Change is changing. The pace of change, levels of activity, frequency of projects, complexity of processes, volume of data available to managers – all are increasing at a startling rate.
Introducing Works Management’s people and productivity roundtable debate sponsored by Festo, the company’s MD, Gary Wyles, put it like this: “If we imagine a graph of the degree of change over time it seems to me that the line for many businesses is getting steeper and steeper. “If we were used to managing businesses through a gradual incline, that’s changing as technological developments, global competition, and availability of knowledge and information online all accelerate.”
For Wyles, the steeper the line on the graph, the greater the challenge to the leadership skills of factory managers: “If we don’t proactively manage, communicate and involve people in change then the results often trail the ambition,” he warns.
And proactive managers are best equipped to communicate the need for positive change in a compelling way, Wyles adds: “The more we can engage the people in the change through effective communication, the more likely it is to succeed, sometimes even beyond our own expectations.”
Indeed, communication is a fundamental management skill in any change process. If you want your people to be happy with your proposed change, you need to convince them it’s the right thing to do. And here lies a key challenge, says Wyles: “In change processes, we often explain the ‘what’, maybe even the ‘how’, but don’t always talk about the ‘why’. Why is it necessary for the business and for the individual?
“In my experience, change is a process of individuals. We often talk to people as groups and fail to connect with the individual. The more we can do this, the more likely we are to understand their needs and expectations, and find a connection between these and the company strategy. And, each time we make those connections, we increase our chances of success.”
Peter Rieck, chairman of Marcmoor, points out that no company’s survival is secure unless it engages in constant change. He adds: “That’s not simply an echo of the hackneyed phrase – essentially if you don’t go through the due process of listening to your customers, understanding what’s happening and seeing what’s coming around the corner, then you don’t know where you’re driving the business.
“If you don’t have a target for your business then everybody looks at the internal stuff and, effectively, you get a dysfunctional business that is weak and falls to pieces. As far as I’m concerned, change is absolutely everything.”
Lucy Taylor, head of operations at The Fabulous Bakin’ Boys, agrees, but with a caveat: “When we discuss the change management process we tend to talk about it with capital letters; we talk about it when we have a project – we are going to reduce headcount, we are going to improve quality, we are going to put in this new piece of equipment, and so on.
“Often, we don’t get to a point where change management comes in small letters and is something that our guys are doing as a matter of routine, day in and day out.”
The trouble is, manufacturing managers can be reactive. Taylor again: “Should we not get away from waiting for the burning platform, or the next crisis to come along and instead concentrate on being prepared?”
Reactive management needs to be confronted, according to Wyles: “We are becoming used to the idea of disruptive technology – something comes along, displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry. I think there is also a role for ‘disruptive management’ – management that comes into an organisation and seriously challenges the status quo.”
Status quo, he says, is the enemy: “Even if the company is performing well, the status quo says ‘let’s carry on doing what we’re doing because it seems to be working’. But, over time it leads to complacency, or maybe even inertia in the business which can make it vulnerable to changing circumstances. If we don’t drive change into the business the risk is that we become fragile, easy to break; we are at the mercy of changing circumstances. The antidote to fragility is agility – it’s being quick on the feet.”
Disruptive management, for Wyles, involves stimulating or provoking different thinking even if there doesn’t appear to be a need for it. He adds: “It focuses on creating a journey of discovery – think something we haven’t thought before, consider doing something we haven’t done before. It is keeping the mind moving. In the coaching training we deliver, we talk about taking individuals on a journey of discovery and creating sparks in their minds.”
Disruptive management is “a most magnificent tool”, according to Rieck. But he warns: “Don’t do it if you don’t know where you want to end up because you’ll have chaos.”
David Barnbrook, chief operating officer at Judges Scientific, agrees that an ill thought through plan is as bad, if not worse, than no plan at all. He offers this cautionary tale: “We had an accountant join a company I worked for many years ago. The manufacturing MRP and accounts systems were linked. She was only interested in the accounts and, on the first day, made changes to the accounting system. This made the entire manufacturing system collapse on the first morning. The moral is that you a need to understand the consequences of actions.”
Indeed, the company needs a clear vision, says John Burton, senior manager, supply chain at Coca-Cola Enterprises: “If you know that in five years time we are going to put this on the end of that, or go after that market, or develop this product, people get it and when it comes along it’s not a surprise. They can also build on the idea. So it ticks a few boxes – they know what is expected of them, they feel like they’ve got some sort of ownership of it, and the change process kicks off.”
This, of course, implies the need for strong communication skills, which can present a problem, warns Festo’s Wyles: “Sometimes we find managers don’t feel equipped to handle the communication of the strategy. They are often very effective at designing the strategy, but are uncomfortable when you then put them in front of a group of their own people to communicate it in a compelling and inspiring way.
“I think if it starts there then without realising it you can transmit that fear through the organisation... It is easy to overlook those little negative reactions that you don’t address early enough at all levels and, by the time it gets to the workforce, it’s already tainted as ‘the latest thing from management and it’s not really anything to do with us’.”
The danger, of course, is that this stifles creativity and hampers the change process. Wyles concludes with this stark admonition: “If you are not changing, you are falling behind somebody else. Standing still is not an option because, in practice, it means you’re going backwards.”
Get your people on board
Generate an attitude among your workforce that encourages commitment to change by conducting:
- Personal briefings on the proposed changes, cascading down through each level of the organisation.
- Training programmes that allow time to get your messages across and discuss their meaning and application.
- Workshops in which groups get together to discuss, analyse and interpret proposed changes.
Why do some people resist change?
Comfort – Habits are familiar and people like the familiar. However, when they get used to the status quo and become too comfortable in their own skills and knowledge, this can stifle ambition and lead to complacency.
Failure to understand the need for change – It is for you, as part of the management team, to make a compelling case for change and communicate it to your people.
Poor engagement – If they have no ‘ownership’ of the change process, people will disengage and go their own way. Empowering your people can be a potent weapon in the battle against indifference or cynicism.
Fear of a greater workload – As money gets tight, some companies have been tempted to resort to ‘job loading’ whereby more and more tasks are piled onto fewer and fewer unfortunate individuals. You need to reassure your people that they won’t become victims of job loading.
Fear of failure – Neutralise this by turning away from a blame culture and emphasising that mistakes can be learning experiences.
Threat to status and position – Change can step on the egos of the recipients: it requires those who think they have ‘arrived’ to admit they are mistaken. Resistance is reduced when participants understand how the change will further or contribute to their vested interests.
Pig headedness – Some people are simply not open to change in any form and their default position is to remain uncooperative. What do you do with these stubborn people? One factory manager had a radical suggestion: “If you can’t fire them with enthusiasm, you might have to fire them with enthusiasm.”
Smashing the barriers to change
Change management is a planned and organised approach to ensuring changes are effectively implemented and their benefits are sustained. One of its main challenges is overcoming resistance to change, which can be helped by taking these actions:
- Ensure the reasons for the change, as well as its impact on the business and individuals, are clearly communicated to everyone affected. Modifying established patterns or working relationships can lead to uncertainty (whether over costs, equipment, job roles, or other factors). This can trigger fear which can result in a negative reaction unless you neutralise it early with effective, clear communication.
- Identify the people (aka ‘change agents’) who need to be involved in specific change activities – say, design, testing, or problem solving – and who can then act as champions of the change process.
- Involve people in the change physically and intellectually, and they will inevitably become invested in it emotionally too. After all, people support what they help to create.
- Focus on results. Give the team something to work towards and yourself something to track by setting quantifiable goals. In other words, ensure you know what ‘good looks like’ by identifying and agreeing success indicators and ensure they are regularly measured and reported upon.
- Assess the training requirements prompted by the change and plan when and how it will be delivered. Also provide ongoing help, support and information to those involved in, or affected by, the change.
- Celebrate – and perhaps reward – successes along the change journey in a visual and engaging way.
