Minimizing Resistance to Change in the Workplace

Organizations can take a number of steps to minimize resistance to change. Setting challenging, achievable, and attractive goals is a great place to start. Listening to employees' concerns and valuing their opinions can help identify potential sources of resistance and address the root causes. Risk assessments and resistance-prevention activities should be conducted during the preparation and management phases of change.

During the sustain outcomes phase, performance should be evaluated and lessons learned should be documented for future initiatives. A powerful top-down strategy is to fight against resistance with culture. Inspirational leaders can establish a company culture that makes overcoming resistance a vital part of managing change. Training team members who are natural leaders in the organization can serve as influential models for other employees. Managers should also be addressed before asking them to manage the resistance in their teams. Change management models such as the Kübler-Ross change curve or the Bridges transition model can help mitigate common causes of resistance.

Analyzing possible sources of resistance before launching a project is also important. Introducing changes methodically and waiting for them to stabilize before introducing new changes can also help. Communication should be maintained between managers and employees, and companies should listen to employees' concerns. If senior managers don't commit to a change or hesitate to support it, employees will also consider the change unimportant and will resist it. Taking advantage of facts and logical data can be useful in addition to addressing emotional reactions to change.

Absenteeism, missed deadlines, missed commitments, and a general sense of apathy are all indicators that members of an organization are not fully engaged. Anticipating and planning for resistance is an essential aspect of implementing positive organizational change. The right resiliency managers in an organization are senior leaders and staff managers, who have different roles to play.