For almost a year now, Velocity has been hosting “Office Hour” webinars for our clients. In these sessions we share updates and insights on the the systems we support. They also let our clients ask questions about those systems in an open forum.
As amazing as those sessions have been, they don’t take full advantage of the HR and TA expertise that our team has. To do that, in June we launched our Leadership Development series. These webinars allow our team (and wider network) to share key insights and strategies for HR Leadership. The webinars are targeted at senior Talent Acquisition professionals, and not just limited to our clients.
Why Change Management Fails
Change Management requires an understanding of the people who will be impacted, and specifically what makes them resistant or receptive to the change. Individuals and teams will have different specific concerns and attitudes within an organization, or across organizations generally, but it usually boils down to:
- uncertainty about the Change process
- a lack of insight into what is motivating the Change
- fear that, after the Change, they will be impacted negatively
Some specific concerns you might encounter are “why weren’t we included in planning for these changes,” or “I’m afraid this will negatively impact how I do my job.” Fortunately, there are some very simple ways to prevent these concerns, and the resistance that typically comes with them.
Engage with your employees early in the process. Get their input before planning the Change, and provide regular updates leading up to it. Ensure that a trusted leader is running it.
Be up front with your teams and people about why the Change is necessary, and why it’s important to do it now. Explain what the problem is you’re trying to solve, and how you expect the Change to accomplish this.
Explain to your people that the change is not just to benefit the organization, but the people in it. Be cognizant of how it will affect them, explain how they will benefit, and where necessary have a plan to mitigate any negative impacts.
Key Inputs for Success
A successful Change Management program has five key inputs: Vision, Skills, Incentives, Resources, and an Action Plan. If you’re missing any one of these five, your process will only be partially successful, or may fail entirely.
If all five inputs are included correctly, your project will be successful. If you’re missing one, you’ll usually produce a predictably incomplete one. For example, for a Change Management process to have sufficient Resources means that the people involved have the time, knowledge, technology, authority, and information necessary to do what is asked of them. If those resources are necessary, your team is likely to respond with frustration.
| Inputs | Outcomes | ||||
| Skills | Incentive | Resources | Action Plan | Confusion | |
| Vision | Incentive | Resources | Action Plan | Anxiety | |
| Vision | Skills | Resources | Action Plan | Gradual Change | |
| Vision | Skills | Incentive | Action Plan | Frustration | |
| Vision | Skills | Incentive | Resources | False Starts | |
| Vision | Skills | Incentive | Resources | Action Plan | Success |
| Missing Input | Outcomes |
| Vision | Confusion |
| Skills | Anxiety |
| Incentive | Gradual Change |
| Resources | Frustration |
| Action Plan | False Starts |
| None | Success |
Fortunately, understanding this matrix allows you to course correct; you don’t need to wait until a process is complete to detect issues and address them. By monitoring the process as you go through the Change, you can identify these negative outcomes relatively early, and by understanding the Change Process, trace them back to faulty inputs; allowing you to address the problem and getting the effort back on track.
Contact us you’d like to gain access to this recording, or are interested in attending our future HR Leadership webinars.
