It is said that change is life and life is change. However, most people do not like changes and have problems adapting. This is true even in the workplace. Managers who want to enforce change must therefore be strongly persuasive. They should not only be excellent communicators, but also know what to communicate. The Project Times website published a list of questions they should be able to answer.
1. Why the change?
If you want your people to do something they should know and understand why they must do it. Why is the change necessary? The answer to this question should convince everyone concerned that the change has a legitimate purpose.
2. What is in it for them?
Managers should explain to employees not only the benefits of the change for their company or department, but also for them personally. If you do not know how to answer this question, ensure your people that you understand why they are interested. Then ensure them that you will explain everything once you have more information. And do not forget to really explain it later.
3. What should be done in a week, month, year?
Announcing an upcoming change is one thing, but realizing it another. All participants should know what is expected of them in specific time periods of implementing the change. If they do not know, they will make no change to the existing practices.
4. What will not change?
Even this question is important. The truth is that even when a change happens, most things still remain the same. People are often unaware of this fact so you should emphasize it. If, for instance, a new IT system is implemented, employees will still manage the same tasks in it, they will interact with the same people, receive the same pay ...
5. What could go wrong?
Every change requires estimates to be done in advance of potential problems and possible solutions to be prepared. Remember that every change is a step into uncertainty and it will rarely be without problems. It is important to know you anticipate what might happen and that you are ready to solve any problems.
6. What will be hard?
When you tell your people that the change would be "painless" and "transparent", they will draw the only possible conclusion - you are lying. You should expected that everyone will have to learn something new, confusion and errors will occur, and your performance may decrease.
7. How will progress be measured?
Most changes do not happen instantly but gradually. You have to know in advance how you will measure progress in your change implementation and how all interested parties will be informed. There is no motivation without feedback.
-kk-