Resistance to Change - Case Study Example

Executive Summary Change in an organization is inevitable and as the situations demand sudden change, it is not always possible to plan change. This has made the change process all the more challenging. Resistance to change has always been seen in most organizations and it also has a demoralizing effect. Change can occur due to various reasons but the process of change if efficiently managed, can bring a turnaround. The urgency for change has to be communicated and with the right investment in the right change managers and effective communication process it is possible to bring about change. Change should be monitored and the results communicated effectively through all levels of employees. Introduction Change has become inevitable in the present business environment. It is a continuous process and hence dynamic. This does not allow for planned changes. Besides, changing human behavior is essential to bring about change in the organization. Change has been known to demoralize employees and cause resistance. The right management of the situation and people can help an organization to overcome both these hurdles. Causes of resistance to change Resistance to change occurs when there is lack of proper communications, when the purpose of change has not been communicated properly (Hoang, 2007). People are used to a certain pattern of working and do not like to disturb the equilibrium. Fear of the unknown also arises due to redundancy and is the most evocative (Worrall, Campbell & Cooper, 1999). Resistance can also occur during mergers and acquisitions when people apprehend a cultural misfit as the fundamental differences manifest in thoughts, actions and behavior of employees (Olie, 1994). Donnelly (1994) observes that the factors that serve to motivate can demoralize or de-motivate when it is absent. Need for job security and certainty affect the motivation and morale of the employees. When employees are unable to meet customer expectations, it has a demoralizing effect on them. They look for independence in service innovation and development. The staff can also feel demoralized when they are not taken into confidence and this gives rise to emotions of anger, distrust and shock. The emotions that arise during the change process can give rise to decreased motivation, decreased trust in management and decreased levels of organization commitment even in subsequent jobs (Worrall, Campbell & Cooper, 1999). Models of change Lewin suggested the stage model perspective of change where ‘unfreezing’ is essential to move people away from their comfort zone (Paper & Ugray, 2008). The next stage is ‘moving’ or transitioning where effective communication helps to make people understand the cause of change and its likely impact. The final stage is to ‘refreeze’ which implies to establish a new place of stability. This model works well when change can be planned and is known but in the volatile work place today changes take place by the day. This requires that the change process should be equally dynamic. The right change management program can help alleviate these issues. The change management process should start during the problem identification of the project itself, says Woodward (2007). According to Sande (2009) the ADKAR change model has assessments built in at each stage that assesses whether the organization, the team or the individual is ready to move on to the next step. ADKAR refers to Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement. People have to be made aware why change is necessary, without which they would not be willing to accept change or undergo behavioral change. After raising the awareness, it is essential to create a desire to change. Knowledge refers to the information flow and communication essential to navigate change. Ability is the capability to apply what has been learned. Reinforcement is the incentives and recognition for embracing the change. Management of change Two senior executives of IBM Global Business Services have studied several change processes in organizations and derived four lessons on how change can be effectively managed (Bramante & Owen, 2009). The change managers need to have a realistic understanding of the upcoming challenges and complexities. If the disruptive influences can be detected early it would help to address the resistance to change. This requires the change managers to have access to historical data and the ‘wars’ that have taken place earlier. Insights should be derived from both good and bad experiences. They should be sure of what change is needed and they should be able to assess the dimensions of change in people’s behavior, culture and organizational aspects. Based on these the change plan should be build but it should be subject to changes whenever necessary. The managers need to have the qualities of patience and consistency. Secondly the approach to change should be systematic and aligned with the organizational goals. Thirdly, the allocation of resources has to be right, which implies that dedicated managers should be assigned to the change process and the employees should be empowered to enact change. Involvement of the top management is essential but employee involvement should be equally emphasized which would help fight resistance to change. Communication and information flow within the different levels should be accurate and timely. A two-way communication can help build trust and commitment to change. Fourthly, investment should be appropriate – investment should be in the right skills necessary, the right change managers and investment in establishing standardized methods to build more effective and long-term capabilities to support change efforts. Communication has been found to be the most important factor that can help implement change process successfully. Communication as the essence of change has been recognized by most authors and researchers in this area. Dulye (2009) used ten drivers to retool communication and commitment. Behavioural change was required at Rolls-Royce – it was at the top of the industry in terms of consistent quality but they needed to be leading in customer value as well. A powerful communication metamorphosis worked wonders for the organization! Effective communication can empower front-line employees to carry internal messages through every level of an organization. If these tools are applied with diligence, Dulye says, ‘they can move any organization from fair, to good to great’. These drivers helped to boost engagement, trust, business knowledge and accountability at Rolls-Royce and within two years they achieved impressive results including employee business and customer knowledge increasing by 70 percent. Change process To quickly and effectively change workplace behaviors, ‘You need urgency NOW!’, says Heffes (2009). The single biggest error that people make when they try to create change is not creating a high enough sense of urgency among enough people. The message of sense of urgency should reach enough people which can set the stage for a challenging leap in the new direction. The pace of change in every business environment in every country is going up and this implies that the organization’s capacity to deal with it and avoid hazards becomes important. Complacency has set in and people are generally reluctant to respond to the demands of the continuous change situation. People are ready to pass on the blame to the boss or to the other department. The change managers need to get out to the grass-root level and assess the situation themselves rather than listen to what others have to say. In addition, it requires sensitivity. The change manager has to communicate with three levels down and grasp how people respond or react to change. They should create their own information system based on honest conversation with the right people. Motivation is the key to empower staff and get the front line managers to get collective responsibility (Landale, 2004). To bring about change in people’s attitude training programs should be introduced. If targets are achievable and efforts rewarded, then the employees can be kept motivated. The staff should be allowed to contribute to the growth of the organization and they should have oppurtunities to look beyond their career. Gibbs (2009) suggests using meaningful, short-term goals as they are more likely to be accurate. This gives the employees a better idea of what to expect ad where they stand. A shorter horizon allows the organization or the change managers to change the expectations or criteria quickly should any other change become necessary. In addition transparency needs to be maintained in all actions decisions to keep the employee morale high (Pollitt, 2006). Training sessions help to sensitize the employees, create awareness and make the process of transition smooth (Beard & Rees, 2000). Monitoring change Once the change management process is implemented, it is also necessary to monitor its efficacy. A program for change cannot be floated for three months and then allowed to stagnate without any measurement or follow-up efforts. This cannot bring about a lasting change. Structured training and work tools have to be created, schedules have to be extended and expectations for meetings have to be displayed. Program status has to be regularly and actively communicated at the workplace and it should allow everyone to feel a part of the change process. Dulye says it is essential to measure efforts in the evolving change environment. It is essential to get the accurate data and not base any decisions on presumptions. The effectiveness of the process has to be measured along with the participation on execution plans. It is not the right strategy to hide the downfalls and recognize the successes. Everything should be laid out at the forum and be open for discussions. An action team can be formed to track leaders’ progress as in the case of Rolls-Royce. The process should include performance and completion charts and the leadership should be accountable to the front-line people. A strategy like this can replace distrust with a sense of goodwill. Again, stress should not be laid only bigger victories alone. All successes should be given importance and even small changes should be discussed openly. This would make all others feel that change is taking place. All levels of employees should be empowered to recognize contributions. Words of praise should be delivered face-to-face or bulletins and boards should carry the message of recognition. Personal touch goes a long way in conveying feelings and hence a hand-written note is important. The employees should be allowed to share the change with the customers. They should be encouraged to use words of pride when showcasing the success. In fact the workers during that period are the best PR people for the company. Marriott too had undertaken a process of change and went through several hurdles. They then started monitoring through associate opinion surveys to understand how their employees perceive the organization (Davidson, 2003). The organizational climate questionnaire that they used provided the corporate management with a great deal of useful, information that helped them to make changes accordingly. Conclusion Thus it is possible to quickly and efficiently manage change at workplace through empowerment and involvement, motivation and communication. The process of managing change also has to be efficiently designed where top management involvement is essential. It involves investment in the right change managers backed by proper training. Employee resistance is inevitable during change but can be managed through the ADKAR model. Monitoring is essential to have continued and long-lasting success of the change management program. Accurate data collected should be presented to the employees and all failures and success should be discussed openly. A transparent relationship helps to gain the confidence of the employees and bring about a turnaround. References Beard, C & Rees, S 2000, Green teams and the management of environmental change in a UK county council, Environmental Management and Health, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 27-38 Bramante, J & Owen, L 2009, Making Change Work, Leadership Excellence, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 9 Davidson, MCG 2003, Does organizational culture add to service quality in hotels? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 206-213 Donnelly, M 1994, Managing People and Quality in a Climate of Change, Managing Service Quality, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 41-44 Dulye. L 2008, Using communication to drive change at Rolls-Royce, Strategic Communication Management, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 32-35. Heffes, ME 2009, You Need Urgency NOW! Financial Executive, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 20-23. Hoang, P 2007, Change management and force field analysis: change takes place constantly in business. 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