CHANGE RESISTANCE

Employees affected by change

I. Consultant IA - name: George SOARE

George is a product manager who has worked in his departtment for the last 4y.

Because of some management changes, he will be promoted/sent to a different

department in order to solve the conflicts over there. George objects because:

a.) he will be exposed to a new environment which has nothing to do with what

he has worked till date;

example: has to generate a presentation for the "steam drum" product within 5day

(dead-line); he doesn't have, at this time enough information.

b.) George doesn't have experience in a middle management position. He is afraid

of the conflicts that will apear in the new department, because he will have to face and

resolve them.

example: George has to solve a conflict between the technical department and the

commercial department. The deadline for the technical description of the "steam

drum" product is not ready yet. Deadline expired 2days ago. Technical department

suggests it didn't have enough support from the functional description.

c.) because George doesn't know the members of the new department, he will

have to get used to the people he will work with; a lack of communication between

departments.

example: George has to manage a team of 5 people, but he doesn't know what are

their strengths/weaknesses. He will have to build up the team.

II. Consultant IB - name: Lucretia DINU

Lucretia is considered to be 1 man-department after all members quit their jobs or

have been moved in different departments. Because all members left their previous

jobs in a short period of time, the HR department didn't find replacements

yet. Lucretia is unsatisfied because:

a.) She had to take over all the activities in department. She is overwhelmed by

deadlines and doesn't have the resources to manage the activities.

b) Lucretia has an overloaded schedule; she finishes work at 20.00 everyday and

sometimes has to work in week-ends, in order to cover all activities. This is one of the

factors that will bring Lucretia in a state of mental black-out.

c) Although she tries to cover/work on most of the projects in her department,

Lucretia has difficutlties in respecting dead-lines for each project. Because of this

aspect, she begins to have doubts regarding her managing capabillities.

III. Consultant IC - name: Monica Giurgulescu

Monica is working on the same position/job for the last 8y. Although she achieved

good results in her activity, she was never proposed to be promoted. Recently, a

friend from a different department was offered a simillar position in France.

a.) Monica receives no positive feedback from the work she is doing; she is bored

for doing the same tasks all over again.

b.) Monica receives no proffesional satisfaction, due to the fact that she is not

facing motivation anymore.

c.) Monica wants to change what she is doing, and know she is motivated by the

collegue that will leave for France.

Overcaming Resistance to Change

In our case, we can talk about the “organization inertia”, mainly a strong desire

among the employees to maintain the status quo of the organizational structure.

People knew where they stand, what to do and how to manage their tasks. Everything

was familiar to them.

The change involved learning new skills, attitudes together with new ways of doing

things. The management realized that it was not easy for people to give up their

beliefs, to acknowledge new skills and expertise.

1. Education and information. In the first phase, a sense of awareness of the need to

change was created. The following measures were taken:

The initial dialogue session was conducted between the management and employees

from all departments involved in the change (Commercial department, Design and

Production Department, Logistics and Purchasing Department). All employees were

gathered together at the same time in order to avoid rumors. Agenda:

- The scope of change: detail on the organizational change( structure, the impact

on workforce, timelines)

- The implementation plan proposal: the goals and objectives of the change

- The presentation of the new structure of the commercial department and also

the change agent was presented briefly, showing his competencies, expertise

and experience in order for the employees to gain that feeling of trust and

stability

Questions like “Why do we need to change the structure of the commercial

department?” “What will happen if we don’t change?” were answered.

A proactive newsletter was developed to inform employees about every incremental

change that took place inside the commercial department, as a part of the counseling

service for the workforce.

A master bulletin board was created in the central area of the offices and employees

were requested to post their feedback. Any kind of suggestions and complaints were

welcomed. This initiative was found very creative and fun by the employees, but also

very useful due to the fact that anyone could post an anonymous relevant comment.

2. Participation and involvement. We had to involve the employees in the change

process, to request their opinions and ideas for improving the communication within

the departments and the efficiency in serving the client.

A meeting was held on a weekly basis and employees were requested to evaluate the

current situation and to come up with new better ideas. Also, during the meeting the

employees could talk free about their concerns, fears about the change.

For example the Design and Production department came up with better solution of

particularizing the offers.

3. Facilitation and support. A three day team-building program was initiated twice

during the implementation of the change. In the first month the program aim was to

get people to know each other, to get comfortable and improve the communication

between them. The second program’s aim was to consolidate the relationships already

formed.

Output:

- Strengthening employee loyalty

- Development of professional skills and knowledge

- Entertainment and relaxation

- Development of cooperation and communication between colleagues, between

superiors and subordinates, and between departments

- Resolution of problems in teams

4. Negotiating and motivating. Having all details about the structure change,

understanding the scope of the change and building a new team were not enough for

people to give up their resistance. Each employee had a particular or many desires,

fears about the future. So, negotiating with each individual in private was necessary.

For example, the wages were negotiated with the product manager, George Soare and

Lucretia Dinu. They both got a 25% salary raise due to the promotion in a more

demanding position in the company.

Employees like Lucretia Dinu, who worked after schedule, were paid double for all

extra hours.

Employees like Monica Giurgulescu, who dedicated almost a decade of work in the

same position to the company, were promised a future promotion and were given an

extra bonus for the loyalty shown.

New employees were hired in the Human Resources Department at the request of

Lucretia Dinu and she was released from some of her duties.

5. Manipulating. The change agent used all his leadership skills in order to influence

employees adopt a positive attitude towards the change. Many informal

communication sessions were held; each time an employee had a problem in adapting

to the new environment or needed practical guidance. Effort and achievement was

recognized and people were praised for their performances