Change Management Paper

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Potential Resistances to Change

There are several reasons why employees may resist changes within the workplace. Some of those reasons may be fear of the unknown, lack of good information, fear of loss of security, lack or resources and bad timing. In this situation I believe that updating the ESS would provide many benefits to employees therefore reducing the possibility of resisting the change. A potential resistance to change could be caused by a loss of control. Change interferes with autonomy and can make people feel they are losing control over certain tasks that they were once responsible for. Some members of our HR department may not think and update is necessary because it will take away from some of the functions that they are responsible for. Another potential resistance may be a fear of loss of security from employee’s personal information being breached. There may be concerns of hackers compromising personal information. In order to overcome this resistance I will ensure employees that there will be a firewall used to prevent intruders from accessing the computer network. Also there would be security protocols will be implemented such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt and protect confidential data.

Communication Strategies

When implementing change or diagnosing the need for change it is important that communication is clear and effective. It is important to use a variety of communication pathways and vehicles such as email, intranet site, memos, and face to face meetings. Three communication strategies I would use are the “tell and sell strategy”, underscore and explore strategy and by multiple forums. Using the “tell and sell” strategy, I would inform employees and management about the changes and express the importance on why they are required. For an example I would create a power point presentation with visuals to help deliver the message and assess why the changes are urgent. I would also make sure to include information on how other organizations have benefited from enhance ESS. I would also use the underscore and explore strategy to help identify any concerns or misunderstandings. This will be a time to get employees involved and put at ease any major issues that can potentially cause resistance to change.

Diagnostic Tools to identify the changes that need to be made

Change management diagnosis, in terms of responsiveness, readiness, impact, key results, and environmental intelligence is critical to achieve lasting results from strategic organizational change (Synergy, 2008). Two diagnostic tools that will identify the changes needed to be made will be the organizational readiness to change assessment and the Six-Box Organizational Model. The organizational change readiness tool would allow to evaluate all employees’ perceptions of the organization, upper management and our overall readiness for change. The six-box model is a great model to use because it gives attention to issues such as planning, incentives and rewards, the role of support functions such as personnel, internal competitions among organizational units, standards for remuneration, partnerships, hierarchies and the delegation of authority, organizational control, accountability and performance assessment.(Reflect& Learn, 2007).

Strategies for Sustaining the Change

To ensure a lasting internal change and prove to everyone that your new initiative, program or strategy is not just another management fad, you must sustain it (Ha, 2014). Sustaining change is by far one of the most important steps in the change management process. In order to sustain the changes I progress would need to be measured and monitored. Measuring the outcome of the change helps to identify gaps and can help provide valuable information of the change over a period of time. I will conduct a full-scale assessment every four months to ensure that the changes are improving functionality and to ensure that the changes are not posing any problems. I will conduct interviews, and surveys to help measure the results and to help employees understand that their feedback is considered and appreciated. Another strategy for sustaining the changes would be to identify new challenges/goals and the leadership capacity to achieve them. Identifying new challenges and goals will ensure that organization is competitive and successful.

References

Ha, H. (2014). Change Management for Sustainability. New York: Business Expert Press.

Kotter, J. (2012). Leading change. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Review Press.

Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple

Perspectives Approach (2nd Ed.). New York, New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin.

Reflect & Learn.(2007). "The Marvin Weisbord Six-Box Model." Reflect & Learn. Retrieved

from http://reflectlearn.org/discover/the-marvin-weisbord-six-box-model-wei

Synergy. (2008). Strategic Change Management Solutions/Diagnostics. Retrieved from

http://www.odsynergy.com/strategic-change-management-solutions.

htmlsbord%E2%80%99s-model>.