How to Get Your Team on Board with Change

Sometimes, you need to shake up the day-to-day operations of your business. Settings and maintaining goals needs to happen frequently in your business, since you need to adapt to market conditions. This all means you need to get your team ready to accept change.

It can be difficult to get your team on board, especially if it adds on to their workload. “Although leaders can’t always make people feel comfortable with change, they can minimize discomfort,” says Harvard Business Review. Here are 3 ways to make sure changes in your business are seamless:

Communicate Well

If you want employees to get on board with your plans, you need to have a strong pitch. Clearly outline the change you want to bring about and why it is necessary.

When some people hear about changes in a business, they assume their jobs on the line. Of course, this is usually not the case, but you need to make sure your team understands that. Explain why the change will be positive, what you expect from each employee, and exactly how the change will be implemented. Then, you can get some valuable feedback.

When communicating plans of change, you should bring all team members together to have a discussion. You can consider taking them on a retreat where you can share, discuss and build consensus on it. Remember, it’s not just about telling them of the plan. You need to listen to their thoughts on it. “Once employees feel empowered to contribute openly, they can volunteer suggestions and innovations that can drive your company to new levels of productivity and success,” says Answer 1.

Closely Work with Management at the Mid-level

Everybody in the company should buy into the change required for a business to perform at its full potential. That includes top management, all the way down to the most subordinate individual. However, the middle-level managers are very crucial in change management. Middle managers are in charge of the day to day running of company operations. They interact with employees, customers and suppliers every day.

This makes them privy to a lot of information. From their interactions, they can learn if the change proposed is working or not. By closely monitoring its implementation, they can tell areas where employees are having a problem, or things customers are not happy within the new plan.  If you give mid-level managers everything they need to perform their jobs well, they can be key to getting everybody on board with the change.

Reward Success

Once you get your plan for change going, success along the way should be acknowledged. Employees who accept the change and put in positive efforts to ensure it is successful should be rewarded.  The reward given can be as simple as acknowledging their efforts among peers at a team meeting.

This acknowledgment can serve as motivation for them and others to do better. In the short term, public acknowledgment of goals is perfect, but you should go further and recognize staff change efforts in their reviews, promotion discussions, and compensation.

If employees see they are to gain from change within the organization, they are likely to be motivated to work hard and get on board quickly with any change strategy. Reward and recognition also keep morale high during the time of change.

Lead by Example

It goes without saying that if you are talking about change, you should be an example of the change you want to see. If you want your brand to be associated with integrity, you should be the first person to show what honesty is all about. 41% of employees expect their employers to empower employees and be a role model, according to Business Insider.

Top management in any organization should know that their actions speak louder than any words can do.

The Bottom Line

Change is important for any company to grow and remain relevant within their industry. For change to happen in an organization everybody has to be on board. If that doesn’t happen, resistance will form and that will slow down progress. You therefore, have to look and determine how best to effect change smoothly.

Get your team on board with your plan by communicating clearly, involving middle management and leading by example. This will result in change as a goal that is achievable. Change is hard, but it can be made easier if handled well.