help garner employee buy-in, which you’ll need in order for the changes to be successful.
2. Give people honest information.  People who will be affected by any sort of change will naturally want to know four basic pieces of information – 1) why is this change needed?  2) what will it mean for me and those I care about?; 3) who will be affected and how?; and 4) when will the change occur?  The old adage “communicate, communicate, communicate” is definitely true Enough information should be shared on a regular basis during the planning and implementation of the change to help lessen the anxiety that is a natural consequence of the unknown.  Information might include details such as a realistic picture of the business and competitive pressures driving the change effort, the strategic goals to be accomplished, a time line of the various phases of the restructuring, and honest information about the impact on employees. 
3. Give people privacy.  If one of the outcomes of your change strategy will result in a real or perceived negative impact on an employee’s job, all such announcements must be done in private.  Another aspect of privacy is ensuring that the affected employee(s) is informed of the change to their job before others in the work group, even if it may mean delaying the action until the employee can be informed first.  The reasons for privacy are obvious, not the least of these being to protect the confidentiality of any performance-related rationale for the action.
4. Allow employees to “grieve”.  It is natural for feelings of loss to be prevalent for some period of time after any type of change to our normal routine.   For example,  the loss of a job is considered by many to be as traumatic as the death of a loved one.  Employees may exhibit the classic stages of grief (shock, denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance) when confronted with news of a job change.  Grieving is not limited to losing a job, either, as any change in an employee’s job may trigger similar reactions.  Giving the employee time to adjust to their new responsibilities may require such creative strategies as allowing for some reasonable, periodic time off, delaying performance discussions, or referrals to helping resources such as an employee assistance program.
5. Be compassionate above all else.  Most importantly, throughout all phases of any change effort it is essential that every leader involved exhibit compassion and understanding.  This should not become an unrealistic attempt to ensure that all employees agree with and are happy about the changes.  Rather the goal must be to put yourself in the shoes of the individuals to be impacted by the change and to care about treating them in the way in which you would want to be treated.  Remember the Golden Rule that your grandmother would admonish you about?  Practice that here!

 

What techniques have you found to be helpful in successfully leading the human side of change?