Reduce residual resistance to change

Strategic change planning should be considered with a well-developed action plan and adaptive monitoring process.

Apparently, a successful big change is not a one-time incident but a series of progressive activities along the whole process from the start of the change until the settlement of related factors.

Some businessmen tend to expect a quick win from a big change. For example, a change from outside top management recruited to make an improvement in a troubled operation may end up a total failure – after a few months of sudden change initiatives – due to a lack of proper change strategy and effective implementation.

The following are some considerations in developing a good change strategy before making a radical change:

• Threat to job security: Some changes can be perceived as negative for job security, such as the introduction of new technology to replace manual operations to boost efficiency.

• Lack of corporate culture understanding: Change leaders should understand the existing culture of the organisation under the change initiative. Before introducing new things, it is advisable to understand how people are doing things and assess the level of acceptance to ensure success. The Western management style may need to be customised before it is applied to Eastern culture companies.

• Ineffective communication: A lack of proper communication in the change process is one of the root causes of several change failures. Communication can be made in different forms such as official announcements, internal meetings and press releases. People need to select the right channel of communication at the right time.

• Low morale of existing staff: Any change can be viewed as either positive or negative, depending on the expectation of the consequences of the change. In many cases, bad handling of people’s morale results in high employee turnover. It is risky to let the change go on without giving proper coaching to the change agents.

To ensure a successful big change, management needs to come up with a well formulated strategy that can respond to unexpected situations and minimise negative impacts by taking into account the factors discussed above. The right strategy will not make people feel the change negatively.

The following are some tips:

• Choose the right change leader: The right candidate to start the change process should be properly selected, taking into account the character and style that work well with the team members of the changing organisation. Sometimes it is advisable to guide and coach the change leader from time to time to ensure success. Leaving the whole change process to one person may not be a good decision.

• Start from a small change: The major change will start from small. It is risky to make an overall change at one time. On the other hand, too many small changes over a short period of time can send the wrong message and confuse people. For example, procedural and policy changes may start from necessary subjects first. The whole ERP system change may be started after understanding clearly the existing operation. It requires a proper action plan.

• Employee engagement: Management should get key employees involved in any changes to be made. This can be in the form of consultation or a committee. Listening to comments and suggestions from employees is a critical success factor. Top-down change can cause wrong implications and lead to misperceptions.

• Plan-B preparation: A backup plan is needed to cope with unexpected results and consequences. Management needs to keep monitoring from both quantitative and qualitative information. A proper response to a new development resulting from the change activities can help alleviate any negative impact.

A major change in an organisation may be inevitable. The question is how to minimise unwanted resistance and increase positive perceptions to avoid losses or damage to the company. Making change natural through a well-developed strategy is key to the change’s success.

Yanyong Thammatucharee, head of international finance and operations at Central Marketing Group, can be reached at [email protected].