This question was posted on FOCUS by Chad Cook, President of Bright Side. My response was selected as the best response. Here's what I posted:
Hi, Chad: For many years, professionals involved in improving processes or implementing new ones believed that all they needed were process mapping tools, a collection of workshop exercises and a fiat from above. After years of failed or unsustainable implementations or changes, it became patiently obvious that change was more about behavior than tools. Here are some of the concepts that have worked well for me:
1. Empower the people who do the work to lead the process. People change behavior because they want to, not because someone tells them they must. Engaging those who do the work that needs to be changed in the change process allows them to be involved in the change and the way it is going to be implemented. Nobody knows better how the work is done that those who do it, so allowing them to participate in the change process increases the probability that the steps that need to be implemented will really work.
2. Make the change relevant to the people who need to embrace it. I have found that one of the key elements to achieving buy in is connecting the dots for the folks who are involved in the change. Help them understand why the change is necessary, how it fits into organizational strategy, what the anticipated benefits from it will be, and how it will affect them. Often this works best when you can get them to look at the change from an organizational perspective, not from their own position in the organization. Fear is often the hallmark of ignorance - help employees understand why the change is necessary.
3. Be honest about the change. Be open and and candid about why the change is necessary and what effects it will have on the organization. Nothing derails change more than suspicion that leadership has a motive they are not sharing.
4. Leadership must be committed to the change. If the change is worthwhile, leadership must be visibly and actively supportive of the change. They must deliver a consistent message about the need for the change, their support for it, and resolute that nobody wavers.
5. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Consistently sharing who, what, when, where and why about the change in meetings, on bulletin boards, in newsletters, etc. is an important strategy. Good communications eliminates any surprises, keeps everyone up to date on what is going on, and is a good training tool.
6. Celebrate success. Change is hard! Once success is achieved, celebrate it and those who made it possible.
7. Follow up. Every change implementation is not inherently 100% successful. Once the change is implemented, be alert for flaws, problems or issues. Address them in an open structured review and improvement process.
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