Overcoming These Five Obstacles Makes Change Easier

Are you encountering resistance in implementing a new vision

of customer service (or any other initiative requiring change)? If you are,

understanding and developing strategies to respond to the reasons below may

help you implement your vision.

• They (various groups of employees in your organization) don’t

  give it a whole lot of importance or urgency.

• They don’t know what to do or how to do it.
• There is no pressure from higher management to do more.
• They feel secure in their job and see no need to do more.
• They have too many other things that are more important or

  that they prefer to do.

  
  

Donald L. Kirkpatrick is famous in the training world for

originating the four levels of evaluations. In his book, Evaluating Training

Programs, he lists these five reasons why trainers don’t go beyond the typical

“smiley face” evaluations handed out at the end of a meeting or training

session. It occurred to me that these five reasons also apply to change

management.

When it comes to implementing company-wide change, senior

management needs to talk the talk and walk the talk. They need to actively participate

in getting the word out by working from a well thought out internal

communications plan. That plan should communicate the urgency, and the benefits

of the change. Benefits should include direct benefits to each group of

employees, benefits to the organization, and benefits to customers.

Performance objectives, rewards, and recognition procedures

should be reviewed and realigned where necessary to support the new change.

Training should be provided and it should also include the benefits and

information about the change in performance objectives, rewards, and

recognition.

Just as an experienced sales person tries to overcome

objections before the customer brings them up, you can anticipate the obstacles

to implementing change and attempt to eliminate them before they crop up.

Regards,

Glenn