A typical question asked by the organisation’s C-Suite and leadership team is, “How long will the change take before we start to see the benefits?” The project change plan and the benefits tracking plan, if accurate and up to date, should provide a very good indication. The next question is usually, “Is there anything else we could be doing to speed up adoption and benefits delivery?” If all the a2BCMF steps are being adhered to, then the simple answer is, “Yes, by reducing or removing resistance to the change.” The best way of doing this is to work with the three groups with the support of the change agents to find the ‘Tipping Point’. “Nothing negatively impacts organisation performance quicker than employees who resists change and who believes that the way they work today is the way they will work tomorrow” Once the tipping point is reached, an amazing phenomenon takes place, whereby more and more people start adopting the new way of working as well as embracing the change at an accelerated pace. There is no greater delight than to see a ‘Rebel’ accept the organisational change willingly and even becoming an ‘Advocate’. Employee Groups involved in a Change Journey There are three groups of employees in any change management journey: ‘Advocates’, ‘Observers’ and ‘Rebels’. Each group will react differently to organisational change and will have different levels of resistance. Advocates: Tend to embrace and lead change within the organisation as they are more comfortable with it. They have a positive and growth mindset and see this as an opportunity to grow and improve. The coalition of change agents and ‘Advocates’ can have a massive impact in the organisation, positively enticing the other groups to adopt the change. Observers: The change agents and ‘Advocates’ should work together to create employee desire to move the ‘Observers’ towards the ‘Tipping Point’. Communication, direct engagement, targeted messaging and events, such as socialising the future state, will help the ‘Observers’ to adopt the change at a faster rate. Rebels: The change agent can help greatly in this area by directly engaging the ‘Rebels’ face-to-face. The change agent should listen with empathy to understand their concerns whilst communicating the organisation’s change business case. A typical question that comes up is about how much effort you spend on this group. The answer varies from organisation to organisation, with cultures and local laws all having an input and impact on the approach. “Without employee resistance, you will not achieve organisational change" #LeadershipOfChange #ChangeManagement #ChangeManagementGlossary a2B Consulting offering: C-Suite Change Consulting, Change Leadership Alignment and Change Management Gamification Blog Source: https://www.peterfgallagher.com/single-post/change-management-resistance-finding-the-tipping-point-for-employees

By Peter F Gallagher

Keywords: Leadership, Change Management, Business Strategy