change management process change management plan
Change Is Natural And Essential In A Business
Change is oftentimes scary for a lot of people. It is like a leap in an uncertain territory. Change is actually natural. It is always a part of and essential in business, and for the most part it is good. But people are likely to be scared of it. Because people tend to fear change, managing change means you have to manage people's fears.
There might be irrational and unpredictable reactions to change. Nonetheless, you can manage these fears and unexpected reactions accordingly. You have to do the management right.
What is change to your people? The occurrence is actually upsetting to them. When things are altered, people have to go out of their comfort zones and do and deal with something different. Anxiety and disarray can ensue. These reactions are potential causes of loss of productivity, declining quality of output and failure. The fact remains, however, that change is vital for the survi val of an organization. In history, you'll find a long list of organizations that became extinct because they stagnated and failed to change.
Revolution Is Progress
The organization revolutionizes. How do your people accept and cope with it? How can they adapt and suit themselves in the new environment and become fully functional? The key to this is to define the occurrence and make your employees understand.
The first reason for resisting change is fear of the unknown or an expectation of loss. Managing this fear on the front end is managing an individual's perspective. On the back end, change management entails making an individual better equipped to handle the phenomenon. As a leader, you need to address your people's resistance to change. Be aware that their degree of resistance depends on how they perceive the event. Do they see it as something good or bad? How severe do they think that impact will be on them?
Understandi ng Produces Less Resistance
Your people will have better acceptance of the occurrence if they have less resistance to it. Their acceptance also leads to them having better coping skills. Bulldozing your people's resistance is not the solution.
In as much detail as you can, define the change to your employees. As events develop, provide updates and do so clearly. For instance, you'll be moving an employee's table. Six inches to the left won't matter to them, but if you're moving the table to add another table (and a new employee) that could threaten the former employee. In this case, explain what's going on. "Our sales are up by 40%, and we need to meet more demands. Overtime does not suffice, so we need to rearrange our system a bit". Involve your employees, too. You can perhaps ask for suggestions on how the space should be rearranged and so on. This way, they will have a better understanding and will not be threatened by the change.
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Jodi and Mike specialize in executive coaching with individuals and teams. http://lighthouse-leadership.com/