Engaging employees to release lasting change

By Matt Gardom

Those returning to a change programme after a summer break will be refreshed and ready to go – but the break will also mean that their manager will need to re-engage them with the change and get them to stay aligned with its objectives. This means that now is an excellent time to think about the best ways to deal with the human aspects of change.

Of course, change programmes need a clear strategy, thorough planning, the right governance structure, resource allocation, and appropriate control mechanisms. We call these harder aspects of change the “driving” factors. By and large you’ll already have them in place, but while they are necessary for success, they are not sufficient. What we call “releasing”change – the softer or human side – is at least as important. It’s all about building momentum, increasing motivation and harnessing individual and organisational energy.

Paying too little attention to releasing change can lead to failure through ineffective engagement and motivation. In our experience, it’s the releasing factors that are the most difficult to identify and get right, but they are also the factors that will determine whether you win the hearts and minds of those involved in the change and help to ensure long-term success.

What can you do to release change effectively?

Leadership is a major factor in successfully releasing change, and one of the key challenges here is engaging and enabling people, generating energy and creating a willingness to change. Successful change leaders demonstrate the attitudes and skills required to create the participation and involvement that is key to success.

There are tools and techniques that can help leaders with the job of engaging and enabling. Approaches such as story-telling can bring a vision to life, and help people connect with what’s happening. Innovative ways of communicating can help to meet this challenge. In some cases a suitable approach may mean being deliberately counter-cultural – we have used methods as diverse as staging mini-plays illustrating different reactions to change, and commissioning storyboard artwork for posters and newsletters to communicate information about a programme. As understanding, involvement and commitment grow, shared vocabulary and working practices can be used to drive momentum and embed the change.

How do you make the change permanent?

As well as initiating the change, you need to make sure it will last, which requires people to think and feel differently about the organisation around them and about how they behave. Embedding new behaviours will be made easier by understanding not only the obvious barriers to behavioural change – processes, rules and systems – but also the unwritten values, signs and symbols that reinforce current attitudes and behaviour. There are a number of ways of unpicking these implicit attitudes – from questionnaires and focus groups, to informal conversations. The resultant insights can then inform the actions you need to take over the long term to support and embed the change.

Are you ready to release change?

Very often, the successful release of change is what distinguishes breakthrough change initiatives from those that fall short. As you begin to re-engage staff after the summer holidays, is the ideal time to think about how to create a two-way dialogue to engage and motivate staff, and how to make changes real and lasting.

PA’s approach to driving and releasing change covers all these areas in depth.

To learn more about engaging employees to release lasting change please contact us now.