August Community of Practice Webinar - How to manage resistance to change!

transcript

Presented by:Vicky EmeryGeneral Manager, Being HumanProsci Advanced Instructor

Change Community of Practice Webinars

Working with Resistance

Introducing Being Human• Founded in 1993• Our mission: develop change-capable

people and organisations to achieve the benefits of change

• Prosci Primary Affiliate Australia and New Zealand since 2006

• Support at project level: Prosci-Certified Change Managers to support projects and Change Practitioners

• Build skilled application: Prosci Advanced Instructors – deliver programs for Change Practitioners, Project Managers, Executives, Managers and Employees

• Build Enterprise-wide change capability & Change Portfolio Management - consulting and contracting

Agenda

• What does resistance look like and what are the impacts?

• Where does it come from and what are the reasons?

• What does Best Practices Benchmarking Study say about resistance and how to manage it?

• Top 5 Tips - Advice for Change Practitioners

• Close

Prosci® Flight Risk Model

With change, expect a decline in productivity and an increase in resistance.

1st Communication or 1st Rumor

Productivity lossEmployee dissatisfactionPassive resistance

Turnover of valued employeesTangible customer impactActive resistanceOpt-out of the change

Multiple changes within the organization aggravate and compound this risk.

Prosci® Flight Risk Model

1st Communication or 1st Rumor

Project 1

Project 3

Project 2

What does resistance look and sound like?

Covert resistance• Schedule gets drawn out through late decisions• Deliverables run late• Discussion – lots…• Low participation• No-shows at key meetings

Overt resistance• Refusal to adopt the change• Industrial Action• Sabotage of the change or organisation• Loss of staff or clients

Most Resistant Group?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Executives and Directors

Senior-Level Managers

Middle-level Managers

Front-line Employees

Percentage of Respondents

The Top Reasons for Employee Resistance

Lack of Awareness of Why a Change is Needed1

Change Specific Resistance2

Change Saturation3

Lack of Support From Management or Leadership5

The Top Reasons for Manager Resistance

Organizational Culture1

Lack of Awareness and Knowledge About the Change2

Lack of Buy-in3

Misalignment of Project Goals and Personal Incentives4

Lack of Confidence in Their Own Ability to Manage the People Side of Change5

What Drives Resistance?

The enablers or elements that may create a desire to change include:

Hope in future state

Trust and respect for leadership

Incentive or compensation

Ownership for the future state

Acquisition of power or position

Career advancement

Affiliation and a sense of belonging

Enhanced job security

Imminent negative consequences

Discontent with the current state

Fear of job loss

When does it happen?

65% 63%

50% 49%

19% 19%

Initiation Planning Design Implementation Closure

Resistance During Each Stage of the Project LifecycleNo Resistance Little or Some Resistance Significant Resistance

Tip 1: Stay connected & use your network to spot resistance• You can’t do this work from your

desk – develop healthy channels:• Managers• Change Champions• Customers

• Have regular check-ins with Managers – help them spot it, too

• Are you still hearing ‘why?’ Check your cascades

• Are current communication channels and methods working?

Tip 2 – Don’t take it at face-value, dig into it• Understand what the resistance is really about

• What reasons are people using to delay/stop the change? Look deeper…

• Look deeper, look for patterns• How is it a ‘clue’ about what is really

important to this group or this person?• Is what you are seeing part of the

culture – is it helping or not? Is changing the culture part of the targeted outcomes for this change or not? How do you work with it?

• See Tip 1! Use your network to validate the concerns

Tip 3: Act quickly• Reconfirm the big picture before

moving into local impact• Have examples of the impact for that

team or person – including the hard news

• Share examples of how other teams or people have dealt with the concern

• Acknowledge the history and impact of past changes

• Do not promise what you cannot• Acknowledge shift• Get the right person to have these

conversations• What if they are right?

Tip 4: Invest in Maintaining Desire

Managers cannotdictate or control an employee's desire to change. Employees

choose. However, that does not mean that

managers are powerless to manage

change.

• Best approach for building and maintaining desire? Sponsorship –at all levels

• Check your layers and cascades• Be clear on your role and that of

the Sponsor • Build regular check-ins and lots of

two way loops – awareness and desire building isn’t just for the beginning!

• This is the most time-consuming element, the most critical and has the most pay-off

Tip 5: Share the Wins!• Socialisation is big! The power of

collective wisdom• Use information from any ‘pilot’ up

front• Get and share the data – how are

other people actually adopting the change? Share staff and customer stories

• Give people the information they need to make the choice to support the change - continually

• How can you use former detractors?

• Leverage the enthusiasm people have for the results they have achieved or the outcomes for them

More info

beinghuman.com.au• Free Prosci Webinars • Free Change Community of Practice Webinars

Prosci • prosci.com• portal.prosci.com

August Community of Practice Webinar - How to manage resistance to change!

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