Whether it's a companywide or department change, you still
have to motivate your team to understand, participate and
accept the required changes. In order to motivate your
staff, you need to plan...plan...plan. What do you need
to plan?
-Understand what needs to change. Describe in detail the
issues and include your key staff as part of the process.
It may be helpful to use a mind-mapping tool that can help
you break out all the potential issues. Check out
www.mindjet.com for a simple solution to mapping out a
problem or a solution.
-What are the objectives of the change? Need to be
specific here...create a list of outcomes or values you
want to implement during the change. Whether you are
changing a brand image or introducing a new product, you
need to create a vision. Even if the change is small,
include the objectives. This is what drives the change.
-Plot out the risks of not changing as well as changing.
Risks are always part of business and to implement change
the risks of not changing must be greater than changing.
-Design potential solutions that will correct the problem.
It's important that the solution match the culture of the
department or company. If it doesn't then you will have a
two-tier change, which could potentially create more
resistance to the change.
-Don't move forward until you fully understand what the
change entails. The more steps in the new process or the
greater the number of people involved in the change, the
more complex the change will be. Use the mind-mapping tool
to flush out all the different parts of the change.
-Include the individuals who will be impacted by the
change. Allow them to be part of the process...either in
uncovering all the different components of the problem or
as part of the solution. It really depends on the people
involved. If you have professionals on your staff, they may
have strong analytical abilities and could add a lot to the
planning process.
Note: Keep in mind that most employees will react...no
matter what their position is within the organization.
Sometimes managers fault by thinking that professionals are
more mature in their reactions. They can be, but I've also
seen individuals who were in management or professional
roles react negatively to change. This happens when the
employee feels they or their position is in jeopardy.
So...don't make assumptions about people...instead do your
research about your staff and create a plan that includes a
whole range of potential reactions.
-Stress the benefits - include in your planning all the
benefits the change will provide to the people and to the
organization (department).
-Plan for training...as with any change, you do have to
train individuals how to perform the new process. The
more complex the change, the more extensive the training
needs to be. Training is continuous until the change is
fully implemented. As part of your planning, include
different ways to present the information. Since employees
absorb information in different ways...include in your
training program reading materials, visual aids and
interactive exercises to offer the information in different
ways. If you have trainers on your staff, they can be
instrumental in building the training plan. Otherwise, you
can get outside support for this part of your planning.
-Your communication plan....this has to be a robust project
plan. If you think that you have created enough
communication message and different mediums of
distribution...stop and add some more. Communication is
critical to the success of any change.
The above points are provided to start you thinking. If
your change is small, then this information is enough to
guide you. If the change is big, you will need a
professional to drive the project. Keep in mind that change
occurs at the employee level, so consider not only the
business objectives but also how to include your employees
in your planning.
----------------------------------------------------
Pat Brill is the author of the blog "Managing Employees"
http://www.ManagingEmployees.net , "The Secrets of a
Successful Time Manager"
http://www.SuccessfulTimeManager.com and "Manager's Guide
to Performance Improvement."
http://www.GuideToPerformance.com . You can reach Pat at
pat@TheInfoCrowd.com
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