What are the major issues in managing change?
Employee issues: Resistance to change
There’s an adage that states, “people don’t like to change” and change management experts made it clear that “if you can’t change your people, you can’t change anything” (Shore, n.d., as cited in Emerson, 2022). People’s unwillingness or resistance to change may perhaps be due to the fact that humans are creatures of habit. Every day, numerous employees engage in repetitive work behaviors that they get used to over time. This repetitiveness can have several consequences like making some workers resist changes that occur within an organization, especially those that occur immediately and without prior communication to its implementation. In this case, change resistance may be due to a lack of communication, miscommunication, as well as employees’ unwillingness to change.
Of course, there are countless other reasons that explain why people generally resist change. Change management expert, David A. Shore recognized this and mentioned that there will always be some sort of friction where change is concerned. He specifically stated that “people are people—carbon and water. As such, we resist change. It’s important to recognize that managing change is about upsetting people only at a rate that they can tolerate. It’s all about physics. For change there must be movement. With movement there is friction” (Shore, n.d., as cited in Emerson, 2022). It is thence highly recommended by change agents that these frictions and issues are addressed by management to minimize the fallouts that can occur when changes arise in the organization.
Management Issues: The nature of their strategy and approach
Change management issues can not only arise among employees but it can also be experienced among management. Precisely, management’s approach to change can stir up a few problems. On one hand, if management does not follow through on the changes, then employees will revert to their old ways. On the other hand, if management remains too rigid, inflexible, steadfast, and firm about their change management strategy, then consequences may arise. Emerson (2022) noted that being “too dogmatic and inflexible in implementing that plan can be equally detrimental to your long-term success”. In a world where change is constant, management has to remain adaptable and flexible in their approach. I like to think of it as water or a river like change expert David Shore alluded to. Essentially, water is shapeless and formless. It takes on any shape or form. In one of my favorite books, the 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene, the author referred to the formlessness of water and advised readers to assume that formlessness; always remaining flexible, fluid, and unpredictable. In this same vein, when management remains adaptable in their approach and change strategies, then they can reap the benefits of the implemented changes.
Timing
Finally, timing is everything! As with project management, having a set timeline is key to mitigate and deal with challenges that may arise along the way. If changes are implemented too quickly and at a “bad” time, as well as if changes take too long to be implemented, then in both cases, fallouts may occur. Regarding the former, when change is rushed, it can lead to increased resistance among employees and can also cause change fatigue. According to Emerson (2022) “one of the major pitfalls when starting a change initiative is to push too hard, for too much, and too quickly. Rushing through a change increases the risk of mistakes and removes the opportunity to respond appropriately to changing events. And moving too fast can quickly burn out both your team and your organization. Change fatigue can quickly undermine even the most enthusiastic team”. Meanwhile, taking too long to act can also have repercussions. “Waiting too long to launch a new product, for example, could leave an opening for your competitors” (Emerson, 2022). As such, establishing a timeline that includes a start date, duration, and end date can help keep change implementers on track and help the implementation process to be done at a steady pace.
How do learning and development relate to change management within an organization?
Learning and development plays a critical role in the change management process. Particularly, the implementation of new organizational procedures, strategies, and methods may require new knowledge and training. This reminds me of an implementation project that I worked on for one of the MDE courses. For this assignment, we were required to propose to an institution of our choice an application or tech tool that we want to implement. I remember choosing to implement Kahoot and I devised a strategic plan for introducing this application, to include everyone who should be involved and a reasonable timeline. We also had to mention probable sources of resistance within the institution/department/program we chose and how this would be overcome. In that paper, I remember noting that the instructors may resist the implementation of Kahoot! because they may lack the knowledge and digital competencies required to use and navigate the tool. My proposed solution to remedy this issue was to conduct online training, virtual workshops, and pilot sessions.
As I look back on this assignment and draw connections with this discussion activity and that course, I feel amazed at how interconnected and related the activities and instructional materials are throughout the MDE program.
Needless to say, online training or training in general is often used to introduce new mechanisms to employees or to fill knowledge and skills gaps within an organization. “If an expected change will require new training and none is offered, you can bet on resistance and lots of it. Training new ways or techniques within a company is important, especially if you have a wide generational age of employees who communicate and learn differently” (BrightHub, 2010). Change management, learning, and development are therefore intertwined with each other. Perhaps, biologists might even go as far as to say that they have a symbiotic relationship.
How can the business impact of learning and development on change be determined?
The impact may be determined in different ways. However, for the most part, measurement, assessment, and evaluation may just be the perfect tool(s) to decipher how learning and development is impacting the change strategy. Management may observe behavioral changes over a period of time to figure this out while they may also administer tests, appraisals, or examine analytics or other data obtained from an online L&D portal to make this determination. In the end, the measurement, evaluation, and assessment tools that they use, or a combination can provide information that relates to the effects of L&D on change. Other possible determinants may be to review employee performance and productivity. They may want to find out if there’s any change like an increase or decrease in productivity and/or performance as a result of the L&D. As such, a variety of measures can be used to make this determination.
As always, I look forward to viewing your perspectives on this subject matter!
Krista
MDE student
University of Maryland Global Campus
University of Maryland Global Campus | UMGC
References
BrightHub. (2010, July 29). A list of the top 10 change management challenges and issues. BrightHub Project Management. https://www.brighthubpm.com/change-management/80049-top-ten-change-management-issues-and-how-to-handle-them/
Emerson, M. (2022). 7 reasons why change management strategies fail and how to avoid them. Professional Development | Harvard DCE. https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/7-reasons-why-change-management-strategies-fail-and-how-to-avoid-them/