Change Management

People do not accept change if it is not in their personal interest unless there are (1) consequences for not accepting the change, or (2) rewards for accepting the change.
For any project or behavior change, there are antecedents and there are consequences. Even though consequences far outpace antecedents in overall project success, it is generally the antecedents that enjoy the greatest attention and budgeting.

Antecedents can be classified as:

• Training
• Job aides and
• Personnel development

Consequences can be classified as:

• Work process analysis;
• Tangible items such as awards, money, plaques, etc.; and
• Employment, personal rebukes or disciplinary actions

A comprehensive analysis of every department should be made to see how employee workflow behaviors will be affected by the change. You need to identify the antecedents and consequences of this workflow change. Determine the current state and the future state of the process change.
Develop a spreadsheet for determining consequences. Assume that a) the project is a success b) the project is a partial or total failure.

Classify the behavioral consequences as: Positive and/or negative … positive consequences make it more likely that a behavior will occur again. Negative consequences make it less likely.
Present and/or future … consequences that happen during or immediately after a behavior have a stronger influence than do future consequences.
Certain and/or uncertain … consequences that reliably occur after a behavior have a stronger influence than consequences that are uncertain.
Positive/immediate consequences: Sincere praise from a boss or peer; Completing a task more easily than before; Public recognition.
Negative/immediate consequences: Adding complex steps to a work process; Being embarrassed in front of a coworker

You will need to put plans in effect that will take the behavior and process information and turn it into actions that will achieve successful results. Also put into effect measurement tools that will supply timely and accurate data regarding the implementation progress. And a communication plan to provide positive feedback to your employees and to the various implementation departments.

When people have perceived negative consequences from a change, they may resist the new change. Some such negative experiences include:

• Not being informed about what was expected
• Hearing mixed messages from different levels of management
• Being confused about the reason for the change
• Feeling as though their concerns are ignored
• Not being given an opportunity to contribute
• Being assigned extra work without more resources
• Having a comfortable work process, work environment, tool or product eliminated by the change
• Having to learn new skills without understanding what benefits they bring
• Being taken away from everyday work to spend time on activities of unclear value

People may also carry over positive experiences. You can leverage these events to make the change successful. Examples include:

• Feeling included in the process
• Having their contributions valued by the project team and organization’s leaders
• Being given extra resources to address the additional workload during the change
• Having more control over their work after the change process
• Being told clearly why the organization needed to change
• Clearly benefiting personally from the change after it was implemented

We must never take the technology past the limits of our employees without a comprehensive training program before we expect them to do the work. Remember that you cannot judge a person’s performance until you have provided him or her with the tools to do the job.
The resistance and ultimate failure of a change program to achieve the desired effect on your business is brought on by both the perceived and real fears of your employees. Using the wrong tools to approach the implementation can exacerbate this success.

- Adapted from “Managing the Change” in Plant Services.com by Carl C. Hughes