The question
How do I overcome resistance to change?
The answer
Demonstrate clear cost advantages to proposed
changes
Simon Moores, managing director, zentelligence,
vice-chairman (policy development) at the
Conservative Technology
Forum
In the prevailing tight economic climate, I find that resistance
to change can be overcome if one has a sufficiently compelling
argument that supports a reduction in costs.
In the public sector in particular, it is hard to push through
new ideas and technologies at the same speed as the private sector,
but the process can be accelerated if you can point to a clear,
short-term cost advantage in replacing one solution with
another.
The primary problem facing the public sector at present is that,
in many cases, the investment required to achieve that vision of a
lower total cost of ownership does not exist, with budgets being
slashed across the board. So, just as we reach a new period in the
evolution of technology, with the internet disappearing into the
cloud, it becomes very difficult, however persuasive the argument,
to find funding for anything more than maintaining the status quo
in the face of unprecedented budget pressures on IT
departments.
Encourage people to engage positively with
the change plan
Robina
Chatham, research associate, executive programme, for the
Leading Edge
Forum
There are essentially three ways to get people to
do things:
- You force them by threat of negative consequences if they do
not comply;
- You give them something in exchange for their compliance;
- They do it because they believe in you and/or the proposed
course of action.
Willing participation is the only real way to make
change happen. This involves engaging people’s hearts as well as
their minds. You will need to:
- Communicate effectively. Be clear about the
reason for the change and the anticipated outcomes; be passionate
and inspirational;
- Involve people in the change process. Actively
listen to them and be prepared to incorporate their ideas and
suggestions;
- Remove excuses. Purge unnecessary activities
to provide the time and energy;
- Utilise peer pressure. Seek out role models
and ambassadors and use them to influence the masses;
- Remove uncertainty and threat. Tell the truth
and as much of it as possible; in the absence of information,
people always assume the worst;
- Train people in new skills and behaviours. Be
patient, give them encouragement and forgive their mistakes;
- Give people emotional support. Be empathetic,
offer them a shoulder to cry on and time to come to terms with the
change.
All this takes time, so create momentum by starting with a few
quick and easy steps. A long list of activities can be overwhelming
and a sense of being overwhelmed stops action.
Be clear and
open about how changes will affect your staff
Michael Dean, director of advisory services at
the National Computing
Centre
Resistance typically occurs when people are
apprehensive about the future and the part they will play in it,
especially if they have not been consulted beforehand. Will your
plans require them to do things differently, learn new skills,
adopt new practices? Inevitably, yes.
Anything you can do to address the apprehension
will be beneficial. Be clear and open about what you are changing
and why, and share this with the people affected. Not everybody
gets to see the company’s big picture and office politics can often
distort reasons for change, so use team meetings to ensure that
everybody understands the real reasons for the change and your
vision for the future.
Those with negative views about the change thrive
on lack of clarity, detail and honesty, so articulate and flesh out
your vision regularly so everybody understands where they are
heading and can own their own change plan. In particular, make sure
that your direct reports are fully conversant with the changes.
Use your intranet to share your plans, but follow up with
one-to-one meetings and discuss changes and evolving roles with
individuals. Where possible, provide support, training or
mentoring, but do not promise things you cannot deliver.
Build a
compelling and exciting business case
Isabelle Jenkins, head of financial services
technology at PwC
Traditional good practice answers to this question
involve building a compelling business case and being clear about
the business benefits that change will deliver.
You will need to work with the business areas
affected by the change from the beginning, incorporating their
objectives and incentives, and be aware that the business case will
need to be translated/interpreted for each of the stakeholder
groups. Do not expect one articulation of the business case to suit
all.
It also helps to focus on the actions that will
make a difference fast. Quick, demonstrable achievements help to
demonstrate that change will be successful.
There are also the more subtle ways about making change stick,
which include the way you manage the implementation of the change.
There needs to be an element of excitement about it. This may be by
putting someone inspirational at the helm, by putting the change
team (business and IT) together in another area of the building
(change of environment can help avoid people reverting to their old
‘comfortable’ ways), and involving communication experts to ensure
that the change and change progress is communicated in a compelling
way.