Encouraging change in resistant environments

Digital transformation can be difficult for many, if not all organisations. Changing the way we work also poses challenges that aren’t related to cost, hardware or funding. Ultimately, nonprofits are all made up of people and resistance to change from within an organisation can sometimes feel like the biggest obstacle to getting things done. We’ve asked our experts for their top tips on how you can help your organisation in its change journey. 

TAKE IT SLOW

We all want what’s best for our organisation, and as agents of change, we often want this to happen quickly. It’s important to avoid changing everything at once as this can feel overwhelming for many. Try and chunk up the changes you are wanting to make into smaller, more manageable tasks or pieces of work. Tackle each task one at a time, and reflect on the process as a team. Once you have made one change and people can see the benefit or impact of this change, they may be less resistant to more changes coming along.  

COMMUNICATION IS KEY

When it comes to change management, there’s no such thing as too much communication. We’re all human, and ensuring that your team understands the changes you’re proposing is very important. Take care to also explain 'why' that change is occurring so that they understand the actions that are taking place and the meaning behind them. Bringing your team on board in this way helps them get a sense of the bigger picture, giving them a larger context that moves away from simply how changes will affect their role. Providing context and a shared language around the benefits of this will also enable the new behaviours' to have significance that is easy to self define. 

BE HUMAN

Employees rarely resist technical change but can fear social change—the change in their human relationships that generally accompanies it. Relationships can be the cause of major blockers and frustrations or they can be a force for good, accelerating and sustaining change. Humans can often fear loss - and that’s no different in professional environments. Create safe spaces for people to share stories of potential loss, and acknowledge loss where appropriate and support them through the stages of grief. Focusing as much on relational enablers as you do on process enablers will help create a new culture that everyone can feel ownership towards. 

AVOID SILOS 

Silos are part and parcel of the way many organisations work, and a frustration for many. Avoid the silo mentality when you approach change within an organisation. If you’ve attended a training, share these insights with your team and don’t feel the need to make the changes alone. This is likely to lead to burn out. Instead, help colleagues and management buy into the idea and work on things collaboratively. It might be worth debriefing about what you’ve learnt, and how this can apply to your organisation and its work. 

CREATE A SAFE SPACE

People want to feel listened to, and often their thoughts/opinions can help shape the project approach as well as increasing buy-in. Establish a "safe space" i.e. a place - physical or virtual - where people can go and ask questions, voice concerns, or give feedback.  

If an organisation has physical premises, the safe space could be a meeting room that's booked during lunchtime, a corner of a kitchen, or a post-box on reception. At a previous organisation which was a hot-desking environment, I made a flag which I stuck to the monitor I used so people knew that when the flag was up, I was available for questions. If a physical "safe space" isn't an option (especially during these times), then there are lots of tools to create a virtual/digital space e.g holding an online drop-in meeting, creating an online community, online Forms, or even a project mailbox. 

ESTABLISH A NETWORK OF "CHAMPIONS"

Find the people in your organisation who could be advocates of change.

Often, these people will be those that are naturally interested and enthusiastic about new technologies, but also consider targeting Champions by their role e.g is there a particularly influential Office Manager or Executive Assistant. Sometimes it helps to ask those who may seem to be resistant to the change to be a Champion of it. Often people are resistant when they don't understand the change, the impact or benefits they can face on a personal level. Through conversations, showcasing the new technology and regular communication, the resistors can sometimes become the greatest advocates for the change