Speaking with a salesperson last week, she could not understand why I was not purchasing her company’s product, even though I really liked what it could provide me. I explained to her that we had multiple initiatives currently ongoing, and each of these competes for employee attention and completion. Change fatigue comes from an increasing pace/volume of change, as well as a lack of confidence in the organization’s ability to implement. To counter this, I have a road map, which considers the timing, competing interests, and conflicting mandates.
As we consider the technology and the process changes, we must also make an allowance for the human capital. These employees are not machines that can be turned on and off, but instead they are individuals who have a dynamic and nonlinear nature. They bring emotions and feelings (both from work and personal life) to every process.
In order to successfully implement a change in behavior, one must consider how people think/ feel/understand the change. This process (not event) happens incrementally (similar to “First Order,” which means gradual change – as opposed to “Second Order” – which means revolutionary and transformational change.
Does your company communicate the need for change, what it will mean, and why it must be sustained?
