BREAKING BARRIERS TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT



To every hurdle, there is a solution, when one seeks it. The ease of life today is a result of the relentlessness of a few who were determined to find answers to life’s challenges. It is obvious change is not easily embraced by employees in any organization and it is simply so because most change initiatives ultimately enrich the employer at the loss of the employees.

Since change is often perceived by employees as a means to bend the back of employees, it requires a lot more tactful measures to drive it through the hearts of those on whose shoulders the organization stands or falls. Smart business leaders usually use a lot more nuanced approach to tackle matters that discomfort the workforce.

Advanced business leaders do identify themselves as one with the laborers by cutting off all high and lofty titles and complicated systems of communication in order to be laterally identified as one of their own – maximizing the unitarist perspective of employee relations. 

Here are some of the very basic but highly effective and result-oriented strategies to effectively implement change among any class of the workforce:

  1. Effective Communication

Effective communication is everything! It is interesting to note that at the height of skillful communication, coup d’états have been carried out without bloodshed – that is the power of dialogue and honest Tet a Tet. The staff of any firm feel recognized, respected and valued when they are consulted on matters that affect their work. Most people feel a sense of responsibility and duty to see initiatives succeed just because they were part of the decision-making process and will want to have a feel of the success of what they have been a part of.

  1. Education

In some cases, change initiatives are simply pushed back because the people involved are simply oblivious and ignorant on the rationale, motive and goal of the change in question. Owing to the fact above, it becomes very important for all change managers who encounter resistance in the implementation of change to seek among other things to patiently educate the feuding parties all about what the change is seeking to accomplish within the firm. And go further to spell out what the concerned party stands to enjoy, in the short and long term. This must not go without mentioning that education must be one of the key preliminary steps that must be done before change is implemented. However, should the preliminary education fail, there still remains other means to help those who may still not be privileged to what is happening.

  1. Participation and involvement

Change concerns a spectrum of stakeholders which include suppliers, clients, and shareholders among others but key among these are the employer and the employees of the firm. Any kind of change or reform that affects the work done by these parties requires that they are all engaged and considered in the deliberations and finalization of all that will soon take place. The level of participation may not be equal as the stakes in the organization may not be the same, this notwithstanding, any party that feels left out in this manifold agenda will definitely demonstrate some displeasure at the implementation stage which will upset the expected success.  

  1. Negotiation and compromise

The negative effects of change in the workspace often affect the ‘poor’ workforce. It is only in a few instances like the effect of legal provisions and government policies that the employer gets affected. At times that the losses are so grave to one party, one of the most viable means to survival is the negotiation among the affected parties to agree on some terms to minimize the losses to the worst affected in a very mutually inclusive manner and ultimately for the survival of the business.

  1. Prudent manipulation

Some form of manipulation is required when it comes to the point where one party in the employment relationship turns down every reasonable appeal and is not willing to cooperate in any way. There are times when the other party must use a lot of tact and shrewdness in the common interest of the survival of the business. This comes in many ways including the use of psychological, social, and coercive manipulative tools to get the dissenting party along.

 

These strategies are not a quick fix to change management but do require the intelligence, intentionality, and commitment of business leaders to follow through the process in order to get the best from the workforce. We hope one or a couple of these ideas will be a game changer in the change management practice of your small, medium, and large enterprises. Thank you for reading.

 

PAUL ANANG AMASAH

14TH NOVEMBER, 2024

THE COLLEGE BUSINESS CONSULT

thecollegebc@gmail.com



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