Making change acceptable
I was representing the HR function in a meeting where a dynamic and energetic young manager was presenting changes to a team of 40 or so employees involved in routine, yet critically important, practical tasks. The changes announced covered every aspect of their working lives from shift patterns, hours worked and rest patterns, to ways of working and appropriate ways to dress. Previous shift patterns had meant that it was always difficult for such a large group to meet all together and this meeting was the first one after a gap of 11 months.
As the hard working manager talked faster and faster in a desperate attempt to get all the information across in the 90 minute meeting which was looking like a more impossible task as each breathless minute went by, I saw the signs of increased discomfort in the people on the receiving end. It was as if the content, speed and timing of the changes being introduced was just too much.
Change needs to be provided in ‘digestible’ amounts
I remembered the words of a Kleinian supervisor I had the privilege to work with when in training as a counselor. I had offered an ‘an earth shattering’, all clarifying interpretation to a client which explained every aspect of their current discomfort. I had thought that by sharing this insight at length and with sensitivity, increased health and well being would be rapid and assured. It had been surprising to me that not only had my client not reacted to my words of wisdom, they appeared not to have heard them at all. My supervisor would say, ‘ You have given your client a banquet of several courses when they were not even ready to eat. You need to prepare the meal that your client needs and that may mean providing ‘teaspoons’ of insight at the right moment’ She meant many things with this observation that are relevant to supporting change management in organizations. People need to make sense of their own experience of change in organizations at their own pace and they need the time, space and support to do so. HR professionals have an important role to play in supporting managers as they provide this during change processes.
What helps
Supporting managers to make realistic and flexible implementation plans including learning and communication elements.
Co creating with managers engagement fora so that teams are fully involved in discussing the changes that will impact their work.
Helping managers become aware of their own capacity/ energy for change.
Spending time on the ‘why’ of change is worthwhile at all stages of implementation.
Resources
Prochaska, James et al. ‘Changing for Good’, Harper Collins, (1994).
This book deals with personal change. I appreciated very much the stages of change presented in Prochaska’s theory and they have helped me in nearly every change process I have found myself managing or attempting myself since the day I read about them.
