CHANGE - SOMETHING EVERYONE FEARS
SBP however can help you accept it, embrace it and even enjoy it.
SBP have been helping managers and staff at all levels in organisations all over the world with the consequences of change. We have developed training materials, talks, coaching and mentoring methods as well as games to let people experience change. Only through discussing it, experiencing it and being helped through change can any of us come to terms with it and enjoy it.
If you are going through some form of change either personally or in your company then we can help. If you have to restructure your business, take on a new job or reasonability, face up to redundancy, the closure of a site, changes in the way you are to operate, introduce a new improvement program etc then we can help. Just get in touch and we will discuss how we can help you or your company. Outlined below are some thoughts on change and change management which we hope will help.
Why do we hate change?
People hate change for one key reason - fear.
Fear affects us in 4 key ways we have the fear of
- Losing
- Being rejected
- Emotional discomfort
- Being wrong
So when we are faced with anything that will cause one of these fears our natural reaction is to reject it, fight it or dismiss it. When we want to make people change then we must help them face their fear. We must understand why they have that fear and then coach them through it.
Most of the time the fear comes from a lack of understanding or knowledge. We have not communicated the reasons, the consequences or painted the picture about what the change will do to people personally as well as for the company. This makes development of an effective communications program vital.
The other problem people face is that they think that they are the only ones with the fear. Again this is lack of knowledge so explain the concepts of change can help people through this fear.
People also feel uncomfortable when we put them into situations they are not familiar with - outside their comfort zones. This is where we need to coach and mentor them so that they become comfortable with the change.
When we are faced with change either personal or in business we therefore need to understand
That everyone has the same fears
Provide a picture of what the future will look like
Provide support to individuals
Communicate what is happening quickly and effectively
Most companies get this all wrong. They communicate badly of at all. They never explain change and how it affects people. They don't provide e support and they just think people will get on with it. Surprise surprise change fails.
Who needs to understand change and change management skills?
If you are going to implement change in an organisation then we believe that top managers should have an understanding of change. This enables them to understand what their people are going through. Most of the time this is not done and we wonder why the top mangers don't Communicate well or provide support.
the other key person who must understand change in some detail is the change manger or person responsible for implementing the change. They have to know how to convince people, how to support and mentor people and how to transform blockers to change.
All other staff should be given some idea about change so that they can face it and start to move forward.
How SBP can assit you with your change
SBP are experts in helping companies and individuals with change we can help by:-
Experiential learning
We have a number of games and simulations which we use with clients to show how change will affect the business and the individuals. It enables us to facilitate a detailed discussion on the fears and anxieties of individuals which once in the open can be solved. It also shows that the change is not going to be as bad as people thought and it is done in a fun and non threatening way. We have used these games and simulations all over the world with dramatic effect. To find out more about experiential learning click here.
Identification of change agents / change managers
The identification of the person on persons who will push through the change in any organisation is vital. this role and the selection of this person in our experience can have a major bearing on the success of the change program. We have vast experience in identifying these people. We know the skills then need and they types of people who can make it happen.
Training courses for change managers
Once the correct person has been chosen then they will need training to achieve their goals. We have developed materials and an approach that provides the person with a detailed understanding of change, people skills and change management skills. To find out more about this training click here.
Training and mentoring of change mangers
While the change manager or key manager are going through the process they need a coach or mentor to help them through it. Middle mangers and some senior mangers are the most reluctant to change. We have found that working with them by providing confidential mentoring will make the process far smoother. To find out more about mentoring click here.
Development of effective communications
The biggest complaint given to manages who are trying to implement change is the lack of communication. We can help you to develop and deploy an effective communications strategy this will ensure that fears, concerns and feedback are obtained. Effective communication can cut the time to implement dramatically.
Talks for employees
As stated above fear is a major blocker for change. As a result SBP have developed some fantasic talks which can be given to all staff to explain change and how it will affect them. this is not a talk to explain what you are doing but a detailed discussion on change. It has helped companies in UK, USA and Brazil so change and how people look at it is common the world over. To find out more about this course click here.
Identification of blockers
In every change program there are people who will be blocking the change for many different reasons. We have vast experience in identifying these people. Once they are identified then we can start to put a strategy together to help them become advocates for change or removing them from the process.
Examples of how we have helped individuals and companies
Over the years we have had the pleasure to help on numerous change programs. Outlined below are some short explanations of people and companies we have helped.
A group of American managers to understand change and how to embrace it
Working with a group of senior manger in a billion dollar company we gave a talk to explain what change was, how it affected people, that it affected us all alike and that what kind of support people needed to accept it. We then helped them to identify how they were going to help their staff and implement change. The outcome was a group of mangers who were motivated, we gave the talk to other employees and we helped implement the change. As a result 3 companies were able to merge to become one cohesive company.
Implementing kaizen transformed a shop floor worker
While working with a group running a Kaizen event in Doncaster we were able to coach one of the girls to accept that things were going to change. The girl was completely against the whole change program. However after a week working with us she not only become an advocate she delivered a rousing speech to senior mangers. She has since gone on to be come a team leader.
Convincing a team to change attitudes and accept continuous improvement
While working in Manchester in the UK we had a team of people who would go on strike for almost any reason. Following discussions, talks about change and effective communication the accepted the new ways of working. We were able to engage them in lean manufactuing and they transformed the work place.
