Human Resources as a Change Catalyst

Here is my belief: the only people who really like change are babies with wet diapers! Yet, change is a constant in this fast-paced, technologically driven world in which we live and work. Often, Human Resources is asked to implement new processes and policies. Just as often, Human Resources must be the driver for change that is very likely going to be unwelcome.

Human Resources is not removed from changes necessitated by external customer demands. I’ve found that Human Resources must be familiar with the changing needs of customers in order to help the company be flexible enough to meet those needs. Human Resources must ensure that the right people are in the right place at the right time, or potential clients and existing clients won’t get what they ask for – which is usually “more, better, faster.” If your company can’t provide what its customers need, another company can.

What can Human Resources do to master the art of continuous change? I suggest that you become adept at moving employees through four stages of change, whether you have six weeks or six days to implement a new process, policy or procedure. The four phases are illustrated in the diagram below.

Time

The stages I have found that organizations must take employees through in order to build commitment for any change are: preparation; acceptance; commitment; and empowerment.

In the first stage, preparation, Human Resources lays the groundwork for impending change. For example, let’s say that the organization has decided to implement a diversity initiative as part of its strategic plan. Prior to rolling the initiative out, information should be provided to employees and managers about what’s happening in the world around the organization - the changes in the economy, demographics and societal norms - that necessitate recruiting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce. This information can be provided in several forms, such as articles on bulletin boards or on the company web site, discussions in company-wide meetings, or brown bag lunch seminars. At this point, there’s no “pitch” for people to change. The focus is solely on providing information, and providing it to everyone who will be affected by the change(s) within a close time frame.

In the second stage, acceptance, employees are brought into the change process by solicitation of their input about potential policies or activities and how changes might affect them personally, their department, and the company. The question on most people’s minds will be, “What’s in it for me to accept new policies or people?” If that question isn’t addressed, real change isn’t going to occur…..at least at the pace that may be required. Using our example of a diversity initiative, in the acceptance phase Human Resources could conduct a culture audit, a needs analysis of issues and problems regarding recruiting, orientation, training, career development and compensation. An analysis is then conducted to determine if one particular group of employees, for example, those over 40 or women, have indicated on the culture audit survey that they believe they haven’t experienced the full benefit of promotions and career opportunities that other employees have enjoyed. Human Resources would then follow up with focus groups to attempt to understand why people over 40 or women have the perception that they aren’t reaping the same benefits as other employee groups. Focus group members would be solicited for concrete ideas about methods to remedy the real or perceived disparate treatment. When employees’ opinions are asked, and their solutions implemented whenever feasible, the company gains their acceptance of policies or procedural changes much more readily.

In the third phase, commitment, new policies or procedures are distributed, training is conducted when necessary, and the changes are put into place. A key element of success at this juncture is that the organization's leadership must be actually following the new policies or procedures instead of just telling everyone else they must change. To make sure this happens, Human Resources must be assertive in educating people at all levels within the organization and coaching top leaders and first-line supervisors alike to model changes in behavior.

The fourth phase in the change process is empowerment. I know, I know…this is an overused word that’s a holdover from the 1990’s! In the truest sense of the word, though, empowerment must take place at all levels in the organization to truly effect lasting change. For example, if part of the company’s diversity initiative is to establish cross-functional process improvement teams that are comprised of employees at line, first-line supervisor, and managerial level, the “senior” person on the team cannot step into the first team meeting and assert himself as “the boss.” If the company CEO announces to the company that she has an “open door policy” and wants employees to stop by and offer suggestions in person, employees can’t be faced with five assistants and a waiting period of six months before they can actually meet with the CEO for 10 minutes. Employees can’t be empowered in an organization that has artificial barriers at every turn that keep them from carrying out required changes.

Sometimes organizational change must occur within a matter of days, so obviously the process outlined above must be abbreviated. However, if a phase is omitted, there’s less likelihood that a real commitment to change will occur throughout the organization. As a Human Resource professional, you can take the initiative to ensure that change, no matter how large or small, gets the attention it deserves.

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