Preparing your people for change

In a world where change currently feels like it's the only constant, it's perhaps slightly ironic that I'd choose to write a piece on preparing people for change, right now. But let me provide a bit of context.

Over the last 10+ years I have overseen and delivered multiple large scale tech transformation projects for enterprise clients across EMEA. And experience has taught me that regardless of project budget, team, sector, technology, or culture, success is not a given. The lion's share of a programme leader's role nowadays is not the delivery of the project or the technology, it's the delivery of change itself. And if your employees are not fully bought-in to the change, it's simply human nature to resist it.

The idea that humans avoid change is nothing new. For many, change means insecurity, opening us to risk - and risk can feel treacherous. But many organisations fixate on planning the tasks needed to implement the change itself, and often neglect the most important element: People.

It's easy to assume that people are so used to change nowadays, they'll embrace it (or at the very least, go along with it), but the way people respond individually to change defines how much, how well or even whether they'll change at all.

Here are my top tips for helping people cope with, learn how to, and engage constructively with, change.

Involve people in the journey early.

In my experience, one of the leading causes of failure is not involving your stakeholders early enough in the process. As we already know, people can be naturally suspicious of, and resistant to change, and those emotions are heightened when they feel change has been landed, or even forced on them.

Over the years I've heard the whole gamut of reasons as to why people were not invited into transformation programmes at the earliest opportunity. These can be operational considerations such as: time constraints, not wanting to distract them, not their skillset, it doesn't really affect them. Or sometimes slightly more sinister considerations such as: they might try to block the project, they'll make it more difficult, they might slow it down. None of these reasons are good enough to prevent you from engaging people at the earliest possible opportunity. You may feel like it slows you down a bit in the initial stages, but it'll almost certainly speed things up for you when the programme gets into its swing.

Furthermore, you can use this opportunity to win over the likely nay-sayers before they have a chance to start de-railing things. Involving your people from the start gives them an opportunity to fully understand the case for change, and then to become invested in the outcome. Do not be afraid to go early.

Evangelise the vision.

Every transformation programme has a vision. Right?

No. Not always.

In my experience every transformation programme has expected outcomes, but only very few have a vision. And the problem with outcomes is that they will be perceived differently by different people. For example, a software project outcome might be cost reduction. Your FD isn't going to stand in the way of that, because the outcome suits their needs. But what about the IT technician who has been dutifully and capably maintaining the existing solution for the past 8 years? Are they going to view the outcome as positively as the FD does? Probably not.

This is where the vision comes in. In simple terms, your vision paints the picture of a future state that's better than the current one. More importantly, it works to unite your team behind a shared goal and outcome, ensuring that they too become invested in that outcome. The vision needs to excite, motivate, and inspire across all levels of the business, and it should pave a clear path of future career growth, learning, and opportunities. For example, your IT technician probably has a great opportunity to re-train and upskill on the new, more modern platform. But they won't know that until you tell them!

Over-communicate.

I've often reached the point where I'm sick of saying the same thing over, and over, again. But over the years I've learnt that as a programme sponsor or project lead, by the time I've reached that point, it's actually only just starting to be heard.

Communicate openly and regularly. In order to accept change, people need to understand the basic motivation for it. So don't be afraid to continually explain why the change is taking place. As it may well take a little while to fully sink in.

Then, crucially, keep your people updated - I'd suggest weekly update sessions, in which people are asked for their thoughts and opinions. Knowing that their opinions are valued and that they're contributing to the process will help them with the adjustment.

Create a team that sits across all levels.

Your change team needs to involve people who have already fully bought-in to the vision. But it shouldn't just be made up of senior leaders. Over the years I've observed that projects led solely by SLTs rarely generate the grassroots support they need to become a resounding success. Yes, you'll probably deliver the project, as your leaders likely have both the implementation skills, and the seniority needed to force it through. But remember, change is only delivered when people change.

New technology or processes may provide the means for change, but if your people aren't prepared to change with it, your vision will be limited to outcomes. And, frankly, the outcomes might not be all that great.

By creating an engaged team that sits across all levels of the business you'll not only generate better grassroots support for the programme, but also provide ownership of the solution further down the food chain. This is important because people will always get a little more excited, and work a little harder on something they feel invested in. In addition, your multi-level team becomes your eyes and ears on the ground, helping you to identify and resolve negativity before it gets out of control. It also provides a peer-to-peer feedback mechanism, which almost always results in better quality, and more honest feedback.

Identify and neutralise your squeaky wheels.

No matter how good your programme communication is, you will likely always encounter a select few people who don't want to pursue the vision. As mentioned earlier, the sooner you can get those people involved in the programme, the sooner you can work to neutralise any fears or negativity.

I would always recommend identifying up-front those who are likely to be resistant. Even more so if they have the capacity to derail the programme. Questions to consider here include: Have you encountered resistance in change projects before? Is there a pattern to it? Is there a specific department, or a team leader, or an individual who could perceive the change negatively? When people are already nervous about change, it doesn't take much for others to “confirm” those fears. This can be fatal.

Basically, what you are creating here is your on-side plan: who do you need to win over to ensure the change programme can be delivered without unnecessary roadblocks and hassle?

Own any mistakes and failures; celebrate and recognise the wins.

I've found that one of the best ways to generate and maintain enthusiasm for change is to celebrate the little wins you achieve along the way, whilst personally taking ownership of mistakes and failures.

Change is hard. It takes time, patience, iteration, action, and courage. Not everything will go your way, and some initiatives will fail (this is inevitable). But by encouraging your team to adopt a growth mindset, and evangelising the concept that failure is an inseparable part of learning, your team will begin to view failure in a less personal, less negative manner. But this mindset shift can only begin if leaders take personal ownership of any failures and mistakes, deflecting negatives away from the team, and reflecting any praise back at them. This leadership approach is not easy to master, but it creates huge levels of trust and security.

Demonstrating and celebrating the short-term wins along the way gives you an opportunity to continually reinforce the change, showcasing how your change programme will ultimately deliver on the vision.

Creating new ways to highlight successes can help build better teamwork and increase productivity. Ideas include, rewarding employees for the work they have completed; discussing individual and team improvements during meetings to show you're aware of and appreciate their efforts. Celebrating continued success not only increases and maintains morale, but it also helps to garner support from those that still may need convincing.