When it comes to organisational change programmes, the management of resistance can so easily be overlooked. Instead organisations plough on regardless, with little consideration to the employees impacted. One of our articles in our Change Series [https://moveplangroup.com/2024/08/23/how-can-organisations-overcome-resistance-to-change/] looks at how common it is for organisations to face change resistance, why it typically occurs and how to overcome it.
Here we look specifically at what resistance management is when it’s part of organisational change and how managing resistance is one of the most important parts of the change management process.
The formal definition of resistance management is the “strategic approach that helps organisations adopt new processes, technology, and workplace cultures with minimal friction”. It involves identifying and addressing potential sources of resistance and developing strategies to overcome them. According to PROSCI (the standard by which all our consultants are accredited) over half of the resistance experienced by employees during any change taking place could be avoided by effectively applying change management. PROSCI also found that the main reason for resistance is the employees’ lack of awareness of why the change is needed. This boils down to communication (or often the lack of). We have covered the reasons for effective communication in our article “How to effectively communicate change in the workplace” [https://moveplangroup.com/2024/08/26/how-to-effectively-communicate-change-in-the-workplace].
As important as communicating the need for change is in mitigating resistance, identifying, understanding and correctly responding to resistance is also a process that must be deployed. Putting in place a thoughtful, considered and strategic plan is a must - particularly one that considers the reasons behind the project and the triggers for resistance, alongside audience-centric tactics to manage the different types of resistance that may occur.
Resistance management can be a successful tool in the delivery of a project. Let’s look at how to do this in practice.
We have discussed why resistance occurs, and the need to identify how and where it can come from. Here are six ways to approach resistance to change in your organisation:
1. Communicate clearly
Be open. By keeping staff informed about any and all changes - and the reasons behind them - will help stave off concern, worries and resistance. It also allows questions and concerns to be shared, from which you can learn more about the ways in which to manage the change
2. Leaders at the front!
Leaders must be trained to identify resistance to change and ways to address it - and then be the ones to communicate it. Make sure that any communication of the change is provided by the leaders. This will help build trust in the decisions and by being seen to lead from the front, there will be more acceptance.
3. Listen to employees
Listen - and don't shy away from hearing things you may not want to hear. By actively listening, you can really understand the concerns, the cause of the concerns and then activate tactics that will appeal to the employees. This is more likely to help the implementation of change happen with less resistance.
4. Identify and involve Change Champions
We talk about this more in our Change Series article, “The importance of using Change Champions in change programmes” [https://moveplangroup.com/2024/09/12/our-change-series-the-importance-of-using-change-champions-in-change-programmes/]. Change Champions are ambassadors that act as a bridge between the organisation and the change consultants, helping to communicate and introduce the project to their groups in a way that is trusted and accepted. This will really help in building support and buy-in to the project.
5. Don’t be gung-ho!
Plan for a staged approach to implementation - with advance warning and ample communication of when, what, who, why and where the change will take place.
6. Make amends
Once underway, always review and reflect on the changes taking place and how they’re being received. We discuss this more in our Change Series article, “The importance of checking in on change” https://moveplangroup.com/2024/09/24/our-change-series-the-importance-of-checking-in-on-change/
PROSCI’s research shows that projects with excellent change management plans are more than six times more likely to achieve their outcomes than projects with poor change management. This is often down to the preplanning, the communication and the continual review of the change programme. Ultimately it is also about not shying away from hearing things you don't want to. Being ready to accept that resistance will happen will make you a better change implementer - and the project will be more successful.
– Is your organisation embarking on a period of change? Do you want support in managing this change? Contact us at info@moveplangroup.com
– For further information about our change management programmes, visit our services page [https://moveplangroup.com/services/]
