Bringing people with you

The other day I went to Officeworks to buy some pens, envelopes and stuff. I love going to Officeworks because I’m completely addicted to stationery. I love all the little bits and pieces and always hope that I will find that special thing that will finally end the chaos that is my office. So it’s no surprise that I usually end up buying more things than were on my list of essential items.

But my recent trip to Officeworks was very traumatic. They had moved everything. They had restructured the store and changed the general layout and I couldn’t find anything. It was very stressful. Being a loyal and long term customer of Officeworks I had become to feel a little bit like family. And I have to admit feeling a bit smug at times when some poor soul, new to my local Officeworks couldn’t find something and I could point them in the right direction. It’s OK staff member, I can handle this. Wink wink – I’m a regular.

However if it wasn’t bad enough that I could no longer find anything; the management, in their wisdom, had decided to pretend that nothing had happened. There were no signs, no additional staff to help out us poor regulars who usually know where everything is. And suddenly I became “friends” with and teamed up with other regulars as we all wandered aimlessly around the store, complaining endlessly about how awful it was that we couldn’t find anything and bagging the management.

Because the management had imposed this change without bringing us, the customer, with them, they had created an “us and them” environment. In this case it was not the end of the world, because the management would be confident that my new friends and I would “get over it” and that we would go back to their store very soon, because we’re all addicted to stationery.

But what about a situation where the staff of a large government department get told at a staff meeting that from now on their core hours are going to change. No communication will be entered into. You can no longer work outside of these hours, as you have done for years and years. The Department will no longer provide any flexibility in working hours. End of story.

Think about the “us and them “environment that situation can lead to. Imagine if you will, groups of staff huddled in corners whispering to each other, complaining about the unfairness of the situation; some people are in tears because they can’t find childcare for some of the new core hours. Suddenly the staff have become a team. They’re now on one side and the management are on the other. The staff will still come to work and do their jobs because they need the money etc ...but do they do their jobs with a great level of enthusiasm if they think that they are not being respected?

How different it all could have been if the management had provided the staff with the reasons behind the change; introduced the change over a period of time so that staff could make the necessary changes to their childcare arrangements, or work out which bus they now need to catch. What if the management had brought the staff with them, so the staff also believed that this change was for the good of the Department?

When I was growing up my Dad said that there was NO WAY we were going to get a colour tv, that they were just a waste of money. He had never seen a colour television; he just “knew” it was a waste of money. Then Mum hired a colour television when she was in hospital after the birth of my brother Ben. It was there that Dad saw the Bathurst car race on colour television and he came home and said that we were going to get a colour television. Dad wasn’t a fan of car racing but he was a fan of football and cricket and suddenly he realised that he would enjoy watching those sports on the tele so much more if we had a colour television. He was an immediate and excited convert.

Change management is about working out what you need to do to bring people with you -and I accept that sometimes that's quite difficult. But keeping everyone informed along the way, giving everyone the opportunity to express their concerns and to challenge any new ideas is a start. Or you could let people experiment with the new technology, giving them enough time to think about the changes and to feel comfortable with it.

The challenge for management everywhere is to work out how big the change is, to consider how it will affect their staff, supporters, fans, shareholders etc... and then to work out strategies as to how best to implement the change.

It sounds straightforward but somehow a lot of change is not managed very well at all.

I’d love to hear your stories about change....what worked well, what didn’t.

Kate