Resistance to changeThe natural and normal reaction to change is resistance. Every
individual has a threshold for how much change they can absorb; however, the number one
reason front line employees resist change often surprises many project teams.
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The 2005 Best Practices Report identifies the top five reasons front line employees resist
change as:
Employees were not aware of the underlying business
need for change.
Lay-offs were announced or feared as part of the
change.
Employees were unsure if they had the needed skills
for success in the future state.
Individuals were comfortable with the current state;
they wanted to maintain the personal rewards and sense of accomplishment and fulfillment
provided by the status quo.
Employees felt they were being required to do more
with less, or do more for the same pay.
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Providing the needed information to increase employees'
awareness of the business need for change is the first and most
important proactive step in successful resistance management.
Proactive and reactive resistance management
Managing resistance during any business change should
include both proactive planning and reactive interventions. All too often, teams
rely exclusively on reactive measures when resistance has already resulted in productivity
loss and wasted time and resources.
Proactive resistance management involves
systematically identifying where resistance might come from and what it might look
like. The team identifies critical gaps and possible points of resistance, and
addresses them before they even emerge. Proactive resistance management requires
planning by the team and intervention from sponsors, managers and supervisors.
Reactive resistance management is in response to
specific points of resistance. In the reactive situation, the team must listen to
employees and identify the source of the resistance. Specific action steps should be
developed, communicated and implemented.
Resistance management plan
A resistance management plan
is a proactive approach to managing resistance. During the first phase of
your change management plan it is important to identify potential resistance points.
As your project implementation progresses, additional areas of resistance may
surface. Below are the four action steps to creating your resistance management
plan:
Define what resistance may look like for your change
and how it may be identified.
For each level with the impacted organization, define
a strategy for managing resistance to the change and prepare job aides. Refer to the
resistance management process (this will be provided in the next tutorial or can be found
in the Change Management Pilot). In most cases resistance is best managed by the direct supervisor or
highest level manager in the chain of command for that employee.
Managing resistance is not the sole responsibility of
the change management team or change management lead
Be sure to include a strategy for those impacted
audiences such as internal and external customers
Your strategy should include the WIIFM (what's in it
for me) for each level
Prepare and review the resistance management approach
with the primary sponsor.
Communicate this resistance management plan to
managers and coaches in their change management training sessions.
Scale your resistance management plan
Resistance will come in all different shapes and sizes,
depending on your specific change. The table below highlights critical
considerations regarding the customization of your resistance management activities based
on the size of the change and the attributes of the impacted
organization.
Resistance management customization grid
resistant
Organizational attributes
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- speed in dealing with resistance = slow
- severity of consequences = initially minor
with growing severity
- resistance management strategy = proactive
- primary coach = supervisor
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- speed in dealing with resistance = quick and
decisive
- severity of consequences = severe
- resistance management strategy = anticipate
resistance, proactively manage resistance
- primary coach = direct supervisor, highest
level in chain of command
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- speed in dealing with resistance = slow
- severity of consequences = minor
- resistance management strategy = reactive
- primary coach = supervisor or project team
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- speed in dealing with resistance = moderate
- severity of consequences = initially
moderate, ultimately severe
- resistance management strategy = reactive
- primary coach = direct supervisor, highest
level in chain of command
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small
large
Change
Characteristics |
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Summary
As a project team or change management team you should
expect resistance, but proactively manage and minimize that resistance to the best of your
ability - you will not be able to eliminate resistance. This tutorial provides you
the knowledge about the top five reasons employees resist change and gives you a starting
point to proactively manage resistance on your project and customize your resistance
management plan to your change and your organization. Upcoming tutorials in this
series will describe the different types of resistant employees and provide key steps in
the resistance management process including a resistance assessment worksheet using the
ADKAR model.
For a complete set of change management templates,
assessments and tools including resistance management, see the Change Management
Pilot.
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