Impact of Organisational Impact of Organisational Change on Employees and Change on Employees and

CultureCulture

Ted Thanh TranMBA – Management of Change

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AgendaAgenda External and Internal Forces of Change Conference Change Model Employee – Challenges Employee – Reaction – Resistance – Resilience Stages Employee – Facilitation of Change Employee – Continuum of Change Strategies Culture – Challenges Culture – Facilitation of Change Conclusion

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External and Internal ForcesExternal and Internal Forces

Source: http://www.apqc.org

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Conference Change Model – Conference Change Model – Holistic View of ChangeHolistic View of Change

Source: Hiam, W. A. (1997), The Portable Conference on Change Management, HRD Press and Lakewood Publications, Amherst

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Employees – ChallengesEmployees – Challenges Change is against human nature

– Uncomfortable with the unknown and uncertainty– Doubt of their ability to adapt to change– Perceived loss of status, pay, comfort Change adaptation journey is long and eventful– Reaction stage– Resistance stage– Resilience stage

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Employees – Reaction StageEmployees – Reaction Stage Negative thoughts / beliefs about change Feelings: angry, betrayed, shocked, diminished,

unappreciated, anxious, confused, threatened, etc. Actions: distrust, withdrawal, self-protection Needs: how change will affect them (e.g. benefits, work hours,

family, etc.) Management’s Action Plan:

– To address concerns early, not just rationalise reasons for change– To acknowledge feelings of those affected– To be supportive

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Employees – Resistance StageEmployees – Resistance Stage Change alters:

– Explicit contracts: employment agreement, job scope, etc.– Psychological contracts: unwritten expectations between employees

and employers Established level of Personal Compact:

– Formal dimension– Social dimension– Psychological dimension

Misperception of resistance: poor attitude, obstacle Value of resistance:

– Force to rethink unsound assumptions– Compromise of interests of all parties– Better understanding and more alternative solutions

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Employees – Resilience StageEmployees – Resilience Stage Feeling: have positive outlook Actions:

– Focus on value to be gained– Be ready to let go the old and try the new– Be supportive to others– Take active role (e.g. learn new skills, set goals)– Be aware of well-being

Management’s Action Plan:– To solidify short-term win– To reward right attitude and behaviour– To move on to next target

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Employees – Facilitation of ChangeEmployees – Facilitation of Change Employees’ effort to support change must be matched with

right reward system– Expectancy theory– Hierarchy of needs

To communicate the need and context for revising the personal compact

To allow employees to participate in revising compact terms To lock in commitments To employ suitable change strategies depending on speed of

effort, amount of pre-planning, involvement of others.

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Employees – Continuum of Change Employees – Continuum of Change StrategiesStrategies

http://www.harvardbusiness.org/

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Culture – ChallengesCulture – Challenges Definition: values, beliefs, assumptions, attitudes and

behaviours shared by employees of an organisation. Culture is deeply rooted– Formed over years of interaction– Woven into daily procedure, process and practice at all levels Individuals must change their behaviour to create desired

culture Cultural change is time consuming- In mature organisations, individual mindset has become relatively fixed. It

takes time for mindsets to be instilled Culture is abstract: stated vs. unstated; sub-cultures

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Culture – Facilitation of ChangeCulture – Facilitation of Change Formal education and training must be available to all

employees– To understand purpose of change and roles in process– To be aware of own feelings, necessary method to overcome natural

emotion– To realise that customer focus is the ultimate drive of cultural change

To identify role models, encourage them to share their thoughts

Formal and informal communication channels must be used extensively and bi-directionally– To engage informal leaders– To ensure smooth flow of official messages and feedbacks– To follow up with actions

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ConclusionConclusion Change must be managed holistically Timing of organisational change is very important Foresight thinking helps to face change in calm and

considered manner Management must pay more attention to human dimension

than technical dimension of change Continuous change must be part of organisational culture.