How to Spot Resistance to Change in Your Company

How to Spot Resistance to Change in Your CompanyHow to Spot Resistance to Change in Your CompanyWhat is resistance to change in your workplace and how does it manifest itself? Resistance to change is the act of opposing or struggling with modifications or transformations that alter the status quo. Employees put up a wall when they are poorly introduced to changes, when it affects how they work and when they dont see the need for the changes. They also experience resistance when theyre eitherbei notlage involved in the decision making process or if theyre left out of the procedural aspects of the process. When employees believe their input welches considered, they are less likely to experience resistance to change. Smart employers recognize this is a given before employees are asked to make any changes. Dont Cause Employee Resistance to the Actions You Take First things first be mindful that you arent the reason behind the resistance. You can cause serious resistance when you intr oduce change to your organization. You have enough to deal with when it comes to managing the stages of change adoption. Why add the stress of managing employee resistance? Avoid all of this by taking your employees feelings into account. And pay attention and care to all the details from the inception to implementation of the changes in order to minimize employee backlash. Managing Employee Resistance Is Challenging Managing resistance to change is challenging for many reasons. Resistance to change can be covert or overt, organized, or individual. Employees may realize they dont like or want a change and resist publicly, and that can be very disruptive. In a worst-case scenario, employees can be forceful in their refusal to adopt any changes and thus, bring the confrontation and conflict to your organization. Employees can also feel uncomfortable with the changes introduced and resist, sometimes unknowingly, through their actions, their language and in the stories and conversat ions they share in the workplace. Covert resistance to change can damage the progress of your desired changes seriously as it is mora difficult to deal with resistance that isnt visible, demonstrated or expressed except in these type of actions. However resistance to change is caused or happens, it can be a big threat to the success of your business, and can affect the speed at which your organization adopts an innovation. It affects the feelings and opinions of employees at all stages of the adoption process. Employee resistance also affects the productivity, quality, interpersonal communication, employee commitment to contribution, and the relationships in your workplace. Spotting Employee Resistance to Change How do you spot resistance to change? Listen to the gossip and observe the actions of your employees. Note whether employees are missing meetings related to the change. Late assignments, forgotten commitments, and absenteeism can all be signs of resistance to change. Som ething as simple as listening to how employees talk about the change in meetings and hall conversations can tell you a lot about resistance. Some employees may come to you for help navigating the changes. They may also share that the level of resistance is bringing them down. Some employees will publicly challenge the change, why it was needed or how it is unfolding. An employee who has a higher position and more seniority may be more resolute in his or her resistance. Less well-positioned employees may resist collectively in ways such as a work slowdown, staying home from work, misunderstanding directions, and, in rarer cases, organizing the workplace to bring in a labor union. Resistance to change appears in actions such as verbal criticism, nitpicking details, loudly and verballyfailing to adopt, snide comments, sarcastic remarks, missed meetings, failed commitments, endless arguments, lack of support verbally, and even, in a worst-case scenario, committing outright sabotage. Emp loyees also resist change by failing to take action to move in the new direction, quietly going about their familiar and accustomed business in the same ways as always, withdrawing their interest and attention, and failing to add to the conversations, discussions, and requests for input. Repeated Stress From Changes Resistance to change can intensify if employees feel they have been involved in a series of changes that have had insufficient support to gain the anticipated results. They become change weary when this years flavor-of-the-month is quality. Organizations are constantly evolving, which means (continuous) change is inevitable. Last years change was continuous improvement, employee involvement, and team development. This year its a focus on serving internal customers, and three years ago, employees were asked to adopt a new management structure in a lean, agile workplace. With things constantly changing, its no wonder employees end up being resistant. Resistance is inte nsified because you need to gain support for the current change, which employees may or may not see in their best interests. You will also need to justify the former change and the need to change- again. Employees only have so much energy to contribute at work and you dont want to abuse it. Minimize Resistance to Change In an organization that has a culture of trust, transparent communication, employees who are involved and engaged, and positive interpersonal relationships resistance to change is easy to see- and also much less likely to occur. In such a work environment, employees feel free to tell their boss what they think and to have open exchanges with managers about how they think the changes are going. They are also more likely to share their feelings and ideas for improvement. In a trusting environment, employees think about how to make the change process go more smoothly. They are likely to ask their managers what they can do to help. When a change is introduced in this environment, with a lot of discussions and employee involvement, resistance to change is minimized. Resistance is also minimized if there is a widespread belief that the changes are needed. Find out more about how to reduce employee resistance to change.