Understanding Employees' Resistance to Change

4 -Step Quick Reference Guide

“Employees should not feel change is happening to them but rather they are a part of it.”

– Dr. Kay

Employees’ resistance to change efforts is normal and should be expected as a part of the change. Leaders and designated agents of change need to understand what resistance is, why it happens, and best practices to combat resistance throughout the change process. This will help drive understanding, adoption, support, and maintain adoption by employees.

Step 1: Understand what resistance to change is and its causes.

Resistance to change occurs when an employee or group performs an action(s) that is opposing or struggling with the changes that may alter the workplace.

Some of the common underlying causes of resistance are:

1. Fear, anxiety, and insecurity about the change
2. Confusion or lack of awareness and understanding of why the change is occurring
3. Degree of impact on the current role and/or responsibilities
4. Lack of organizational support of the change efforts
5. Negative outcomes of past project release i.e. loss of jobs or position

Step 2: Understand why resistance occurs.

Resistance and degrees of resistance to change efforts can occur at any time throughout the life cycle of the project.

Step 3: Learn what does resistance looks like.

Resistance can be manifested in many ways including covert (subtle behavior changes) or overt (publicly and/or verbally), at a group or individual level. All types of employees can experience or manifest some form of resistant behaviors at any time during the project life cycle. Below are some common behaviors that you may notice:

1. Decrease in participation in key activities
2. Excessive complaints or spreads rumors about the pending changes
3. Does not provide requested information or resources
4. Disruptive behaviors during and/or after meetings

Step 4: Deal with resistance in a timely and effective manner.

By understanding the underlying causes and behaviors of resistance, you can help your business area and the program team to create an effective change strategy to address, prevent, and/or decrease resistance enterprise-wide. In addition, feedback from resistant employees can be helpful in identifying areas of concern, new end-user groups or additional required resources.  

Methods to support employees during the change process:

You can’t always make employees feel comfortable, eliminate resistance, or agree with the change. However, you can help to create an atmosphere where employees feel they are a part of the change rather than the change is happening to them to increase acceptance as well as adoption. This will help to minimize and/or decrease the level of resistance of an employee.

Some effective methods include:

1. Continuously communicate about change efforts and the program your organization is implementing (I recommend branding and marketing campaigns)
2. Continuously engage and involve employees during the change process, especially when implementing the solutions to resistance  
3. Encourage employees to submit questions, concerns, and feedback to the program leadership and team in a timely manner
4. Look, Listen, and Act: Look for signs and listen for things that are not going well, resistance, and/or what is working
5. Create an effective Change Network of employees at all levels: Leadership, Manager/Supervisors, and Employees and meet often
6. Incorporate an evaluation of the Change Network’s effectiveness into your measurement plan, make changes as need

By: Dr.  Kay Lackey

Thought of the Day: Marathon of Life

Life is not a rat race to get in line with everyone else. It is a personal best marathon with straight paths, twists and turns, and breakaway points.

During your marathon, there will be times when you run with a group, you run alone or you stumble, fall, and have to pick yourself up. Sometimes you need to run with people who will uplift and thrust you forward, while other times you need to stop running with those who pull and drag you down.

Do not be afraid to change you running partners, direction, and outfit; because as life changes, so will your style of running, speed, and people around you.

When you experience change, remember to recalculate your happiness formula to find your personal best time to complete your run. Do not worry about what is going on around you. Stay focused on you goals (Goal Setting).

Have an awesome Tuesday,

Dr. Kay

Succession Planning and Management (SPM)

Succession Planning and Management (SPM) is one of the major components of workforce planning aside from traditional HR functions. In fact, SPMs are essential to doing business because no matter how certain the future seems, we need to plan for the big picture. The big picture focuses on current and future needs as well as possible unplanned events which affect how an organization functions. For instance, a leader may become ill, tender resignation, or an unexpected weather event such as tornado that displaces key employees. I suggest organizations create SPM plans to ensure continued operation of the organization. Based on my experience, I recommend creating a SPM at least 3-5 years prior to the projected key role vacancy date with an “emergency temporary succession,” in case the leader is unexpectedly unable to maintain the role to death, illness, or resignation. 

SPMs are defined as an organization’s systematic approach to attract, hire, and retain key employees to ensure continuous leadership for key roles within the organization through personalized training to develop his/her knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for advancement. There are three things involved in succession planning, which include:

 Replacement Planning: reactive planning to replace employees in key roles based on organization’s “silos” of names of employees who could potentially fill the vacancy.  Generally, it is assumed that the organizational structure will not change and employees’ readiness is assessed for the role. There is little to no direct development of employees.

Succession Planning: proactive planning to replace employees in key roles based on identified talent pools. Generally, an individualized/group development plan is created based on organizational bench marks to ensure the identified employee pool is ready for advancement when a vacancy becomes available.

Succession Management: Overall management of the leadership transition process.

Succession management steps can include but are not limited to the following. To make it easier, I have matched the steps to the change management process:

1.      Identify Key Roles (Define Stage)

·         Ex. Ex. Deliverables: identify stakeholders, potential dates of vacancies, business goals/objectives, visions, etc…

2.      Preform Succession Assessment i.e. Competency Skills Gap, Organization Readiness, etc. (Define/Design Stage)

·         Ex. Deliverables: potential talent pool profiles (internal/external applicants), recruitment/retention strategies, retirement readiness, temporary “emergency succession pool, and reports outlining results of organizational readiness and skill competencies gap assessments.

3.      Create Individual/ Talent Pool Development Plans  (Design/Develop Stage)

·         Ex. Deliverables: Individual career path plans, training materials, revised job descriptions to include succession path, and etc.

4.      Implement Development Plans (Deploy)

·         Ex. Deliverables: Trainings, Job Assignment Rotation, and other activities to increase skills and knowledge.

5.      Evaluate, Revise, and Maintain Succession Planning (Deploy/Hand-off)

·         Ex. Deliverables: Make changes to plan based on vacancy inventory, skill gaps competencies, and changes in current/future needs of the organization.

Succession management is an ongoing and continuously evolving guide or roadmap that outlines succession.  Plans are not set in concrete and should not be overly complicated to change. Remember, organizations needs will change based on current/future needs, therefore, positions can be added or eliminated at any time.

Resource: Here is an example of a good succession plan that I found on Doc Stoc, http://www.docstoc.com/docs/9655607/Sample-Succession-Plans.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Dr. Kay

Message of The Day: Happiness Formula

You can read many books on what happiness is and how you can obtain it. However, happiness is different from each person to the next, much like their definition of success. In all of my travels and work experience, I have found some commonalities, so I complied a formula. Yes! A formula.

Happiness = Being content + Ending with a Daily Positive + Knowing No Situation is Permanent + Being a Self Supporter, Not Critic + Never Failing to Get Up After You Fall + Celebrating Small Wins + Embracing Your Originality + Dream Big + Knowing You Deserve Happiness.

Remember to add or subtract to get your maximum happy!


Dr. Kay

10 Easy Tips to Network Effectively

       

Like personal branding, networking is not an event solely intended to find employment but its a tool that helps you grow within your current organization. Opportunities can present themselves at any moment because you never know you are talking to.  Therefore, it is essential for you to position yourself and be ready (Check out 5 Ways to Position Yourself for Success).

So, what do you think of when you hear the word “networking?” Most of the individuals I have worked with say three things:

1. Its scary. Correct. Network is often approaching someone you do not know and beginning a  conversations. You are not always asking for something, instead, you are building a solid mutually beneficial relationship. In creating a mutual beneficial relationship, you come to understand the person, their current/potential needs, personal/professional interest, and build trust.  Trust is essential if you want someone to genuinely help you and/or your cause and brings forth actions because they want to see you succeed.
2. You only do it when you need a job. Wrong. networking can help further you within your current organization, personal interest, as well as find new job opportunities. The goals of networking is not to get a job but its the building of relationships or partnerships with others to be the best version of ones' self. Plus, you never know what the future holds.... learn to plan ahead :). 
3. I know networking is important. But how can I do it? There is no easy answer to this question because everyone communicates in a differently. However, here are 10 Tips of Effective Networking, I have used. 

• Prepare: You need to be mentally, physical, and emotional prepared for networking. To decrease the stress, think of  networking as just a series of small conversations.  Also, if you attending a formal networking event remember to dress the part and be on time.  Do not over think what you will say, be confident, and smile.
• Don't dominate the conversation: Networking is relationship building, so you want to get the conversation started but give others a chance to join and actively listen to their responses. Maintain eye contact, nod, and have good spacial proximity. The goal is to make a good first lasting impression in their minds. 
• Brand yourself but not all at once: Remember this is a conversation, so do not give your formal elevator speech. Instead, find ways to work into the conversation while keeping the conversation light and informal. 
• Stay focused: Know what you want to achieve from networking, commit to it, and make time to work toward your goal. (Check out The Problem and Solution to Goal Setting) 
• Network across industries: In today's global market many organizations are seeking employees with myriad knowledge or skills set. Therefore, it is important to have contact in many area to increase knowledge and skill base beyond your industry. 
• Don't worry about rejection. Remember networking is a series of small conversation, so do not feel bad if your conversation is cut short. Not everyone you meet will share the same interest and/or may have a list of preferred people he/she wants to meet. 
• Make a promise, keep it: If you make a promise to complete an action or project then complete it in the timely manner. Remember this is your first impression, so you want to show that you do what you say you will do. 
• Be flexible: You never know when a networking opportunity may arise or how formal it will be. Be able to adjust to the networking environment easily and transition in/out of conversations easily. You may want to prepare same sample ice breakers cheat sheet to help. 
• Have fun and be positive: You know who you are, what your passions are, and what you want to achieve. So do not be nerves, just state the obvious. Have fun, smile, and be confident. 
• Follow-up: Networking is relationship building therefore you want to remain in contact after your initial meeting (usually within 24-48 hrs after). When sending the initial follow-up remember to add where, when, and how you meet because some people may not remember your name. Also, if possible mention something you enjoyed when speaking with them. 

Dr. Kay

Quote of the Day

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." William James

I believe when you alter your mind, you can change your life. Life is perception and nothing more. How you live is based on the limitations that you place on your own life. Anyone can do anything with work and patience but you have to be willing to do it. A lot of people have potential but lack the drive or the willingness to complete the set task. 

Just a thought,

Dr. Kay

What are you attracting?

I received a magazine in the mail and in it there was an article about Oprah and her notion of "Gratitude" and  the "Law of Attraction". So, you could say that this post is inspired by Oprah. In the article, Oprah stated if you want to have good things come into your life, you need to be thankful for what you have. She added that you will receive what you attract, so if you want positive things then think positive.

So the question is...

Does Success = Gratitude + Positive Thinking? 

Personally, I feel that there is a connection. But is life that simple? Can thinking positive and being thankful for what you have, ensure you will get all of the things you want in life????