“Change management cannot be driven as a logical process without addressing the hearts and minds of people.” Karen Leong and Mukul Deva, directors at Influence Solutions, said. “This is because change is resisted emotionally and not intellectually.”
HRD spoke to Leong and Deva to see how HR could get staff to embrace corporate change. The pair listed three strategies to empower employees in this area.
Help people understand their capabilities
HR should begin with the basics, teaching employees that they have the ability to handle change.
“They have been doing so all their lives; after all, getting married, having a baby, settling in a new country, all these are significant changes that many have gone through and come out stronger,” Leong and Deva said.
While working with numerous MNC clients, they said they have taught people to embrace change not as a hindrance but as an opportunity for professional and personal growth.
HR should provide staff with a practical roadmap that addresses real world issues while supporting whatever changes have been proposed.
Allow input from your employees
One way to introduce higher levels of engagement from staff is to involve everyone in the change management process, Leong and Deva said.
“People now feel their concerns are being addressed and they are being listened to. Managers need to remember that listening to people’s reactions is as important as explaining reasons for a change.”
Equip your employees for success
People will be more likely to adapt once they feel they have the skills, knowledge and abilities to reach success.
“After all, resilience is a function of confidence and our belief in our capabilities,” Leong and Deva said.
If HR helps staff see change as a growth opportunity, providing support and training through the learning curve, staff will eventually learn to adapt on their own.
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