Change is Inevitable; Can Resistance Halt It?

Change is an unstoppable force in both personal and professional spheres, and while resistance may temporarily slow its progress, it cannot halt it entirely. This is particularly evident in the Spheres of Businesses, Education and Career Advancement, where an Online MBA epitomizes the necessity of embracing change. As industries evolve and new technologies emerge, professionals must adapt by continuously upgrading their skills and knowledge.

Continual reinvention is inevitable for businesses to survive and scale.  The success largely depends on the ability to take the stakeholders, especially the employees, along in the change journey. A study by Gartner¹ on change management ² found only less than forty percent of the employees willingly supported the organizational change. This reveals how difficult employee buy-in is.

Why Do Businesses Change?

Changes are necessary for the companies to stand out in competition. When change becomes the trend, those who fail to catch up stand to lose (e.g. Nokia cellular phones failed when they neglected the call to change). Changes also improve employee engagement, efficiency and bring down burnouts.

Change is Relentless

Organizational change is a constant process. A series of initiatives is needed to make the company future-ready:

• Adaptive Changes: Minor modification or adjustments (E.g. upgrading the computer OS-adapting to technology upgrades)
• Transformational Changes: As the name indicates, transformational change brings in total transformation or fundamental changes in the structure, environment, culture or operations. Unlike adaptive change, it is not about just a change in procedure. Some instances are:

• a)  New Technology Adoption (E.g. Banks’ moving from the single branch operation to core banking)
• b) Strategic/Cultural Reforms (E.g. Tata Group shaking up its organisational culture from B2B to B2C)
• c) Operational Reforms: (E.g. Indigo expanded its network to take up the vacant slots of Jet Airways)
• d) Revenue Loss Management: (E.g. SpiceJet forayed into cargo business when passenger sector began to decline)

Negative Responses

Though changes prompt work place efficiency (e.g. office automation), many a time they hit the road block due to employee resistance or change fatigue. This happens when the employees fail to appreciate the positive intentions or become skeptical about the motives. The resistance sets in when the managers announce the change and ask all the employees to fall in line.

Change fatigue reveals itself in many ways. Out of fear, employees may not speak up about their resentment publicly, but their commitment level take a beating and frustration sets in. These become visible in their body language, behaviour etc. A frustrated person may even quit the job adding to the woes of the organisation to get a suitable replacement.

Many Reasons

Understanding the reasons for the resistance helps you to work through it.  Experts have identified a few reasons for the change fatigue, such as:

• Mistrust/ Lack of Confidence (E.g.  The change is meant for personal benefit of the leader)
• Emotional Responses (E.g. The change may take away family time)
• Lack of Training /Help Resources: (E.g. Introducing new software without adequate training)
• Fear of Failure (E.g. Shortcoming may lead to side-lining)
• Poor Communication (E.g. Inadequate communication about the benefits)
• Unrealistic Timelines (E.g. Timeline pressure sets in due to shortage of time to complete the task/inadequate employees to handle the task)
• Existing Organization Culture/Norms (E.g. Retail push by TATA’s with Tata Neu, the super app)

The “Three I’s”

Learned people suggest three I’s to overcome the change resistance viz. Inform, Involve and Inspire

I-(1) Inform

• Convince the employees with adequate evidence that the change helps them.
• Present periodic progress updates.

I-(2) Involve:

• Ensure adequate employee participation in the change management planning.
• Give ears to their suggestions.
• Motivate these employees to spread awareness to others.  

I-(3) Inspire

• Empathize with the employees and value their opinion.
• Make them change-ready with resources and training.
• Give them the flexibility and time to understand the process.
• Recognize achievements, however small they may be.

The Final Word

Change is inevitable, it can’t be halted. But change fatigue is a major hindrance to get the desired results. Anticipating the resistance, analyzing the reasons, preparing the road-map and above all taking the stakeholders into confidence can help you to wade through.

Learners’ Opportunity

Change management is an essential leadership quality. At ICFAI Online MBA, you learn many nuances of effective and practical leadership.  For more details, check our program https://online.ifheindia.org/

Source Article

Levi Olmstead-Resistance to Change… How to Overcome Them (2024)- Whatfix.com-March 6, 2024

https://whatfix.com/blog/causes-of-resistance-to change/.

NeuroLeadership-Change Is Inevitable. -September 7, 2023

https://neuroleadership.com/your-brain-at-work/change-fatigue-does-not-have-to-be-inevitable

Hans Davies-Change fatigue is inevitable-Toffler Associates-February 13, 2023 

https://tofflerassociates.com/vanishing-point/change-fatigue-is-inevitable-what-to-do-about-it/

David Grossman-Taking Your Employees On A Journey For….-Forbes Newsletter-Jan 6, 2023 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2023/01/06/taking-your-employees-on-a-journey-for-organizational-buy-in-on-change/?sh=7d7544c44967

Discussion Question

Change is inevitable? Do You Agree? Give two examples from your own work place to substantiate.

1. Gartner is a world-renowned information technology (IT) consultancy and advisory firm that conducts research on different technologies and provides insights to clients for smarter decision-making and stronger performance. ↩︎
2. Jordan Turner-Employees want to co-pilot your change..-gartner.com-November 28, 2022
   https://rb.gy/qrpgnh ↩︎