Change Management and Organisational Culture

Change happens within organisations all the time. Whether it’s implementing new systems that will improve how teams operate, or hiring new leaders to roll out initiatives - change, on the whole, is a tricky process to manage. Resistance is a common hurdle that leaders have to process with change management, as with change, organisational culture will shift as a by-product. 

Why does resistance happen?

As humans, we are creatures of habit - even the most free-spirited, change-friendly employees are going to feel unsettled if change directly impacts them. Your culture is the metaphorical heart of your organisation, and if employees feel like that is being jeopardised, they’re going to resist it. 

However, your company culture will change for many reasons - hiring more people, growing teams, shrinking teams, hybrid working, and a thousand other factors will slowly mould your culture over time. There are three key reasons why resistance happens in the process of change management:

#1 Ineffective communication

Lack of, or poor communication can cause a multitude of problems, especially when looking at change management. Any type of change - no matter how big or small it is, is going to involve multiple people within all layers of your business. Each individual will have an opinion on the change being put forward, and disregarding or failing to inform everybody effectively will cause a lot of resistance to the change that you want to see. 

“The top reason employees resist change is because they lack awareness about the purpose and reason for the change. This arises from the organisation's failure to communicate details and business reasons for the change, as well as a lack of clarity about employee roles in change success. Resistance occurs when employees can't answer, "What's in it for me?" - [source]

#2 Lack of buy-in

Whether it’s you or someone else in your leadership team being at the forefront of change management, resistance occurs when employees (or even other leaders) aren’t bought into the vision. This can make change management particularly difficult as there is little to no faith in who is leading it - which will create problems not just during the change process, but will have a knock-on effect afterwards.

For example, let’s say your change project involves the implementation of new technology or software - you can allocate a considerable budget for resources and human capital, but if no one uses the technology well enough (or is engaged in the implementation process at all) then it becomes a vanity project. 

#3 Uncertainty of their future within the organisation

No one wants to feel as though their career is at stake, and change can bring a lot of uncertainty among employees if they feel threatened; even the best communication in the world can’t absolve people of feeling emotion(s) towards something. 

Let’s say you’re implementing a new piece of technology: you could have incredible buy-in and the best communication in the world, but people are still valid in feeling uneasy - that isn’t just going to go away overnight. 

You can still be bought into change whilst also feeling anxious about it, these feelings are more likely than not to coexist. This can also be amplified if employees have experienced this type of change before in a different organisation where the outcome was negative. Allowing employees to feel this way and honouring it whilst also providing reassurance is the best thing that you can do. 

What key strategies can be used to manage resistance?

A culture-first approach

“Your organizational culture encompasses core values, beliefs, processes, customs, and practices. Combined, they manifest as a shared attitude and behaviour unique to your organisation.” - [source]

It’s important with change management to make a direct link with your culture (values, vision, and purpose) so employees can understand why the change is happening and how it’s going to positively impact your culture. Looking at change management through the lens of culture enables employees to see change positively, something that will support the values and purpose of the organisation rather than hinder it.

Of course, minor resistance still may happen, and you can’t keep everybody happy - but a culture-first approach can help to eliminate significant bumps in the road and put you and others on a positive path toward embracing change.

Strong and respected leaders

Lack of buy-in causes significant pushback from employees, so ensuring that you have the right leaders in post to ensure that change is embraced is crucial. You shouldn’t just look for leaders who are conventionally “strong”, either. 

They also must be someone who is personable with great interpersonal relationships within all layers of the business. This can be difficult to find - but if you know that certain change needs to be implemented, you can start to lay the foundations with leaders a few weeks (or even months) prior. This will guarantee that internal relationships are strong before starting the change management process. 

Ensuring that change is frequent and palatable

Too much change can cause stress and confusion within an organisation - but structured change that is frequent and palatable (for example, change once a year or once every six months) can make it easier for employees to digest. 

You can’t plan all change, but having set timeframes can encourage employees to be more open and embrace change. It also, as a by-product, becomes part of your culture - which then sets the precedent that change is normal, and not something to be feared.