Organizational changes are most important part of every business, and they have constant flow. This means that business don’t have times without implementation of some types of change. However, every change is followed with some type of resistance to that change. The reasons of resistance to change can be different. I’ve already written about my research that finds 28 factors that cause resistance to organizational change.
I will abstract these four facts about resistance to change:
1) Organizational changes = Constant Then Resistance to Change = Constant
This is simple if-then rule. If we agree that changes are something that never stops in business life and every change is followed by some type of resistance, then also resistance will never stop in the business life. Somewhere I have read that one of the biggest tasks of managers is to implement change and dealing with resistance with that change.
2) Resistance = Damage, But Also Resistance = Benefit That Can Help for Better Changes
Yes, resistance can produce big damage to the change process or implementation of the change process. The results from change will be a new tasks, new procedures or simply new way of doing the job. That job must be performed from employees, and if they resist to that change, they will never change their previous behaviors and ways of doing the job. However, on the other hand, we cannot be sure that the planning process is always performed perfectly. Sometimes every individual in the business can bring perfect ideas about improvements, and they resist because they found something that can be improved in the change process. That resistance can be beneficial for the change process.
3) If Resistance = Damage Then Must Overcome It
We don’t want damage in our change process. Because of that we must find ways how to overcome this resistance to change before we start with the implementation process. Sometimes resistance to change can cause huge consequences that mean stopping the whole process and the declaration of failure.
4) If Resistance = Benefit Then Must to Be Used to Improve Change Process
Sometimes people who resist change have discovered weaknesses in the process of organizational change. This type of resistance is beneficial because these weaknesses can be eliminated before we start with the process of change.
Some important thing when we talk about resistance to changes is the level of resistance. The level of resistance can be:
- Small resistance. There is little resistance to proposed changes that can be easily overcome. The change process has possibilities to be successful without some big interventions from manages or entrepreneurs.
- Medium resistance. There is medium resistance to proposed changes. Implementation of the change process will be successful if entrepreneurs or managers eliminate the weakness of the proposed change process that was discovered from some type of resistance.
- Big resistance. There is big resistance to proposed changes and probably change implementation process will not success.
As you can see from the picture if the level of resistance is small there is a probability that the change process will not give the desired level of success. This situation can have two cases:
- There is not resistance because the employees are disinterested about a change process.
- There is not resistance before starting the change process but after that will be.
Another part of the pictures is medium resistance to change that give us the biggest probability of success. In this situation, we have resistance to change that will improve the process of change. Here we have also two cases:
- We have resistance that can be simply overcome it.
- We have resistance because people find some weakness of the proposed change process, and we can solve that weakness before starting with the change process.
And the last part of the pictures is a big level of resistance to change. This type of the resistance can bring the unsuccessful change process. S it is better to stop here and repeat the whole planning process. Here are also several cases that impact on the process:
- We have resistance that can be simply overcome it.
- We have resistance because people find some weakness of the proposed change process, and we can solve that weakness before starting with the change process.
- In the same time, we have resistance from the powerful people in the business that cannot be simply overcome it.
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