1. Reaction, response and resistance: an emotional journey through change 2. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 1 Image by Maher 2013 Steve Maher A self-styled helpless coulrophobic in lifes remorseless wit, Maher experienced army life where he won awards for doing mainly army stuff. He was once employed as a clown with baggy trousers and pink hair which he says was disturbing and he practically ran from there to retail management. Accepting the most unpopular role in the company which was to investigate operational and illegal loss, he did not make too many new friends and lived through endless hotel rooms fuelled by coffee and the music of Pink Floyd. Mahers dry delivery includes a description of working within a training centre. I helped unemployed clients find work and it all made sense when I was made redundant. I was interviewed in the job centre by one of my successful clients. Fabulous. Made redundant not once but twice and fully aware that such things tend to occur thrice, Maher has experienced life-changing decisions dropped on people, often with little or no warning. Critical of communication failures and the effect of passionless choices on personnel, he has advised on the effects of change processes with a specific interest in individual response. An emotional journey through change is the result of the study of existing business models dropped into personal experiences to provide evidence that change is a sensitive journey looking for weaknesses, arousing passions and demanding reactions. Lately he has found a more peaceful existence in Nottingham writing theories. Being a Gemini, he collects anything, keeps everything and throws away nothing. He can often be found skipping around the Isle of Skye with a camera and a guide book, talking to people just to hear their stories and lay his hand briefly on history. 3. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 2 Contents Title Subject Page 1. Why Change An introduction to change 3 2. Change Reaction Resolution or management, benefits and the TKI Conflict Model 4 3. Change Response Change response, transition, And looking beyond change 9 4. Social Security Job satisfaction, motivators, anxiety, anxiety resolution and the social impact of change 15 5. The Resistance Movement Response, causes and types of resistance, managing resistance 20 6. Measuring Stakeholder Engagement Quantitative and qualitative measures, obtaining and analysing feedback 24 7. The use of Personas and Empathy Mapping Creating personas and empathy maps 30 8. Summary Summary and thoughts 35 9. Marketing Author services and contact 39 10. Bibliography References and further reading 40 Image from DeviantArt 4. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 3 1. Why change? In introducing the concept of change we must first establish what change actually is. Everyone experiences it but struggle to define it. Change, and life change, by its very nature, is a transition which nobody wants but everyone expects will happen. Any change to routine will provide complex and varied layers of uncertainty and anxieties as we adjust and transfer our focus from what we know onto a new horizon. Change is emotionally considered negative but can often be a positive progression which still creates disquiet and will almost certainly ask specific questions. For example, a job promotion or parenthood could result in self- doubt over the readiness to accept new responsibilities. Can I do this? Redundancy or dismissal on the other hand is rarely experienced by choice and people will seek to proportion blame somewhere. While interviewing personnel involved in company theft, I was surprised on occasion when they would willingly accept questioning and accept responsibility but argue against dismissal on the grounds of their gross misconduct. Change, whatever its origins, is a sensitive journey looking for weaknesses, arousing passions and demanding reactions. Change happens; it is a natural fact within the human life cycle and necessary within our development and careers. Considering the dramatic impact on our lives, it is still a healthy process to keep us fresh and evolving and yet it is emotionally draining at individual level. This is hardly surprising when change may involve the most personal of lifes events such as birth and growth from childhood through adulthood and, of course, death. Other life events along the way create emotional reactions which most people will find challenging; including the ones which invigorate us, such as education and employment, love, marriage and the birth of a child. I once described life events as a wave action with peaks and troughs, periods of calm, driving breezes, foggy confusions and intense storms. Within corporations change must occur if they wish to remain vigorous, innovative and aligned to a modern society with developing business needs and evolving technologies. Companies with fingers firmly on the pulse of business vicissitudes can cope with, and often lead the way in innovation. Successful entrepreneurs are not afraid to challenge stagnation and inspire development with high levels of risks and potential rewards. Jack Kerouac put it best when he wrote: The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do" For successful change there needs to be a level of flexibility to adapt to unforeseen influences from external powers and internal corollaries to the change itself. Reactive change then, rarely provides the opportunity to plan for or support those who will experience the transition. Because of this, any professional change procedure is usually rigid with little regard to meeting new challenges and there is difficulty in achieving any satisfactory outcomes due to being to drive through an initiative quickly. Human response to stress and anxieties can never be solidified into any predictable patterns and nor can analysts predict reaction in terms of emotional resistance. Human responses are varied and must be considered in line with the magnitude and the length of the process, the character and history of the individual and their experiences of previous change initiatives. 5. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 4 2. Change Reaction The process of change will frequently lead to conflict within stakeholder groups which requires resolution to avoid delays and the surfacing of any existing resentments within the layers involved. Where environments have increased levels of ambiguity and dispirit groups of stakeholders chasing their own agendas, the levels of conflict will almost always increase. It can smoulder away until blown by the transition which can produce little sparks of unease or puffed-up, nuclear big bangs of discontent. How conflict is regarded, or ignored, can make a huge difference to team working and whether an initiative achieves its goals. Conflict, as a reaction to change, happens when pressure is applied to organisations experiencing transitions and this creates tensions which can be aggravated by a number of factors. Target demands such as timetables, financial restraints and quality assurances. Where individuals view tasks as uniquely their responsibility due to a lack of clarity in role allocation, disagreement and claims of ownership can result in strong reaction to what could be seen as interference. Diversity in personal values which are meaningful to the individual who can be sensitive and emotionally attached. This can include ethical values or personal beliefs which may be frowned on professionally. Change can challenge existing understandings of policies and organizational rules resulting in an environment involving for a time inconsistencies, uncertainties and conflict. Mohammed Rahim, writing in 2002, asked a vital question when considering conflict. Should there be a resolution to conflict or should it be managed? Most stakeholders would opt for resolution as this implies a reduction or the removal of conflict. This includes the use of negotiation, bargaining, mediation and arbitration which works well in organisations with multiple layers of management teams. Rahim did not accept this closed concept and suggested an open alternative. Resolution is an ideal which is just not going to happen in the real world and he knew this. It would be like putting both teams in a football game together and instructing them all to play in only one direction. The result will be messy and, for the spectators, totally unsatisfying and a wee bit weird. Instead, Rahim suggested that conflict management is preferable by putting into place strategies to minimize dysfunctions and welcome the positive value of disagreement to enhance learning and achieve effectiveness through questioning. This is an important value disregarded by most autonomous employers and under- endorsed by project managers who may fail to differentiate between resolving dysfunctional conflict and investigating useful disagreements while ignoring the human element. People could be asking pertinent questions to clarify processes or suggesting an alternative. Positive and controlled conflict management can bring to the surface existing tensions, encourage debate and highlight issues to strengthen team cohesion and develop lasting relations across stakeholder levels and department silos which have been traditional barriers to cooperation and communication. The benefits are well worth the effort of encouragement: 6. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 5 Benefit Description Increased understanding Better awareness and insight of the change Better group cohesion Development of partnerships Improved knowledge Focus, effectiveness and reflection Creativity Sharing of ideas and diversity of views Trust Fair and constructive resolution of disagreements Table 1. Conflict Management Benefits Having suggested that conflict can be managed, facilitators can consider their own capabilities and confidence within conflict management. This is where change facilitation is advantageous over project management because it does include the human condition. Facilitators can commute and communicate across departments and layers within their remit and take the information to the stakeholders. The human element can be deeply personal and can play on individual values and preconceptions, which can open hidden resentments within teams. Facilitators may probably have to also accept the role as the most unpopular person in or out of the room at some point so its not an enviable position if you suffer from sensitivity, paranoia or a tendency to break down and sob in front of your critics. Some stakeholders continue to disregard that conflict exists until it becomes the proverbial mad woman in the attic; ignored by the master of the house until she burns the house down. Understanding how individuals approach and deal with conflict will give an insight into how conflict can be managed positively by the leadership and whether they too have the confidence to influence outcomes through the inclusion, or sometimes the exclusion, of individuals. Rant over, we can pause a moment and take a breath while we introduce an existing conflict model published by Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilman during the 1970s. While most people concentrated on growing very big hair, they collaborated somewhere with pen and paper and established five styles of conflict. The model became famous as the Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument which does not exactly roll off the tongue and so it was shortened to become the more memorable TKI Model loved and endorsed the world over. Although often reserved for investigating supervisory levels, it should serve as a gauge through all the layers. Simplifying things greatly here, Thomas and Kilman suggested that there will be a range of assertiveness and cooperation based on the individuals preferred mode. Stakeholders who are competitive or those avoiding the problem will have low levels of cooperation. Stakeholders willing to accommodate or collaborate will provide good levels of cooperation and within this mix sit the compromisers who are willing to give up something if it helps to secure a resolution. Its probably easier to understand diagrammatically: 7. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 6 Fig.1. Thomas-Kilman Conflict Model Competitive: individuals with a competitive style tend to take a firm stance based on positions of rank, expertise and persuasive abilities. Useful when decisions, even unpopular ones, need to be made quickly or when making a stand against someone else attempting to exploit the situation for their own agenda. They can also leave others feeling unsatisfied and resentful during extended change processes. Collaborative: Often assertive, collaborative people will cooperate effectively and acknowledge that everyone has a voice. They are useful when the individuals involved come from various departments, have conflicting views and a resolution must be found due to historic disagreements or the situation is considered too important for a compromising agreement. Where problems begin is when resolution proves too difficult to find and the process can become time consuming with confidential extra information being shared and exposed across the table. Accommodating: this is a useful style indicating a willingness to accept the views of others over individual values. The accommodating person knows when to stop putting across their view and can be persuaded to surrender a position even when they have strong personal views. This person, although not assertive, will be valuable when agreement is more important than winning, or when someone can call in a favour to influence decisions. This method is highly unlikely to resolve existing tensions or achieve the best outcomes for more vital decisions. Avoiding: Those who avoid tensions attempt to evade conflict entirely. They will often delegate decisions to others, accepting whichever outcome achieved. Useful when controversy is unimportant, or to support someone with expert knowledge or when a short term temporary decision is required, there is little opportunity to develop new ideas or find a lasting resolution and it can lead to deep rooted feelings of resentment and hostility. Compromising: some individuals prefer to compromise to try and find a solution. Everyone may win something but they will probably have to lose something. A compromise is useful when the outcome of conflict outweighs the benefit of giving in, or when there is deadlock and deadlines are due. The problem is that nobody gains a satisfactory outcome and the end decision may be too weak to be effective due to a lack of commitment on either side of the proverbial fence. 8. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 7 If you feel a bit flush and want to spend some American dollars you can take the online survey and find yourself slotted into the model as per your mode persona, as you do. Actually this is pretty helpful knowledge allowing insights into how to exploit conflict situations using a preferred mode. Kilman was on a roll and went on (in 2011) to assign each style to an appropriate application for the situation and the people involved. He warned against misreading a situation and applying an inappropriate style which could have a serious negative impact on the outcomes. Assessing things correctly, certain situations can be exploited using the right people. According to Kilman A competing style is useful for gaining own objectives, to air tensions and resentments and stimulate creativity. An accommodating style maintains harmony, encourages trust and cooperation while reducing tension and avoiding embarrassments. Avoiding is good for temporarily circumventing negatives and allowing a postponement so as to be better prepared later. A collaborating style is effective as a win-win resolution for all parties, improving communication and relationships while promoting learning. A compromising style achieves some objectives, reduces tension, encourages team working and maintains a good level of relationships. Employees as stakeholders should feel that their employers will keep them safe while at work under employment laws and health and safety legislation. Having followed legal and corporate procedures, employees can react badly to change if they perceive that the boardroom may not be playing by the rules and ask searching questions. In essence they are asking, whats in it for me and any threat to personal security will have a reaction. People naturally need to feel that they are experiencing work security in a modern world where there are actually few if any vocations that may be considered as secure or for life unlike in previous eras and most modern workers accept this until they have to face work insecurity in the form of a new role, redundancy or dismissal or a new employer. However, employees need to find a meaningful position with a certain level of security within the organization to drive and motivate them to achieve competency and discover self-esteem and fulfilment. This need can outpace more assumed motivators for remaining within a role. Therefore any threat to fulfilment will have a direct bearing on motivation and any change to the status quo will result in responses along the emotional journey of change. Many employers have a limited understanding of what motivates their workforce. They often think in terms of salaries and opportunities which is simplistic and ignores the complexities of human emotional responses and needs. Offering practical inferences to studies in motivation, we can propose that human needs can be set back to more basic requirements as shown by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 Hierarchy of Needs which suggests that people have only five basic needs (see Fig. 2). Understanding Maslow allows us to consider the human perspective rather than just the effects of rewarding work as employers may see it. It helps explain for example that salary may be less of a motivator than say job satisfaction, and introduces the concept of job security, team work, ambition and achievement. 9. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 8 1. Physiological or Life needs - Maslow suggested that at the most basic level, people require shelter and warmth and the human natural functions for life such as breathing, water and food. 2. Security the need for order and safety in a non-threatening environment where physiological needs will be met. In business, this will include routines and job security. 3. Social needs the need for relationships, friendships, affection, interaction and belonging. It relates to love and is a strong emotion once people feel secure and have fulfilled their basic needs. In business it can relate to supportive team working and personal communication skills. This is why, in a working environment, our colleagues and peers become a vital source of social interaction and why their absence can lead to insecurity as routines are disrupted and support is diluted. 4. Esteem this is a combination of achievements and capabilities, respect and recognition to satisfy a need for self-esteem. It can grant us status and personal standing within a community or gathering, even if it only exists in our own consciousness. It can be the person who speaks out at meetings, asks questions and has effective professional communication skills. It builds confidence and personal worth and allows us to feel that we contribute to the immediate environment socially or professionally. 5. Self-actualization according to Maslow this is the desire to achieve, to be the best we can be and fulfil personal ambitions in line with our talents. Therefore, as Maslow suggests, a musician will make music, a painter will create art and a poet will give us his words. In some cases it can lead to autonomy. Self Actualisation Esteem Relationships Security Physiological Fig. 2. Maslows Hierarchy of needs 10. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 9 The real point that Maslow was trying to make was that there is a hierarchy of order; only when our basic physiological needs are satisfied can we consider our security and so on. The failure of one will profoundly affect what comes above as it sits grounded on this foundation. So when change threatens the security of an individual, social relationships, esteem from achievement and personal ambition are automatically threatened. This, of course, makes sense of Maslows ground- breaking work. Some conclusions can be summarized as examples; satisfying social needs within the workplace will lead to repeated better performance as it has a direct influence on esteem and achievements. This is why team working can increase department performance as the rewards are consistently repeated within the environment through interaction with peers. It can ask questions of itself and we can be as general or subject specific as we wish while ignoring those things that do not interest us. We can include other considerations such as ergonomics or external events including questioning the possible or probable effects of change depending on the information we possess. 3. Change Response I have placed the subject of conflict management before considering the response to change and this is on purpose. Conflict should be considered in the planning stages before the change is rolled out. The impact of change is felt most by those front line staff directly affected and in all probability had no involvement in the planning and roll-out of the change process. By the time the process is announced, those who have initiated the initiative will be out of sync with those on whom the most impact will fall. For leaders it may be established fact; for the personnel it is a shock to the system requiring a lot more detail and time to catch up. I remember one manager blessed with inside knowledge gleefully informing a distraught team member, Not to worry, because we are already planning the next one. You can guess which one resigned. This is an important element to how individuals react and they will often acknowledge a lack of understanding and support from management to the current destruction of routine. Research done prior to the roll- out on the possible emotional reactions will provide frontline managers with the knowledge to offer leadership, support and empathy where and when it is most needed. An effective investigation into individual change involves the work of William Bridges who wrote the wonderfully engaging Managing Transitions published in 2009, bringing together the scattered observations of investigations and written material to offer sound wisdom for change leaders to consider. Importantly Bridges makes a distinction between what is change and what is the transition process. This will confuse anyone using a Thesaurus especially as when typing in transition the first alternative word is, of course, change, but lets give Bridges a chance. Change, he suggested, involves the physical activities and steps that can be planned within a project while the transition involves the psychological processes 11. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 10 involved in abandoning the old and accepting the new. This is the human element and he outlined three phases: An ending phase of letting go, A critical neutral zone of confusion and the loss of normality, A phase of new beginnings. Psychologists claim that any transition will be a personal journey and we had better hold on because it can be a bumpy ride. People as individuals will vary as to how long this journey will take and how they make it. Bridges goes as far as referring to the transition as an organic process and its difficult to argue with this. Confusingly then, he calls the three psychological phases outlined as processes and states that each process must be completed in order for the entire transition to be successful and sees each process as sequential and overlapping. Fig. 3. William Bridges Transition Model To succeed in the transition people must accept that to let go of something then they must first admit that they are holding on to it. This is often easier said than done when many people cannot identify their attachment to existing routines and processes. This is the Endings stage which supports Kurt Lewins Unfreezing stage (see page 21), and Bridges went for it under the logo of letting go of the old ways and the old identity ... which led him to offer some advice to leaders. Provide respect for the past. Previous successes and values will be preserved where possible and enhanced. Provide empathy and acknowledge what people will lose in the process of change. Explain positively what will be gained despite the losses experienced. The change should be sold in specific terms to provide clarity of the change involved. Explain that though things may change, people wont change. Existing teams will remain unchanged where possible. Do not automatically presume that problems raised about the content of the change is opposition to change. They could be valuable observations likely to improve the process by identifying barriers. Communicate constantly and keep stakeholders informed with up to date data and information. The neutral zone process should not be seen just as a time of confusion and emotional fluctuation but as an opportunity for highly creative input if the individuals and groups involved are allowed a level of experimentation to discover new attitudes and behaviours. During the neutral zone people may see the change as: ENDINGS NEUTRAL ZONE NEW BEGINNINGS 12. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 11 Inconvenient or an interruption to routine when there is a chance to explore new things and discover opportunities. Normal routines are disrupted but there is a prospect to adapt and improve new methodologies. A lonely time filled with doubts and concerns but there are also opportunities to make and network with new contacts and peer groups to share creative ideas and support. A period when normal lines of communications are disrupted with clients and through the organizational layers so it is advisable for leaders to plan and put temporary lines of communications in place for feedback and information updates. He explained that new beginnings are the final phase of this organic process that we call transition, and their timing is not set by the dates written on the implementation schedule. Beginnings follow the timing of the mind and the heart. People must commit to a new future which is about as unsettling as it gets outside of a good horror movie. Bridges, naturally, had some thoughts on taking change into the future and looking beyond with four useful Ps. A Purpose People need a purpose which goes beyond the change and transition processes to encourage a focus on achieving success. A Picture Form a picture to engage the imagination to mentally see and feel the positive situation achievable after fulfilment. A Plan Provide a credible plan to give people a clear route to success. A Part to Play People must be given a clear role in the change process and in the working environment afterwards. Table 2. Looking Beyond Change With the bit now firmly between his teeth, Bridges suggested some other advice to keep the momentum of change rolling along: A consistent level of behaviour and communications by leadership. Achievable early targets to encourage and reassure people through the promotion of success. A celebration of key points, including fulfilment and benefit realization. Elizabeth Kbler-Ross made a study of people primarily in the process of coping with bereavement. Death is something most of us will have to face at some point in our lives and Kbler-Ross investigated in some detail how people responded. The Kbler-Ross model and Grief Cycle has been presented in various formats including the easily explained SARAH (Shock, Anger, Rejection, Acceptance and Hope) model seen elsewhere and incorporated in the model below. Depending on the scope and timescale of the change and the experiences and present circumstances involved with the individual, we can provide a reasonable prediction of emotional responses. 13. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 12 Fig. 4. The Change Response Curve 1. Shock An individual or group surprised by the announcement of change will resist engaging with the change process in an attempt to prove that the transition is unnecessary. Resistance and disengagement will appear here and oscillate through the process. 2. Denial The following denial phase is characterized by a sudden run of defensive energy temporarily increasing performance and mood. 3. Anger Realising that the change is real, individuals are forced to confront the change process and defensive energy will convert to deep feelings of anger proportioning blame to those seen as responsible. This may include colleagues as well as leaders. 4. Bargaining stage with confidence collapsing, emotions turn inwards into elements of bargaining. Those individuals about to lose their jobs may accept additional tasks to delay redundancy or promise to achieve high better performance levels to maintain existing teams. 5. Depression and confusion Having held on to some form of hope, there is an extended period of fluctuating morale. Individuals and groups will reach low levels of energy and performance resulting in confused messages and emotional responses including lethargy and depression leading to disengagement from tasks and colleagues. 6. Acceptance At some point there is acceptance of the situation. The old days are gone and a new era is beginning. Acceptance may appear at a deep level hidden by existing emotions still dealing with the process and may require time to work its way to the surface depending on the individual or group dynamics. Good conflict management will assist this process. 7. Problem-Solving Finally groups and individuals will begin to engage in problem solving and questioning behaviours. How will I find a new job? What changes do I need to make to incorporate new working patterns and targets? People will discover new working relationships and finally begin to integrate into the new systems or life choices. Integration Time Denial Resistence Self Doubt Acceptance Exploration Understanding 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Shock Anger Rejection Acceptance Hope Morale,Motivation,Performance 14. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 13 The work carried out by Kbler-Ross remains the primary source to understanding the emotional journey involved in waving a farewell to the past and accepting a less certain future. Interestingly, the old regime may have been criticized and yet people find losing what they had and are familiar with, however out-of-date or unsuccessful that process may have been, even more demanding than entering into the new improved system. Writers such as Adams, Hayes, and Hopson (1976), and later, Parker and Lewis (1981) have applied the model to assorted real life events. Change, as an event or a process, can have an impact on morale, personal energy and professional performance and this will be in itself compounded by the level of the change and the time it requires to run. Kbler-Ross work was ground-breaking in facing up to life challenges and offered a personal insight into the human emotional response which is not accepted by some business analysts or supported by those who draw a line of distinction between professional and personal events. Employers understand responses such as being happy in their work they fool themselves that they have a happy work force without effectively measuring levels of satisfaction or engagement. Creeping through the sensitive layers of shock, resistance or depression is probably asking a bit from boardroom observations who are more than happy to delegate emotional concerns to frontline supervision. The work done by Bridges and Kbler-Ross are so aligned that we can develop a combined model to provide a balanced interpretation for leaders to consider in the planning stages and during the roll-out. A revised response curve should appear shallower as people engage positively with the transition by accepting that the status quo is untenable, providing creative ideas and team support to enter a well- defined future. Depending on the amount of change and the time needed to complete the process, managers can provide strong leadership, effective support and individual encouragement within a consistent level of positive communication. Fig. 5. Combined Change Model Time Denial Resistence Self Doubt Acceptance Exploration Understanding Integration NEUTRAL ZONE NEW BEGINNINGSENDINGS 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Shock Anger Rejection Acceptance Hope Morale,Motivation,Performance 15. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 14 With this model in place, we can now make some practical observations to analysing the effects of change on individual people and offer the following conclusions: 1. Peoples response to change, including proportioning blame, is a normal reaction to change to be respected. 2. The Change Curve model should not be considered as absolute. The length and depth of the change curve can be a shallow fluctuation or a nose dive into the depths of depression which could extend across time depending on: a. The effect of change on the individual or stakeholder group. Understanding the perspectives of individuals or groups is critical so that the impact on each can be controlled. b. Strong leadership by local line management who can assess the confidence and resilience of individuals and groups and are a critical layer to manage the change effectively. c. Being aware of contributory factors in an individuals ability to cope with change. For example, someone experiencing a destabilized private change such as a bereavement, divorce or the plethora of personal problems we all face in our lives may not cope as well with professional change. Local line managers, supervisors and colleagues can be in place to assess and support these people. d. Empowering people early to have a deep level of control and influence in the processes of change will increase the likelihood of success. This helps to explain why there is reduced disturbance in for example a promotion or role change because the change was initiated by the individual and they feel were in control of the change from an early stage. 3. The time taken between the decision by upper management to initiate change and the time when people receive the change will not be synchronized. In the first stages those who initiated the change are more in control as they have already had time to process the impact of change on themselves. As the change is announced through the layers, negative response should not be seen as inappropriate behaviour must be considered natural and manageable. 4. Anger is a natural response as is proportioning blame to those seen as guilty of initiating change. This may include line management and colleagues and should be considered a temporary stage and not a true indication whether a change process is successful or not. People want empathy and support but anger is a stronger emotion. If you are in the firing line then its not personal so go and have another nuclear strength coffee with double cream and sugar and deal with it. 16. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 15 5. The response to positive change such as promotion or a dream job will also involve a change curve although people will feel more in control. Therefore even good change may result in a transition period of lowered morale, motivation and performance. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Why people embrace or resist change is a logical question resulting in many illogical answers unless we consider the human psyche. People are different with a wide range of natures and temperaments as developed by Carl Jung. This means predicting behaviour is a bit like walking through the proverbial personality minefield and few of us are true experts in predicting human behaviour. Available to qualified users only is the remarkable psychological questioning model developed and available through the Myers & Briggs Foundation. Named the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or MBTI model, it really is only appropriate to those who have received proper training and certification. The insights offered are invaluable into investigating behaviour and considers opposites in four sets of personality preferences including judgments and perceptions, thought and feelings, sense and intuitiveness, and introvert or extravert energy and energy recovery. Use the internet to research some questionnaires and discover your own personality types. 4. Social Security Frederick Herzberg made a study in motivation in 2003 which caused a bit of stir among some large corporations who had to rethink the tricky subject of staff motivation. Interviewing hundreds of volunteers, Herzberg and his associates asked searching questions as to what critical factors made people think positively and negatively about their job roles and the results were highly revealing. Factors resulting in poor job satisfaction called Hygiene factors Factors leading to high job satisfaction called Motivators Policies and administration Achievements Supervision and lack of Recognition Supervisory relationships Work content Working conditions Responsibilities Salary Promotion prospects Peer relationships Personal & professional development Personal life influences Subordinate relationships Status Security Table 3. Herzbergs Factors 17. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 16 What Herzberg and his team discovered was that there is absolutely no relationship between positive and negative factors and so they are impossible to compare. Put another way, good working conditions was not even considered while the relationships with management or poor pay often becomes the only reason for industrial action. Negative factors related to the job framework are considered extrinsic while positive factors are built into the role itself and therefore considered intrinsic values. Extrinsic negative factors have no influence whatsoever in creating positive motivation. Working conditions and status can be considered as subjective and based on personal opinions as are relationships with others. We will accept an office refurbishment without too much parading but complain vehemently if one fluorescent light tube is flickering. An adjustment in pay upwards would have no effect on motivation but an adjustment downwards would result in a minor version of the storming of the Bastille. A change in local or mid-level management will almost certainly lead to a temporary loss of job satisfaction while employees get used to the new style of leadership. Conversely job satisfaction relies on positive values in the quality of the work itself, recognition and autonomy, and the prospects for development training and promotion. The implications of Herzbergs investigations caused a bit of a stir to say the least. Some big organisations re-evaluated production-line theory and introduced autonomy within work groups with responsibility for the life cycle of a product from production through to completion which offered job satisfaction. This provided a real sense of achievement, recognition and responsibility for a delivered end product or service where ownership remained with the team or individual concerned with its delivery. Staff became empowered rather than feeling that work content needed to meet company standards. Change initiatives must consider whether the process promotes positive outcomes or will they reinforce dissatisfaction for key stakeholders? Returning to the theme of job satisfaction being more important than salaries, the evidence can be found with Dan Pink (2011). His research supported some of the findings by Herzberg and decided that increased financial reward indeed did not influence better performance. Pink suggested that the main motivators instead are: Autonomy people prefer to be self-directed with the power to make their own decisions. Mastery people want to excel at work, to grow and develop expertise Purpose people like to know that their work is meaningful and this will promote investment in tasks and activities This opens more of Herzbergs findings namely our relationships with others (negative factors) and our motivating factor of receiving recognition for our actions. Surprisingly (again) good team relationship does not figure as a positive motivating factor for job satisfaction but it does figure importantly in poor job satisfaction in terms of supervisory, peer and subordinate relationships. This is why employers concentrate on promoting good team environments. Change and anxiety seem to fit like a claw in a glove. Anxiety is defined as a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain 18. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 17 outcome which pretty much nails it. In 1957, the clinical psychologist Carl Rogers intimated that to move forward in their lives, his clients needed a specific relationship quality. Although Rogers initial research was in the field of psychotherapy, he was not afraid to consider team work, the field of education and the wider world of politics. Rogers was famous for successfully bringing together opposing sides of conflict, such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, into a safe environment to discover an understanding of opposing viewpoints. Rogers findings involved yet another (yes, count them) three conditions: Congruence being true within the relationship and aware of ones own thoughts and emotions. This honesty encourages trust in relationships. Unconditional positive regard to accept and respect a person for who they are without judgment and expectations of acceptability. Empathy to understand the feelings and emotions of others as if they are your own. A true appreciation of thought and feelings. Motivating individuals to accept, even if they will not embrace, change is something Edgar Schein writing with Kurt Lewin considered and Schein compared two types of anxieties as motivators of behaviour: Learning anxiety while attempting to work out apparently intractable problems with a history of negative emotional response to criticisms and failures. This is widely shared and often ignored as a motivator. Survival anxiety is the introduction of a stronger competing anxiety greater than the learning anxiety and put in place to promote change values by: 1. Disconfirmation the belief that the current situation is not sustainable and will be destabilized within a short time 2. Guilt the subjective belief that failure to change could lead to negative consequences including the de-structuring of existing teams and possible job losses. 3. Psychological safety a mechanism to prevent survival anxiety running out of control by introducing external factors to maintain solution theory. This will include: The offer of training and good practices Support and encouragement Positive reactions to errors and mistakes Coaching Acknowledgement of effort pushing change forwards and could include rewards for achievement and experimentation Scheins investigations provides employers and change leaders with the opportunity to provide an option for the workforce to buy into the change process. Ignoring the need to clarify the current situation, or failing to provide learning and development or acknowledge effort will set the stage for high level anxieties among the individuals most affected by the change processes. The response to anxiety is a subject change managers must consider in the planning stage or face later as a 19. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 18 force of friction which can unhinge the process and certainly provide a legacy which will influence future change projects Remembering that William Bridges advised that though things may change, people wont change and that existing teams will remain unchanged where possible - what happens when this is not possible? Redundancies as a consequence of change, or the breaking up of existing teams will drop work relationships out of the status quo and well and truly into Herzbergs negative pot where it will bubble away. Redundancies and team disintegration will result in reduced morale, performance and our word of the moment, motivation. Relationships is one of the basic needs outlined by Abraham Maslow earlier. Remembering that satisfying social needs within the workplace will lead to repeated positive performance as it has a direct influence on our esteem and achievement, it confirms why good team environments increases engagement with work and performance. Threaten interaction within our social circles and motivation deflates like a bad souffl. Experience provides us with clues about workplace social behaviour which is often confusing. People hide behind a professional faade and yet they want to share sometimes deep emotional conflicts and responses during times of crisis; a bit like the circus clown who offers an audience a range of emotions to influence reaction and gauge response in terms of support or dismissal. Focused on individual colleagues or the working group, it may not always be a successful process where colleagues have different personal values. Work, like life, is a social environment made up of friendships, professional bonds and some social interactions can last a lifetime for example I met the mother of my son through work. Some bonds may be positive or negative. Talking with colleagues about people we once knew can initiate warm fuzzy feelings or grumpy comments depending on our experiences with those concerned. I still meet up with army buddies and our reminiscences are always centred on individuals occupying our shared experiences and some of our stories are pretty fragrant. Company culture may encourage a strong social network. This was the case with a previous employer who rewarded employees with gatherings which included supplier representatives, the senior management team and frontline leaders in an informal social environment including paintballing, go-karting and the bar. The MD spent the first half hour of each morning walking around the offices and distribution centre talking to staff and gauging the level of morale with nothing but a pocket notepad and pencil to note priorities and specifics. Milestone birthdays were celebrated and flowers delivered to staff becoming new parents. This level of senior stakeholder involvement created a channel of communication and trust which balanced the difficult decisions needed to run the business. Facing the threat of redundancy I made a few observations worth mentioning. When the risk of redundancies was announced, everyone felt involved in the risk. This led to close social interaction as people sought comfort in their peer groups. During the denial phase strong individuals suggested legal intervention leading to a temporary phase of subversive resistance. 20. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 19 When workers split into those considered safe and those still at risk, the two groups segregated socially diminishing the power of the resistance. Some individuals still at risk removed themselves from all peer groups and withdrew within their own thoughts for proportioning blame. Only when the redundancy phase was completed could the change process pass into an exploration of how to move on. Talking with colleagues who survived the job cuts I found a conflict of emotion. People felt relief that they still had a job, guilty because their friends had lost their jobs and angry because the status quo had been disrupted. This followed the downward slide of the Change Response Curve of self-doubting in the neutral zone. Removing social contacts from the working environment therefore has a definite impact on reducing job satisfaction. It is the loss of association within the team, breaking the bonds and friendships which make coming to work a shared experience with familiar people and their unique contribution to our social balance. Confidence will fall, anxieties will surface and emotions can be confusing as people try to balance their own needs and survival against what they lose in terms of social focus. Fig. 6. Loss of Social Balance and Team Cohesion In the breaking up of teams, given the choice between making a popular social motivator or the top performer within the team redundant, it may be worth considering who will contribute to the integrity and cohesion of future working groups before making a decision. Top performers be a role model for others, help sustain a level of team performance and act as a measure of quality for target achievement. Social motivators can be a motivating asset; provide an immeasurable contribution through personality and support; act as a point of focus between layers to gauge and communicate engagement, be given training and responsibilities and attain the practical skills and sponsorship to be future leaders. 21. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 20 When considered in context, the contribution of social motivators in terms of soft skills can be more of an asset than some top performers who may be focused on self-preservation than effective team working. Of course keeping both may be the ideal solution but experience tells me that this is not always possible. Where there are multiple redundancies to be made, plan for one major incidence of redundancies. The longer the process of redundancies last then any loss of someone will touch someone somewhere else along the process. Only when this process is completed can the true process of healing begin. 5. The Resistance Movement A 2012 study by Cameron and Green in their book Making Sense of Change Management, identifies five influences to an individuals response to change. Influence Description The nature of the change How big is the change and what are the values underlying the change? Is the change independent or part of a larger process? The consequences of the change How will this affect stakeholders? The greater the impact the greater the response. The organizational history Is there integrity, openness and a positive change record? The type of the individual What is the personality and current motivation of the individual? What is their learning style and how do they respond to change? The individual history The experience people have had of previous change initiatives. Some people will have built up confidence and resilience while others may have negative experiences leaving them opposed to further change. Table 4. Influences on Individual Response 22. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 21 Anyone who has studied the work of Kurt Lewin cannot be anything but impressed by his simplistic reasoning which leaves you slapping your forehead and muttering of course! Lewin introduced the world to his Three Stages of Change if we were to consider a block of ice and want to change it into another shape then we could melt (unfreeze) the ice, make it the new shape that we want (change) and then refreeze it. (Slap! Of course!) He also suggested that there are positive and negative forces involved in any change process. Lewin working in a weird age of bad Sci-Fi movies called his model the Force Field Analysis (1951). Work Study: the distribution centre If we were to consider a busy distribution centre changing its existing out-of-date process from printed orders to using an HHT hand-held scanner to record the picking and packing procedure electronically, short term resistance within the warehouse may include employees unused to electronic scanners, barcodes and defined picking routes. They will be nervous of being measured for time and accuracy. High-end resistance may include the fear that a more accurate system will probably result in a requirement for less staff. The level of predicted resistance can be shown by the length of the arrows assigned to a negative factor. In this case, the threat of redundancies will probably result in the greatest level of stakeholder resistance. Lewins model presents in diagrammatic form a good picture of resistance forces to consider. Fig. 7. Lewins Force Field Analysis 23. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 22 By working with the stakeholders from an early stage everyone has a clear and honest vision of the change and its implications and how the company aims to support possible losses through redundancy support, job transfers and specific training. This introduces the more subversive side of response to change. However minor or sensible the change, resistance should be expected and prepared for. In 2012 Rosebeth Moss Kanter identified ten common causes of resistance and offered some ideas to lessen the impact of resistance. Reason for Resistance Solutions Loss of territorial control Allow stakeholders to take ownership and be involved with the planning stages so that they can make choices Excessive levels of uncertainty Create safety through effective planning of the process in clear steps with a timetable to follow. Change is a surprise resulting in shock Keep stakeholders informed and involved in change plans. Too many change initiatives 1. Reduce the number of unrelated initiatives, 2. Where possible keep things familiar, 3. Avoid making unnecessary changes. Loss of Face due to current state Celebrate those elements of the past which were successful. Concerns over abilities Provide information, training, support and mentorship, Run parallel systems during the transition Change requires more effort Allow stakeholders to focus exclusively on the process, Reward and recognize participation. Change interferes with current activities across departments Increase number of stakeholders, Work with stakeholders to minimize disruption. Resentments become public due to disruption Introduce healing measures on past conflicts before proceeding into the future. Change can be threatening and may hurt Be honest, fast and fair. One mass run of redundancies is more advisable than a series of smaller layoffs. Table 5. Common Causes of Resistance 24. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 23 We can begin to predict common types of resistance. Nicola Busby in The Effective Change Managers Handbook offers the following methods to deal with resistance. Resistance Symptoms Considerations How to deal with it Open Resistance -Lots of one way communication to leaders, senior managers and colleagues confirming discontent with the change. - Others may follow this process and also reveal similar symptoms. -Audibly unhappy people can dominate meetings and workgroups. -Senior managers can lose faith in the change if they perceive increased audible resistance. -Engage in consultations to discover the reasons for resistance. -Work with individuals to identify the benefits they will gain. -Accept feedback amend the process if the reasoning is correct or find a compromise solution. Disengagement -Lack of meeting and training attendance. -Lack of participation when present. -Constant agreement with any proposal without discussion. -Easy to miss in the early stages as they remain quiet. -Disengagement can effect teams. -No opportunity to input into the change plan so missed opportunity to overcome barriers. -Identify reasons; time, denial or sabotage? -Take the change to them in consultations or arrange specific group meetings. -Increase engagement by involving people through feedback or testing change processes. Sabotage -People bring personal agendas to meetings. -Attempt to stall processes. -Spread negative rumours to colleagues. -Sabotage is subversive and hard to track down the source. -New processes can be fragile and easily stalled by those against the change. -Identify the saboteurs and interview them. -Give people responsibility for suitable aspects of the change to increase their engagement and accountability. Table. 6. Common Types of Resistance 25. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 24 Including the possible effects of resistance is best integrated within the planning stages. Forward planning allows change facilitators to prepare and consider resistance and seek to offer advice through the leadership and management layers. JP Kotter and LA Schlesinger in the Harvard Business Review (2008) suggested two further considerations within the strategy planning stages to manage opposition through the consideration of situational values. 1. Situational values: The amount and type of anticipated resistance The power of the change initiator in relation to the resisters (position and stakeholder support) Identifying the key owners of relevant data to design the change and the energy to implement it. Make a risk assessment of organizational performance and survival if the change is not made or abandoned. 2. Determine the optimal speed of change: Use the proceeding analysis to set the speed of change processes. In summary, leaders can see conflict as: The traditional view that all conflict is bad and must be avoided or punished. A natural and inevitable outcome of change (human relations view) Necessary for an organization to perform and grow (internationalist view). Conflict can be: 1. Total rejection with obvious resistance which could include: Confrontation Union involvement Industrial action Leaving the company 2. Active opposition including: Subversive resistance Manipulating change failure Active opposition can be more serious than the reason for change. 3. Passive opposition or tolerance: No engagement with the change process allowing it to fail Indifference to success Secretive opposition 6. Measuring Stakeholder Engagement Having planned and initiated change processes, leaders and facilitators like nothing better than to measure the engagement and response of people involved in the change process. We can do this by measuring staff performance and engagement or ask for feedback through surveys and consultations. 26. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 25 Measuring performance and engagement can be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative Monitoring Key Performance Indicators Comparison against accepted industry standards Performance against forecasts time and projections Predictive forecast achievements Decision analysis based on programming and probability analysis Table. 7. Quantitative and Qualitative Monitoring Qualitative Monitoring Formal and informal appraisals Group behaviour appraisal Individual involvement and behaviours Morale indicators sickness, absenteeism, disputes and accidents Trainer assessment of individual behaviour and attendance Stakeholder feedback on training and the change Quality of recommendations by stakeholders and working teams Stakeholder feedback and attitude surveys Table. 8. Quantitative and Qualitative Monitoring Considering how much facilitators rely on stakeholder feedback, facilitators spend an awful lot of their time shaking their heads and rolling their eyes when it comes to measuring feedback. Its not that the feedback is flawed as such, its just that many stakeholder surveys are just not useful. Mainly it comes down to the method of gaining feedback and the questions asked. Lets look at a few true examples. A company initiated a company survey to gauge staff morale. Purporting to be completely anonymous the survey finished by asking the following: Which site are you based at? Which department do you work in? What age group are you? Are you male or female? Anonymous? Needless to say this section was barely touched except by people who only had great things to say about the company. This was basically limited to the managers and those people chasing promotions or considering the security of their jobs. The same survey asked some searching questions, including the prickly subject of salaries which was just asking for trouble. Remembering Frederick Herzbergs survey on job satisfaction factors, salaries most definitely fall into the poor job satisfaction sector. Acceptable salaries do not figure in job satisfaction considerations and the survey responses should really have been predicted by the authors. The reaction delivered in the subsequent global email by the directors 27. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 26 was short, to the point and left staff in absolutely no doubt how the boardroom viewed salary dissatisfaction. Result: the survey created the dissatisfaction. A favourite survey tactic was evident in another question, Our nearest competitor has announced redundancies this week. Would you agree that you currently feel more secure working for our company? The company could then confidently state that 97% of our staff agree that they have more job security over our nearest competitor. Perhaps the 3% who disagreed decided either not to answer a daft question or were the company clowns (they are everywhere!). This sort of data is evident by many companies who try to be clever with their questions to skew data for advertising purposes 8 out of 10 customers said that they prefer Taking this process further, twisting response data can drip down to front line managers who want to show themselves as successful leaders with eager and knowledgeable teams. The same company asked staff to rate themselves prior to their staff appraisals and the managers were realizing that things may be getting a bit twitchy in the ranks. So, during their appraisals, managers therefore subsequently attempted to convince staff to upgrade their self-appraisal ratings and so provide another skewed result totally hiding the warning signs that some staff were beginning to disengage from the business. Getting feedback from employees is a modern intelligence and data gathering trend which, in the wrong hands leads to meaningless data so any change management analysis based on these surveys will not address deep rooted emotional problems or poor business practices. The methods of obtaining data is varied and each can be useful within the right situation. Negative feedback within one or more of the sources can provide a strong warning of resistance, disengagement or sabotage. Fig. 8. Information Gathering 28. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 27 Pulse surveys Feedback surveys Focus workgroups Individual consultations Performance reviews and appraisals Pulse Surveys Pulse surveys consist of closed questions requiring a simple yes/no response and are easy to interpret. Ideal for testing the temperature of change, they can be repeated at regular times throughout the change process to gauge engagement and alignment. Stakeholder Surveys Stakeholder surveys are designed to gain in depth information using scales such as Likert (1-5) or free text boxes. An example of the Likert Scale could be: How confident are you using the new customer database system? 1. Very Confident 2. Confident 3. Dont Know 4. Unconfident 5. Very unconfident Likert-based questionnaires are easy to interpret by computer software and often used in online application forms and customer surveys. Harder to interpret are the free text boxes in some surveys which allow a high level of personal opinion and judgment which requires human analysis. Anyone who has completed a staff survey has probably cringed and considered their future when reading: What areas of your job dont you like? Please explain your answer. Stakeholder surveys provide a snapshot of opinion and emotions across time periods from a large number of responders. This could be specific to work groups, departments, company layers or a global corporate feedback analysis aimed at assessing levels and predicting reactions. Surveys should be repeated at significant points through the change process to measure response and engagement. Focus Groups Focus groups bring stakeholders together to undertake training or to share their knowledge and experiences within a formal or informal collective environment. Groups can be change or role specific which allows a high level of focus and specialisms. Workshops are an opportunity to discover current levels of knowledge, engagement and behaviour and provide an environment for summative assessments on training. Training must be flexible and adapted to VARK learning styles after Fleming and Mills (1992) to engage learning. 29. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 28 Teaching Style Learning preferences Visual Learning (V) Use of imagery and symbols, charts, diagrams and rich text to aid learning Auditory (A) Aural preference, listening to lectures or recorded information. Reading & Writing (R) Reading information and note taking or filling in workbooks. Kinaesthetic (K) A perceptual preference using experience and practice within either simulated or real activities using all the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell etc.). Table. 9. VARK Learning Focus groups can provide a rich element of data delivery and select themes with the ability to delve deeper into specifics if needed, sometimes to minutiae detail depending on levels of expertise. Although time consuming, stakeholders can understand why something is happening and can provide quantitative results in an associated pulse survey. A training survey could provide the following information: 1. Were the learning objectives achieved 100% replied yes. 2. Was the content understood fully 100% replied yes. 3. Was the training useful 86% replied yes 4. Are you confident using the new system 75% replied no. We can deduce from the survey that engagement with the training theory was high but did not include confidence in the practical use of new working methods. There is a risk of failure as users disengage from the new process despite good training practices. Feedback and observation of behaviours and engagement will provide critical forecasting on resistance and the inability to embrace change due to practice deficiencies and suggests that practical experience in the new system with close supervision and mentorship is required. This provides a focus for further training. In 1992 Honey and Mumford described four individual learning styles which may be defined within focus groups. Activists No, this is not more about resistance movements and outright sabotage. These activists prefer practical learning through trial and error. They benefit from effective mentorship within activity-based work groups and enjoy taking risks or just having a go because its a challenge. They may not learn effectively because they are easily bored, restless and jump from one experience to something new without completing things. Reflectors Reflector-style learners enjoy observation of work practices in activities with small action learning sets of colleagues who are learning together. The learning sets may not necessarily be your normal working team but selected cross-department personnel. Each participant can present and 30. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 29 discuss specific work challenges and develop options through group interaction. Reflectors will opt to hold each participant accountable for specific tasks, individual challenges and presenting their findings to the group. They learn from experience and are careful and thoughtful. Instead of taking risks they prefer structure and take their time to draw conclusions by analysing problems from all angles which can frustrate activists and pragmatists. Pragmatists Pragmatists prefer practical working groups where they can apply tools and models to test ideas relevant to the problem. They are realistic and practical, open to new techniques and accept help from just about anyone who passes by. Their temperament is sometimes confused with defeatism which other types may find frustrating. They are quick to reject ideas if they cannot see the point of continuing. Theorists Theorists prefer attending courses and seminars, learning through lectures and presentations, researching topics and reading through material. They may lack creativity and intuition and have no tolerance for ambiguity so may reject the offer of practical input by other learning styles. Individual Consultation and Interviews Feedback gained in interviews will be very personal to the individual and will probably not reflect the culture and views of the organization. It is however vital in an attempt to gain insights into the individual reaction to change if the person is prepared to share truthful thoughts. Sensitive subjects can be addressed which people may prefer to share in private. Interviews are ideal where stakeholders are too busy to attend focus groups or may be a negative influence on teams due to disengagement, resistance or sabotage. Q&A sessions can be highly revealing if facilitated properly with empathy. Private consultations are therefore useful to gauge current levels of morale through opinion, to question barriers and attain agreement or find compromises outside the group environment. Ideas Box A recent inclusion is the idea of an ideas box. I personally have mixed thought on their usefulness. They have no focus, are not used by more than a few individuals and therefore the information is limited. Analysing stakeholder feedback can allow us to make certain judgments and predictions and adapt the change processes to include the vital core of learning and development. Based on the measuring of engagement we can identify current levels of engagement, potential barriers and problems and quickly react to them. 31. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 30 Fig. 9. Analysing Feedback Analysing Feedback: Falling performance - new process may not be understood and requires specific training and practical coaching. Positive and negative mixed survey responses requires immediate and creative questioning which, if not consulted and acted upon, may lead to levels of disengagement. Good focus-group attendance but negative or irregular feedback training is welcomed but may be inappropriate or not suitable to particular learning styles. This will lead to disengagement. Poor attendance and involvement in work groups, disinterest in consultations with falling performance over time are signs of planned disengagement. Sudden drop in performance and a strong level of negative survey comments are a sign of open resistance. This will require Q&A to discover the reasons and solutions and a focus on leadership and support to engage with the change. This may require a level of compromise outlined by Thomas-Kilman. Inconsistent wobbling performance, positively skewed feedback, minimal focus-team involvement and rejection of positive news may indicate sabotage. Difficult to track down and prove and could be sub-conscious. Will have a demotivating influence on colleague morale and frontline leadership. Must be investigated and challenged quickly using individual interviews. In extreme circumstances this may require the removal of identified personnel if unresolved. 7. The Use of Personas and Empathy Mapping Change managers can define the effect of change on a working team and promote empathy by representing the personnel effected by change through the use of a persona. This can help focus engagement strategies by defining the goals and needs of the group in a highly influential manner. By adding focus through the use of a persona, it can suggest the needs of the entire group. 32. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 31 To make this work, there can be no link between the persona and someone within the group. Therefore the persona is a character with a unique name outside the group and it is vital that the character is treated as relevant and serious so it is not appropriate to add humour. It is also recommended to add some form of stock photograph to add personality and a good image will work if someone within the group feels that the image reminds them of someone within the group without being specific. Stay away from reinforcing social stereotypes so have a few spare stock photographs available. The use of personas appears in Alan Coopers revealing book The Inmates are Running the Asylum. He suggests the following benefits: Personas assist team members to have a shared understanding of audience groups. Group definitions can be placed in context to be understood and remembered in focus group sessions. Proposals can be guided by how well they meet the needs of various personas. Specifics can be introduced to satisfy the priorities of one or more personas. Personas provide a human element to focus empathy for the character represented. With this in mind, I would like to introduce Steve (no kidding, really?) and reintroduce a previous example. Fig. 10. Personas The stakeholder group represented by Steve will be the operatives in the distribution centre introduced earlier. It has been decided that the time has come to update the entire ordering and delivery stock system and introduce an electronic scanning control for the picking process generated by a new EPOS system. This will be provided by hand held (HHT) scanners which will display the stock required, the location of the stock and a timer. Operatives will need to scan stock barcodes and manually type in the quantities. Once the order pick is completed, the HHT will upload data to a computerized data system and the pick will be checked for accuracy and time and motion data. Targets will be introduced in due course. Steve has worked in the company for ten years. He lives with a partner and her two teenage children who are still in education. He is struggling to make ends meet and the family rely only on Steves wage. He has COSHH and Health and Safety certificates. His attendance is 98.8% and he achieved 94% for pick accuracy at his last appraisal. He was very happy in his role and proud of his work quality. Lately he has become withdrawn and his relations with colleagues has cooled to the point of exclusion. 33. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 32 Steve admits that the change to an electronic system is making him feel that his job is under threat. He feels he will not adapt to the new system and thinks that the checks on accuracy and time and motion is the companys attempt to reduce working hours or cut staff. This has been mentioned in a recent team meeting and his forklift truck test has been postponed until further notice. Having introduced the persona we can now support the character with an empathy map which will help devise and focus strategies for engagement within the group. I have included a personality SWOT check (individual Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) model instead of the usual Gain and Pain headings included in the published model in The Change managers Handbook. Fig. 11. Blank Empathy Map Now that we have a map we can begin to fill it in. This can be done within a focus group, by change or project leaders or the frontline managers. The group should be instructed to consider the following before they complete the map. What does Steve really think and feel? Describe what is really important to him which he may not share with others. Speculate about his emotions and what he may be thinking about every day. What does Steve really hear? What are others saying? What rumours are there? What is his supervisor or manager communicating? STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIES WEAKNESSES THREATS WHAT DO I THINK and FEEL? WHAT DO I HEAR? WHAT DO I SAYand DO? WHAT DO I SEE? 34. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 33 What does Steve really see? What does he observe every day in his environment and who are his friends and the people who influence his life? Is BAU (business as usual) being maintained or are standards slipping? What does Steve really say? Is he talking in positive or negative terms? What is he saying about the change or others and who does he talk to? Is he telling the truth or hiding his true emotions? What does Steve really do? What is his behaviour and does his work support the team? Is his performance being monitored? What are Steves strengths and weaknesses? What are his skills and what are his immediate training needs? What can be exploited or negated? What real opportunities are there for Steve and what threats are there? Is there leadership potential and who/what stands in the way? Using a whiteboard or a flipchart with an empathy map template, the group should work together to fill in the map with details gained from the persona profile and the various forms of feedback. They could do this by adding sticky notes to the map and once in place leaders and managers can develop a plan to overcome barriers, misinformation and rumour, build on strengths and opportunities and reduce threats and weakness through consultation, negotiation and specific training. Used properly an empathy map has far reaching benefits and encourages communication and trust. Fig. 12. Example Empathy Map Transfer to another department Learn new skills in electronic warehousing and get better role. Future opportunity for FLT license STRENGTHS 10 years experience Health and Safety and COSHH Certificates Good performance and attendance records Threat from colleagues who are able to adapt to change Inability to achieve targets may result in losing job. WEAKNESSES No existing computer knowledge Methodical work ethic so time measurement may show weakness Solo wage earner at home No FLT license at this time of change so limits job searching options THREATS Threat from new system which requires high level of training Possible redundancies OPPORTUNITIES Accept redundancy with severance pay if offered? WHAT DO I THINK and FEEL? WHAT DO I HEAR? WHAT DO I SAY and DO? WHAT DO I SEE? The company is only interested in snot people. I have lost confidence. Can I accept new system? Why are theychanging us? I don't want to lose my job Where else can I go? I want someone to reassure me I like the people that I work with. My closest colleague says that it will be OK. I need to work to support my partner and children There are jobs elsewhere. Lots more emails and paperwork More top managers visiting Closed office doors so more secrets! Time spent training not working! No more FLT training this year! People are ignoring my concerns, aren't they? I have withdrawn from people. I was absent yesterday. I am searching for a new job. I am being influenced by others. My boss says that there will be redundancies My colleagues say there may be more redundancies My partner says she will support me whatever happens. Colleagues are looking The directors do not really know what we do Why do they need to change us? I won't accept this new system! 35. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 34 Steps to generating an empathy map. 1. Give the group an individual persona like the one described. Keep it simple and dont get too personal unless you want to consider yourself. If you do, I admire your bravery. 2. Using the blank diagram as a template draft the persona onto flipchart paper or a whiteboard. 3. Build a profile with the team for the persona using the questions outlined. The group can use sticky notes coloured perhaps red, amber and green to suggest the severity of thoughts and emotions. Although it is doubtful that analysts will drill down to individual stakeholders, you could consider the following as a project to become familiar with the models included here. Place your persona within the TKI conflict model and assign an appropriate style recommended by Kilman. Imagine that the change is announced today and will last one month; draw up a Change Response Curve for your persona. You will find Microsoft Excel ideal for doing this. I used the following numerical starting values for the curve: 11, 12, 8, 3, 2, 2, 2, 4 and back to 11; I then made the chart elements invisible and added an effective curving trend line before adding details and text. Using Bridges Transition Model, suggest how to guide the persona effectively through the transition process. Referencing Herzberg, explain which factors may provide job satisfaction and influence job dissatisfaction. Using Scheins Model, how could you manage levels of anxiety? In terms of engagement, is the persona showing resistance, disengagement or is there evidence of sabotage? What is the evidence? Based on predicted feedback how can we develop the knowledge and skills to aid the transition of the change? Which VARK learning style would best suit the persona? Is the persona an activist, pragmatist, reflector or a theorist? Having analysed the persona how would you manage the resistance? What are the full range of options and are you sure that they are lawful? If you complete the project I promise that you will end up with a deeper appreciation of the emotional journey which may be experienced by personnel. You could of course, if you are up for the challenge, use personal experience to reflect on your own change involvement and ask yourself the following to produce a personal empathy map. 1. Did I fully understand the change? 2. Was I managed properly through the process? 3. What other options may have been available? 4. What would I do different now? 5. Why didnt I pursue different options then? I would be interested to see your findings if you feel like sharing. Please email me your completed analysis to srddmaher@hotmail.com and I will consider your work. I may even reply if I spot something unusual or amazing. You have been warned. 36. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 35 8. Conclusion If you have survived this long, you have done well and I salute you. Trying to summarise a piece of work is never easy when I may just end up repeating myself. Everybody has their own experiences and something personal to relate to, whether its a life string or a career shift. Change in whatever form is a removal of what you know and the introduction of something new requiring new thought and acceptance. Fighting change is how we end up with teenagers revolting from the bedroom because their life transitions are always big ones (and they let parents know that) and, because each transition overlaps the next one, it leaves the wee darlings no time to understand (nor do the parents apparently) while they are socially expanding; so they exist in a time of confusion and impatience challenging the internal and external powers as they experience new emotions, decreasing the influence of parents and increasing the stimulus of friendships which puts them into emotional overload. Sounds all too familiar does it not? It may be surprising to realise that many of the models described here are often only used to consider conflict and engagement among managers. I personally think that managers should not have to accept centre stage all the time and all companies need to consider all levels within the organization. We need to accept that all people through all the layers of an organization are on a trip into the unknown. Emotional response is only a part of any transition process and must be included with the many other factors, systems and processes, and the drivers and measures involved in change. Some of these will be presented in further work which I intend to publish. This paper is only a work of reference. In an ideal situation change has time and opportunity to be properly planned and communicated. Only then can there be a relevant point of reference to move from. Time plays its own part. Leave the introduction of change too long after announcing it and people will become disengaged while waiting. Initiate too soon and there is not the time to consider and prepare before the physical transition bites them on the rear end. Trying to introduce too much change can lead to confusion where people judge the current change as just another fad which will be discarded by the next initiative. The works of Kbler-Ross and Bridges are relevant when considering response. Change leaders will hope the shock, anger and rejection stages will run and burn out during the unfreezing stage. People need to let go of the past and will require a convincing argument why the old system cannot be sustained. This requires a high level of communication supported by evidence. Shock, anger and rejection are natural stages specific to the individual and requires empathy before a time of confusion begins as the change is introduced. In the next stage, the change itself, leaders should allow for a certain level of resistance and encourage questioning and creative thought. This requires a period of careful support to establish engagement through structured training and development. It is also a time to establish new teams or repair surviving team bonds. Resistance and disengagement will surface but a planned process will put 37. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 36 in place the ground rules and communication channels to open opportunities to talk. By the end of this stage there should be a level of acceptance which can be exploited through focus groups and mentorship. The final stage, refreezing, is when the change becomes real. Having accepted that the change is happening, people will begin to explore and drill down into relevant specifics and minutiae, to investigate and integrate, question specifics for details and take responsibility for improvement. This time of empowerment will activate social inclusion. Group dynamics will be established and individuals should be considering the present and not barriers based on the past. Some resistance will remain depending on the individual but they will seek social support rather than pushing resistance up a level to front line leaders in an effort to unbalance things. People are individuals with emotions and within teams they will want to share their experiences in an attempt to find levels of agreement and often deny the need for support. For most people this is a uniquely personal experience and they will want to be understood. The impact on an individual will affect everyone associated with them to some degree either in work or in their private lives. Some of the impact can be managed (mental tiredness) and some can be life changing (job losses). The social consequences, professional or personal, are often not understood or even considered until it becomes a problem. This can occur before, during and after the transition. Good research and experience can drill down into details and provide accepted references. Focus groups can offer the development of new skills with increasing levels of confidence. Managers must promote and support working groups and step in when individuals falter or fall. Senior managers can endorse a level of flexibility and allocate further resources to sustain change. Conflict should be managed rather than challenged as this will re-establish strong communications. In the real world planned change may not happen, especially in a climate of nervous economies taxing the recovery of some major brands and with many independent companies in fiscal distress without reserves. Change will be a reaction to a current state requiring immediate action and decisions to offset a financial, system or regulatory crisis. There will not be the time for strategic planning, tactical decisions and operational development. Managers will be required to drive through change at the expense of personnel which may include losses in staff and services at short notice. This environment will reduce confidence and leave people feeling nervous with little opportunity to seek out support. Detailed communication may have to wait until the recovery stages. When attempting to measure engagement, it depends on designing the method of collecting data and asking the right questions. Some surveys dance around the edges and stop short of any point worth acting upon. One of the most revealing surveys reviewed asked only these five questions of all employees. 1. In your view, is your role important to the whole organisation? 2. Do you wish that you had more time to do your job? 3. Do you leave your desk during breaks to talk to others? 4. Do you talk to your supervisor/manager more than twice a day? 5. Do you talk to your family and friends for more than 5 minutes daily about your work? 38. 13 February 2015 Copyright: Steve Maher 2015 37 This was a simple pulse survey and, based on the responses, positive changes were introduced to establish breakout areas between departments and daily informal meetings where all personnel, including team leaders met up for ten minutes over a hot drink. Concerns were aired; successes, birthdays and the previous nights television celebrated without recorded minutes. Problems were aired publically and clashes solved privately often without involving managers. Tasks were shared across the group fairly and usually went unassigned but were taken up voluntarily by colleagues requesting more responsibility, giving personnel with multiple layers of responsibility reduced stress levels while less busy colleagues undertook continuous professional development to increase job satisfaction. This established strong social bonds and opened communications across layers and silos. The main benefit was a new vibrant atmosphere with lively interaction and shared achievement. An engagement survey can delve into more detail but be careful. Asking Where do you see the company is 5 years is like predicting the next US president; irrelevant to most personnel who think in terms of now. Asking instead, Do you agree that the new system is better? the obvious follow-on question is, Why? If the answer is, I c