Tom is an employee who has been with the company, Community Tissue Services in Dayton, Ohio, for over eleven years. Until the fall of 2008, he had worked in distribution and made his way to the top as the Director over the recovery department. During this time, he had completed his MBA in hopes to become the Chief Operating Officer (COO) one day. Things were looking fine until the company was bought out by another organization.
Shortly thereafter, Tom was faced with “change” in the workplace. After working under the new management for a month, Tom was demoted to a supervisor role.His reaction to this change included anger, denial, opposition, and depression. As a manager, Tom had to illustrate to his employees the benefits of change so that they, hopefully, would develop an excited and positive attitude towards it.
Sadly, this proved to be a challenge that Tom could not come to terms with, thus, resulting in his resignation. According to one researcher, “Every day something changes at work: your products, your customers, your delivery schedules, your company’s policies,” (Richard, 2013, para. 1). Managing change in the workplace, however, will not always be simple.For a successful change in the workplace, it is imperative that managers are able to understand the basic emotions underlying any change initiative.
There are three ways to introduce change in the workplace: communicate the goal and benefits with the employees, make change possible, and listening. (Baley, 2013) “In doing these steps, managers get an understanding of the barriers that block change and the emotions that come along with it,” (Baley, 2013, para. 3).Critics say the employers are not conveying the goals and benefits to their employees. I felt betrayed and out of the loop when it came down to what was expected of me on a daily basis,” says Tom. “My employees felt the need to cling to the past because it was more secure, predictable time. ” It is imperative to communicate the importance of change whether it is for budget reasons or a modification in a product. Emphasize the benefits that will be given if an employee meets a certain goal whether it is in sales, customer service, or weekly goals that need to be met.
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In the long run, communication is a key goal to adapting to change.“Our employees began to feel intimidated by too much change too oon,” say Nicole Zann, the organizing director of Community Tissue Services. “It is management’s responsibility to convince our staff and provide concrete reasons why change helps the company remain competitive. ” By identifying team leaders and working as a group, the employees will be supportive of the transformation. Let employees know that without each person’s involvement, success will not prevail. “Maybe if we had given Tom more organizational and managerial support, he would have stayed with the company, says Nicole Zann.
“We were so involved in how to move forward as a company, that we didn’t take the time to listen to our staff. Employees can offer great ideas if we take the time to listen to them. There are times when employees go on a rant and waste a day’s worth of work. Others may be worthwhile listening to for they may have the missing key in implementing a successful change. Change is inevitable and is constant. Management should expect resistance to change from the start.
It is how they communicate, make change possible, and listen to their employees that make it successful. There is always room for improvement. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, would not be as successful as he is if he did not adapt to the change in his job.
