Overcoming Resistance to Change

Overcoming Resistance to Change Ronald J. Recardo

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sk managers, internal change agents, and supervisors the numberone challenge they face, and most will respond that it's stakeholder resistance to change. Over the years, a host of tactics have been employed to overcome this resistance, ranging from training and filtering communications to mass personnel displacements. Since the problem still persists, a new approach is needed,

WHAT IS CHANGE MANAGEMENT?

The 1980s and 1990s have been a period of unprecedented change. The globalization of markets, increased foreign competition, and rapid technological change are but a few of the variables causing volatile and sometimes unpredictable change. To maximize their competitive position, organizations have embraced a number of strategic and operational initiatives. Strategic initiatives include mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and consolidations. Operational initiatives include Just-In-Time QlT), Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), Material Requirements Planning (MRP), Total Quality Management (TQM), and process reengineering. Change management is the process an organization uses to: • • • Ronald J. Recardo is the managing partner of The Catalyst Consulting Group, a management consulting company heated in CroTnwell, Connecticut. The Catalyst Consulting Group specializes in operations improvement and strategic change management. Its clients include PPG Industries, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Pitney Bowes, Johnson & Higgins, and Scherin Berlin.

Identify new demands and/or constraints that the external environment places on them, Identify the type of strategic and operational initiatives needed to maximize organizational performance, Design, implement, and evaluate appropriate initiatives.

Companies that are successful in implementing change report much greater employee commitment to initiatives, smaller productivity fiuctuations during implementation, and significantly shorter implementation timelines. As has often been said, time is the perfect barometer for comparing most organizations. If most managers study the strategic and operational initiatives that their closest competitors are undertaking, they will find that the vast majority of companies are involved in an oldfashioned foot race. These companies are commonly implementing the same initiatives. Therefore, competitive advantage is gained by being the

National Productivity Review/Spring 1995

CCC 0277-8556/95/140205-08 © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ronald J. Recardo

first one to cross the finish line. Simply stated, the organization that is able to institutionalize their initiatives first realizes the benefits sooner, leaving all others in a catch-up position. Organizations that want to overcome resistance to change must collect data to identify the relative strength of each factor that is causing the resistance and how it varies by stakeholder group. Once this has been determined, the most appropriate tactics for reducing resistance can be implemented. Following are twelve common reasons why individuals resist change:

Organizations that want to overcome resistance to change must collect data to identify the relative strength of each factor that is causing the resistance and how it varies by stakeholder group.

1. The organization's architecture is not aligned and integrated with a customer-focused business strategy. All organizations are composed of the following elements: • • • • • •

Structure—the work processes, reporting relationships, unit boundaries, and the way jobs are designed. Business systems—the human resource systems and practices, communication systems, and administrative control systems, Infrastructure—the technology that is used to transfer inputs to outputs and the physical layout of an organization's facilities, Core capabilities—the core competencies of the organization, for example, being engineering- or market-driven. Individual capabilities—the knowledge, skills, and abilities found in each employee group, Culture—the values, norms, assumptions, and beliefs that are prevalent within an organization,. The characteristics of the first five elements determine the organization's culture. Resistance to change wîll be minimized w^hen each element of the organization's architecture is closely aligned and integrated with a customer-focused business strategy. Misalignment sends out mixed signals—for example, we wânt people to wôrk effectively in teams but we reward only individual performance,

2. The individual and/orgroup is negatively affected. People don't always resist change. If your manager offered you a promotion that provided you wîth more money and greater visibility, chances are you wôuldn't resist this. Humans tend to conduct a subconscious cost-benefit analysis ^vhen faced with an organizational change. If they view^ themselves as being worse off, they tend to resist change. If they view themselves as better off, they embrace it,

3. The organization does not communicate expectations clearly. Most organizations do a poor job of communicating to employees. Employees are sometimes forced to conduct the cost-benefit analysis discussed in point 2 on incomplete or


Overcoming Resistance to Change

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5.

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If organizations do not provide timely and targeted education, employees will become apprehensive regarding their future job security or job competency.

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incorrect information. Organizations that do an adequate job of communicating the w^hat, the why, and the how regarding the change frequently don't clearly spell out their expectations regarding future employee performance, Employees perceive more work with fewer opportunities. Strategic and operational initiatives commonly require modifications to work processes, reporting relationships, competencies, and individual roles and responsibilities. In this age of downsizing, quality management, and reengineering, this usually means more work for employees, wîth typically the same or less opportunities for reward, Change requires altering a long-standing habit. Human beings tend to be creatures of habit. As the adage states, "It is easier to worship the devil you know (and are comfortable with) than the devil you don't know." Initiatives frequently alter longestablished habits relating to work rules, job design, and limits of dedsion-making authority. During this process, individuals struggle with various amounts of uncertainty as they break away from what they are familiar with and comfortable doing. Relationships harbor unresolved past resentntents. Organizations that have poor labor-management relations frequently need to address unresolved issues before embarking on a new change initiative. Failure to address these lingering issues will almost invariably affect the project's success, Employees have fears offuture competency/job security. Change initiatives almost invariably entail new skill or knowledge requirements. If organizations do not provide timely and targeted education, employees will become apprehensive regarding their future job security or job competency. An excellent example of this is the way organizations have in the past introduced computers into an office setting. An all too common scenario is for employees to come into work one morning and unexpectedly find a PC and several binders of software documentation on their desks, The organization lacks adequtUe rewards/punishments. Human behavior tends to be directed toward self-satisfaction, A common oversight is the failure to identify the type of behaviors and output measures that should be rewârded and compare them to those currently being rewarded. If management neither rewards the desired behaviors or output measures nor punishes noncompliance, then employees have little incentive for embracing the change, The organization has poor internal communications. Effective communication occurs in three directions: top-down, bottom-up, and horizontally. Significant effort must be directed to keeping the work force apprised of the big picture and how

Ronald J. Recardo

One of the key variables employees will use to judge management commitment is the sufficiency of resources allocated.

the change will affect them. Management must also develop procedures and vehicles to actively solicit employee input and address their ongoing concerns, 10. Change modifies existing social interactions. All organizations are composed of formal and informal groups. Those people who we regularly eat lunch wîth and the cliques we belong to are examples of social interactions that occur within informal groups. If a change significantly modifies longestablished social interactions, resistance is likely to occur. This is because the needs—such as recognition and affiliation—that the informal groups wêre satisfying are no longer being met, 11. The change was introduced poorly. Care must be exercised to determine the appropriate scope of introduction—for example, pilot or companywide—speed of introduction, and the amount of employee involvement. An initiative that is introduced without carefully considering these variables will not have cascading commitment throughout the organization, 12. The organization lacks sufficient resources. A sure-fire way to foster employee resistance is to ask them to embrace a change without giving them the necessary resources to complete the task at hand. One of the key variables employees will use to judge management commitment is the sufficiency of resources allocated. HOW PEOPLE RESIST CHANGE—AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT Understanding how employees resist change is considerably more difficult than understanding wby they resist change. That's because the how comes in both overt and covert forms: Overt Ways of Resisting Change • Sabotage • Vocal opposition • Agitating others

Covert Ways ofResisting Change • Reducing output • Withholding information • Asking for more data or studies • Appointing task forces and committees

It is much easier to identify employees (typically managers, supervisors, and informal group leaders) who overtly resist change. Once identified, the appropriate strategy and tactics can be applied to solve the problem. But over 70 percent of the time, employees use covert means to resist change. This provides the greatest challenge to management. These individuals tend to verbally espouse support for the change but inwardly are hoping to stall the change until the next initiative du jour comes along, A favorite tactic they employ is asking for more information or appointing committees to lengthen the decision-making process. But there are several steps that managers can take, to effectively reduce employee resistance to change:


Overcoming Resistance to Change

Middle managers and staff people simply don't have the authority to make tbe widespread change that is needed to ensure success.

1. Communicate a clear vision of the change. The senior management team is typically in the best position to develop a vision of the desired state, A well-developed vision wîll communicate the fact that something is broken, while creating a sense of urgency in employees to act, 2. Senior management must lead the change. Successful large-scale organizational change only occurs from the top down. Middle managers and staff people simply don't have the authority to make the widespread change that is needed to ensure success. Senior management must act as role models and demonstrate their commitment personally. They must also clearly communicate their expectations and hold people accountable for success, 3. Modify the appropriate elements of the organization's architecture. Depending on the type of initiative being implemented, one or more elements of the organization's architecture may need to be modified to support the change. For example, if an organization intends to switch to selfdirected work teams, the structure (unit boundaries and reporting relationships), information technology (applications), business systems (performance management, administrative policies), infrastructure (the physical layout of offices), and individual capabilities (employee competencies) would have to be modified to support this change, 4. Create a communications strategy. Early in any initiative, a detailed communications strategy should be developed. This strategy should accomplish three objectives: (1) communicate the desired future state, (2) solicit employee input during the design process, and (3) identify employee concerns and unresolved issues during implementation. Two critical things must be avoided: constantly surprising employees, which creates anxiety and fosters mistrust, and promising what you can't deliver. A well-developed strategy will ensure that the following issues are clearly articulated to employees: • • • • • •

The business necessity behind the change, Theme and vision of the change, Timelines, approach, and the outcome of the change, A clear definition of what needs to be changed, Who will be affected by the change, and Benefits of the change from an organizational and employee perspective,

5. Pilot the initiative to demonstrate a quick success. We live in a world where managers are evaluated in terms of quarters, not years. Even corporate superstars are only as good


Ronald J. Recardo

The individuals who are tbe biggest resisters of cbange are those who are the most negatively affected by it.

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as the last quarter's performance. If you want to ensure commitment, it is essential to demonstrate performance in a 60to-90-day period. This initial success will also help you overcome the "not invented here syndrome," 6. Develop procedures and practices to equitably address the needs of the "losers." Most change projects create three distinct groups of people: the winners, the unaffected, and the losers. Individuals who obtain enhanced status, responsibility, financial gains, or visibility as a result of an initiative are clearly the winners. Another group of employees will be either indirectly affected or untouched. The concerns of the winners and unaffected groups should be integrated into the overall design/implementation plan. The individuals ^vho are the biggest resisters of change are those who are the most negatively affected by it. It is important to develop special procedures or policies (outplacement assistance, education, job reassignment, etc.) to equitably address the concerns of this group, 7. Eoster cascading commitment. Effective change requires that individuals take on the roles of champion and missionary. Champions are people ^vho are in a position to mandate change, while missionaries are those who actively help make the change happen. Whenever possible, use informal group leaders as missionaries. Successful long-term change occurs only when there are a sufficient number of champions and missionaries at each level of the organization. It is also important to remember that individuals from affected groups should be actively involved in the planning, design, and implementation of any initiative, 8. Modify performance nteasures and rewards. Although this area has been traditionally considered taboo or untouchable, it must be addressed during any initiative, A comparison of the types of behaviors and performance measures that are typically rewârded in a traditional manufacturing environment and those rewarded in a JIT/TQM environment show^s ^vhy. In a traditional environment, the behaviors re^varded include adherence to directives, maintenance of the status quo, and specialization. In a JIT/TQM environment, the focus is on willingness to learn new skills, continuous improvement, cooperation, and teamwôrk. The performance measures in a traditional environment tend to focus on efficiency, utilization, and individual output (quantity). Conversely, in a JIT/TQM environment, the focus is on team output, flexibility, adherence to schedule, and the number of innovations per employee. In short, the behaviors and performance measures rewarded in a traditional environment are almost exactly opposite to those required to support a JIT/TQM initiative.


Overcoming Resistance to Cbange

Few things cause as much frustration as asking someone to do sometbing and not providing timely and sufficient resources.

Without significant modification of these criteria, the wrong behaviors and performance measures are rewarded, 9. Link the old to the new. It is not uncommon for individuals to go through a process of mourning the past. Allow them to express their grief and loss and avoid bad-mouthing the past. This will only foster defensiveness in those who either designed or maintained the "old" way of doing things, 10. Provide timely education. The identification and delivery of education is an integral part of any well-conceived change initiative. In most cases, the education is conducted in a topdown fashion and focuses initially on conceptual and strategic aspects of the change. For example, in a strategic quality management initiative, the education may begin with senior management and address topics such as the characteristics of future competition, a definition of world-class performance, quality management strategies, and design/implementation variables. Benchmarking can be used to measure how the organization compares with its competitors across a wide range of key success factors. This information can be effectively used to create dissatisfaction with the present state and a sense of urgency for the change. As the education is broadened throughout the organization it should focus less on conceptual or strategic issues and more on new skill acquisition. A significant portion of this second tier of education should be targeted to individuals in key positions within an organization who must support the initiative for it to be successful. Their education should focus on modifying their behavior and on technical and nontechnical skill acquisition, 11. Supply adequate resources. Resources can take the form of money, facilities, equipment, or access to key people. Few things cause as much frustration as asking someone to do something and not providing timely and sufficient resources. An initiative that has inadequate resources signals either a lack of support or poor project management. Either scenario is inconsistent with a successful initiative. 12. Don't send mixed signals. On the average, employees today are better educated and more sophisticated than those in the past. Management must "walk the talk" in all its actions and directives, because employees have become adept at recognizing disparity between what is said and what is done. The greater the disparity, the greater the distrust. If employees believe management has a hidden agenda or is not committed, they wîll perceive the initiative to be another one of those programs that will go away after a short period of time. 15. Replace key individuals. As a last resort, it is sometimes necessary to reassign personnel who either don't have the

National Produaivity Review/Spring 1995

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Ronald J. Recardo

needed skills or personal attributes or who choose not to support the initiative. For every problem employee on the payroll that is allowed to fiourish, there are eight other hardworking employees who are aware of the situation and wonder why management allows the problem to persist. The ultimate , , , , , way management can commumcate Its conviction and support , ^ , „, , , „ . ,, , . . IS to replace biockers who wânt to scuttle an lmtiative,

, , Resistance to cbange ,** is tbe most critical issue tbat must be aaaressea lor any lniuaiive lO De institutionalized. ~

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Resistance to change is the most critical issue that must be addressed f^j, ^^^ initiative to be institutionalized. Managers who invest the time in clearly presenting their program for change, analyzing stakeholders' reaction to it, and following the advice outlined in the 13 points above will find the task of introducing change into the organization much less burdensome and much more productive, O


Overcoming Resistance to Change

Overcoming Resistance to Change

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