At Vana, we specialize in change management – particularly in Agile coaching & training. Wondering how you can implement changes at your company? With less pushback from employees & executives and improved user adoption? Here are some of our top tips.
Get Top-Down Support & Do Things Right the First Time!
First, make sure you structure your team to maximize its potential. Engage senior leaders and sponsors, and make sure that your managers and executives “buy-in,” so that the employees they’re managing see that they are on board with the changes.
This helps ensure that you take the proper steps to create positive change directly out of the gate – and get things right the first time. If your company fails to make major changes effectively, this can encourage more pushback in the future – so it’s important to get things right the first time!
Communicate Effectively
Be clear with your team about why you’re implementing changes – and the impact it will have on them. Transparency and clear communication are essential for getting your team to buy-in and get on board with changes.
Make sure you are communicating the changes clearly through every level of your organization, and always make sure that your employees can communicate with their managers and superiors to voice their concerns.
Identify the Root Causes of Resistance – And Expect It!
Common causes of resistance and low user adoption include lack of awareness, worries about the impact of a change on a job, lack of visibility, and a desire to maintain the status quo. Expect there to be resistance and make plans to address these issues. A few ways to address resistance to change include:
- Getting buy-in from team leaders, particularly those from teams that are likely to resist the change due to factors like getting more work, or who are highly invested in the previous ways of getting things done.
- Discussing changes in-depth with employees who are resistant to the idea of change.
- Showing the benefits and opportunities that change will provide for the company in the long run.
- Communicating clearly and having an “open door” policy so that concerned employees can discuss the changes with their managers and supervisors.
Set Achievable, Challenging & Engaging Goals
Make sure you do not set unrealistic goals. Your goals should be achievable yet challenging, exciting, and engaging to your employees. Reaching these goals will encourage them and help streamline the adoption of change.
In contrast, extremely lofty or unachievable goals can cause morale to deteriorate. Employees will wonder why you’re making changes that aren’t accomplishing what you set out to do or will be discouraged by the impossibility of meeting your corporate objectives.
Focus on Conflict Resolution
Don’t ignore internal conflict. Resolve conflicts between teams and individuals as soon as you can. Leaving conflicts alone will only cause them to fester and get worse over time. Identify the people in your company who are the most likely to resist change, and work to bring them onto your side.
Develop A Change Management Process
A comprehensive change management process will provide individual teams and employees with the tools they need to understand the change in your business and get on board with the process.
Be Positive, Passionate, Persuasive and Supportive
Be as positive as you can about your change and show that you’re passionate about what your organization is doing. Support your employees throughout this change and be persuasive, never stop reminding them about why you’re making a change.
Understand that it won’t always be easy and that’s when your employees need positivity and support the most. If your organization can maintain a good attitude toward change, all of the changes you want to make will fall into place naturally.
Empower Innovation & Creativity
Ensure that your employees have room to be creative and innovate and use unique approaches to manage change. Let them make suggestions to you, and make sure their feedback is heard.
By incorporating feedback from employees into your change management strategy, you can make them feel like they’re being listened to, which makes them more likely to buy into your new strategy!
Identify the ROI Based on Your Changes
This is a great way to get buy-in from every level of the company. Make it clear what the ROI (return on investment) of the change will be. Maybe your workers will be able to save time on a project or use fewer resources. Make the benefits and ROI clear, and they will be more likely to buy-in.
Whether you’re having trouble getting executives on board, or you just need to clearly communicate the positive benefits of changes to employees lower on the organizational chart, providing a concrete ROI is sure to help.
Follow These Tips and Change Your Organization
Managing change isn’t always easy. But with these tips from Vana Solutions, you’ll be able to make changes with less pushback, and create a more effective, lean organization!
