Change Doesn't Have to be Difficult

Change can be scary.

Even when it is relatively minor, and to the benefit of employees, there will be some resistance.
 
𝙎𝙤, 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮.
 
But it is definitely not impossible.
 
People will always first wonder how the change will impact them, and it’s important to remember that everyone deals with it at varying rates:

✅ Some will be excited and on board right away
✅ Others will resist and never embrace it
✅ The majority will be somewhere in between

The worst thing you can do is to simply announce a change as a done deal.
 
𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩, 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.
 
And are now comfortable with the idea.
 
So, give everyone else that same chance to get used to the idea, and bring them along with you.
 
Handled correctly, even quite major change can be accepted by most people, if you keep some things in mind:

💠 Change is a process.
💠 It’s not something that is shared one day and done the next.
💠 It is critical to communicate early and often.

𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙, 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙩, 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

The communication should include the good from what is being left behind.

Do that before talking about the advantages of the new, and people will more readily accept the change.

Next, don't focus only on the rational reasons, i.e. the business case, a very common mistake.

Instead, also address the emotional and the political:
 
𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹:
🚩 How is this going to feel? / How much effort will be involved?
🚩 Are there new skills to be learned? / Is there something to lose?
 
𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹:
🚩 What’s in it for me?
🚩 Is the change going to involve my role or responsibilities, power or influence?

Finally, involve and train your managers.

You want them to know what to say to their employees, who have questions.

In short, a systematic approach, involving up-front, on-going communication, including opportunities for employees to ask questions and express any concerns, plus trained managers will ensure a much greater chance of success.