Managing Change in the Workplace - Five Easy Tips

Wanna make changes at your new workplace? Here are a few tips to help you before making huge mistakes.

1) Hold your horses and keep your ear to the ground first!

Get off the horse and listen closely to the pulse of the organization before you make any radical new changes. In fact, many 'new' changes may have already been attempted by someone else before you and the changes either did not stick because the person before you gave up after discovering what they were up against, or they simply were not the right changes to be made.

A new position of authority at any level is an exciting feeling for an individual. Not only are they given control over certain key areas of the business, they can also make changes as they see fit, within their power. But, all too often the individual does not take enough time to really get to know how things ended up the way they are.

One has to understand the system fully and get to know the people and processes in place at a personal level, rather than relying on what I call 'blueprint evaluation' - that is to say, simply relying on the overall business model without getting to know the people first. Just because a system looks good on paper, does not mean it will work in the real world.

2) Know what you are up against.

Are people willing to change? Are some folks resisting simply because they don't want to change? Is there a false sense of ripping people from their perceived comfort zones? Do some staff members hate their jobs? Did some staff lose faith in the organization because of poor leadership? There is a lot of homework to do before implementing changes.

Some staff members who have been at a place for years have been developing routines, sometimes painstakingly, and may be reluctant to change. This may be because they have had a new manager a number of times who had come in and made changes, but then someone new took over with their changes and so they may not take new leadership seriously.

Because of the ebb and flow of changing leaders, staff members are sometimes left to their own devices because they can't be sure how long a new leader may last AND depending on the level of supervision they had before, weeds may have grown that need to be removed. Just because somebody has developed a routine, does not mean it is the right way of doing things and poor routines can seriously compromise productivity.

3) Implement changes gradually.

I worked under a 'new manager' back in 2000 when I was five years into my career as a live sound mixer/Live Event AV technician. Not only did he make radical changes in a hurry, he 'stopped' certain revenue streams before he decided on what would replace them. The result - failure! The place lost so much money that they fired him and his four managing partners and scrambled to replace them before it was too late.

I was asked to take over the task of booking the entertainment and manage the technical side of things at the same time. The place stabilized for several months and I booked some great shows, until I decided that I wanted to resume my focus as a technician, so I suggested that they find somebody to take over the booking. In walked another manager and he kept things lively for quite a few months until he decided to leave to pursue other interests.

In walked another 'new manager' who, of course, made radical changes, spent too much money too soon and the place finally folded. And that was all under one roof - imagine what goes on daily in a city of two million plus! I have personally witnessed similar situations on many occasions.

The most successful changes I have either been a part of or implemented myself happened gradually, unless there was an urgent need for change (like re-introducing the lost revenue stream as mentioned above). I was once in a dentist chair and saw the dentist whip out a needle to freeze my gum and I panicked. I asked him if he was going to numb it first and he said there was no need to. I allowed him to proceed, of course, and after about four minutes or so of 'the freezing process', I asked him why I barely noticed the needle and he replied very calmly: "Because I took my time."

4) Monitor the effects of change regularly.

Address any problems that may arise because of the changes - if it ain't workin', tweak it or change it! If a process gets interrupted down the line and it wasn’t foreseen, it must be corrected. Better yet, do more research to find out what may be affected before it happens. Create a detailed map and follow it.

Also keep an eye and ear out for 'resistance'. A new procedure may have been implemented, but perhaps somebody may go back to their old methods. Open the lines of communication to reiterate the importance of the new procedure. Nobody drives down a highway without constantly correcting their direction with their steering wheel. But, too loose a grip and the car will spin out of control; too tight a grip and you'll lose the resilience to respond quickly to problems.

5) Communicate with everyone involved (and be sure to involve them).

People like to be part of things, no matter what level they are at. If somebody is sweeping the floor and a boss were to ask their opinion, they may suddenly feel more important than they felt the moment before. Not communicating with a person or a group can lead to those 'weeds' I was talking about above - the routines and processes which have evolved poorly.

I was recently told about a situation where a worker had questioned a process which had been going on for quite a while. She asked her boss if she could change the way she did things because the regular way seemed somewhat antiquated, considering how far technology had advanced since the regular way was implemented. Her boss told her that the process had already been changed for a while and was surprised that she was still doing it the old way. But, nobody told her about the change! How many hours or days could have been saved by filling her in on the 'new way'?

I remember asking an advertising professional, who deals a lot with technology, about change in her workplace and she said:

"I think that people will accept change if they feel like they are a part of the decision making process. They want to know that their experience and work habits are taken into consideration and are more apt to get on board if they feel they are a part of the change and not just part of the machinery that has to change."

In short, there is emotion involved in every level of the 'machine' and changes should be made with the intention of maintaining harmony while increasing productivity. Every new system should be designed to live on as a legacy in the absence of the person who created it; and if it is good enough, it should stand the test of time.

- B. Moore

The New Boss at Work

I've seen it happen over and over again - a new boss is hired to manage a team. At first, this situation can make people nervous because they fear they may have to put up with drastic changes or the new boss may not be as nice as the old boss and some may feel like they will be targeted for the chopping block. Uneasy feelings and secret conversations may prevail and that's not a sign of a healthy workplace.

To make matters worse, new bosses may not formally introduce themselves right away and perhaps there will be no official meeting set up to introduce them. This can further make staff members feel uneasy as there can be so many questions left unanswered as the new boss lurks around keeping tabs on the workplace and how it runs. The 'business as usual' concept simply does not work in such situations.

Further complicating things, there may be new directives put in place through impersonal emails or staff members may be subject to hearsay from others who are 'in the know'. I know of one particular situation where a new manager walked around a workplace making changes and questioning everything during the first few days of her new position, which tended to interrupt processes.

So, what can a humble employee do in such situations?
1) Just keep doing what you are doing and be confident that you are doing your best work possible.
2) If you aren't, it would be time to turn that around.

Sometimes, a new regime calls for staff members to remind themselves not to slip and to keep on track, possibly going above and beyond, because staff should aim to be seen as assets, not liabilities (this is not 'sucking up', in fact, if you are already very efficient and people like you, there would be no need to change in the first place).

What can a new boss do?
1) They should get to know people before too long to show that the lines of communication are open from the start.
2) They should get to know the 'real' processes and systems that are in place before they attempt to make drastic changes - and not simply rely on the directives from above.
3) They should avoid making people feel unnecessarily uncomfortable by communicating better with staff.

There are a few other key points new bosses should know about, but those are three of the most important that cannot be overlooked.

As mentioned, I have seen this happen way too many times: a new boss comes in and limits discussions with staff while making drastic changes without fully understanding their new situation. I know that all bosses are not the same and how can they be? But, they should invest in themselves for the betterment of the company by learning how to be a better boss, through training or coaching.

One of my favorite things to do when leading new team members is to smile at them with a warm introduction to put them at ease and find out, first hand, how they do things so I can make intelligent changes if there really needs to be any.

- Buck Moore