Driving sustainable change in the Australian workplace

Transcription

1 Group Member Poll Driving sustainable change in the Australian workplace The HR professional s role is increasingly to take responsibility for the continual reshaping of the enterprise culture and to guide the organisation to develop more sophisticated levels of purposeful consciousness. Professor Dexter Dunphy With a growing emphasis on developing workplace culture to better reflect an organisation s values, many Australian companies are endeavouring to drive change. In March 2014, the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) surveyed professionals from the AHRI LinkedIn group to understand the views of Australian human resources professionals on cultural change initiatives in their organisation. AHRI sought responses from group members representing a wide range of business sectors in some key cities around the country, comprising over 3000 HR professionals. We asked the following three questions to members based in Canberra, Adelaide, and Brisbane, generating hundreds of responses: 1. Have you ever undertaken a cultural change initiative? 2. Have you found valuable Australian information on this topic, and what do you deem to be the best sources? 3. What do you think is the key issue when looking at driving cultural change? More recently we ran an article on our news site, HRM Online, which backed up one of the key observations by respondents to the third question in the survey. It stated that 70 per cent of change programs fail, mostly due to leadership struggling to deal with change.

2 This generated quite a lot of feedback, so we decided to gather further opinions on the topic from our members based in Perth and Hobart. Members were asked the following three questions: 1. Do you agree this failure in change programs is mostly due to leadership? If not, what do you think is the cause? 2. What s the best way to communicate and encourage change in employees? 3. Do you have any thoughts on how companies might develop an ability to constantly adapt to change? The combined summary of results and insights from these results are detailed below. KEY SURVEY INSIGHTS Cultural change is vital but many organisations are yet to run initiatives Of those people surveyed, many stated that their organisation has attempted some form of cultural change initiative and some were even in the process of running a program at the time of our survey. Our business is currently building an off-shore facility and both cultures are being trained in understanding the differences to ensure effective communications and interactions. - Training & Development Manager Other responses vary from those whose job role requires a primary focus on change strategies, through to those who report that, while attempts have been made, more can be done as the effectiveness of the efforts has been hampered: Yes we have done quite a bit of cultural change work but it has not been either big budget or organisationally directed - Director, CIT Human Resources Have you ever undertaken a cultural change initiative? N 71% Yes Some HR leaders have themselves participated in cultural change programs, but they have not yet been responsible for implementing strategies in their own organisations. Even with the majority of businesses recognising the need for change, close to a third of them are yet to attempt a stand-alone program to affect it.

3 Some respondents see it as part of their everyday working lives, without ever having run a dedicated program: Cultural change has probably been every day of my working life. Yes - that s all I ve been doing over the past 20 years or more! Some with the experience of applying dedicated initiatives to some parts of their organisations feel that this may not be the best way, as it needs more of a unified approach: I believe that rather than being a stand-alone project this should be a small part of a larger operation to implement change across all levels of the organisation. - Management Consultant Others again consider that there is a lack of awareness of the need for change or a deliberate avoidance of the issue: Many of the corporate workplaces do not realise that there are issues with their workplace culture that needs change - or conveniently ignore the issues. - Managing Director It is difficult to find clear and helpful information Organisations such as Australian Human Rights Commission and the Diversity Council of Australia were praised for the information they provide. However, there was a notable gap in Australia for reliable, in-depth information on cultural change and how to drive it in the workplace, with some respondents seeking it overseas in the UK and the US: Information is difficult to access and much of the information read seems to be superficial. - Human Resources Manager, Grammar School The main reference sources that respondents highlighted were: People: John Kotter Edgar Schein Graeme Innes Dan Cohen Dexter Dunphy Workplace colleagues Have you found Australian information? N 32% Yes

4 Books and Papers Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience - Richard L Hughes, Robert C. Ginnett, Gordon J Curphy Walking the Talk - Carolyn Taylor Three Phases of Transition - William Bridges Institutions: The Change Management Institute The Diversity Council of Australia Australian Applied Management Colloquium The Australian Human Resources Institute The Workplace Gender Equality Agency The Australian Institute of Management Other Organisations: LinkedIn PRISM Business Brain Mapping Human Synergistics LSI The Leadership Challenge Reinvention- Mind Gardner Team Management Systems Corporate Executive Board Industry networks LEADING CHANGE One of the main sources referenced by respondents is former Harvard Business School professor John Kotter, and his model Leading Change. Kotter s research over several decades led him to the conclusion that 70 percent of all major change efforts in organisations fail. He puts this down to the lack of a holistic approach. His classic model for change leadership addresses this, providing an eight-step process to effective, lasting change in any organisation. The steps are summarised below. 1. Establish a sense of urgency 5. Empower others to act on the vision 2. Form a powerful guiding coalition 6. Plan for short-term wins 3. Create a vision 7. Consolidate improvements and create more change 4. Communicate the vision 8. Institutionalise new approaches Note that within Kotter s model it is recommended that all of the eight steps must be completed to ensure effectiveness. DRIVING However, SUSTAINABLE with the nature CHANGE: of change often LinkedIn being Member highly contextual, Poll even following all the steps is no guarantee of success and a combination of other tools is often needed.

5 Leadership is the key issue facing Australian workplaces looking to drive change Respondents in both surveys had regularly come up against major obstacles when attempting to implement programs of change in their organisations. Indeed, in the later survey of Perth and Hobart members, almost 90 percent of respondents agree that failures of leadership were responsible for the lack of success with most change programs. One of the key challenges is in getting the full support of the executive leadership, from the CEO down, championing change programs. Culture is role-modelled at all levels - walking the talk is actually hard and most leaders don t bother. - Manager The clear message from almost 40 percent of respondents was that, unless initiatives are backed from the top and driven through each department of the organisation, they will not work: Without commitment from the top, the change that will occur will not be the change that was intended and will most likely have negative unanticipated consequences. - Leadership Trainer First and foremost change will not occur if the CEO is not fully committed and driving it. - Consultant, Public Relations & Communications Change happens top down, and the ability to inspire change and make people feel safe and resilient in the process must be on the leaders. Change must be modelled by the leaders. - HR and IR Advisor An important distinction is in larger organisations, where the problem may not be leadership at executive level, but rather middle management: Without middle management on board to drive the change it can be a very divisive and long process to get the desired change to happen. - Management consultant It simply doesn t matter what you do with employees - if the managers do not accept and implement, then it will never work. - Consultant is failure in change mostly due to leadership? N 88% Yes What do you think is the key issue when looking at driving cultural change? Management support 39% Communication 32% Setting goals & planning 21% Other 8%

6 Communication and employee engagement are other key obstacles to implementing change The other major challenges for implementing change programs are identified as communication and employee engagement. These issues are connected and both may relate back to leadership, as suggested by these respondents: Open, honest and extensive communication and strong, visible support from the organisation s leadership team is crucial in driving cultural change across an organisation. - Workplace Relations Officer Lack of communication and guidance from management has caused many issues that have made changes difficult to implement. - Human Resources Potential contributors to failure (other than leadership) Communication 38% Employee buy-in 32% Culture 18% Poor change planning 9% Support 3% Often failure in change programs comes through a lack of communication, stemming from the leaders not being clear and enthusiastic about the change. - Accounts & Administration Manager In the Perth and Hobart surveys 70 percent of respondents highlight either communication flow from the top down or employee engagement as key. Communication is key and not just in informing staff of changes, but involving them in the process and explaining the rationale. - State Manager The idea of engaging employees and creating buy in to the reasons for change is brought up repeatedly. When all employees fully understand the vision, mission, goals and strategic focus of the organisation, and where they fit into it, they are more likely to be open to change initiatives. It is paramount to engage all workers in the change process so that everyone is aware of the need for cultural change, not just identifying what it is that will change but why it is so important. - HR Administrator I think a lot is to do with how the change is presented to employees. Obtaining buy-in from employees is half the battle. This involves your leadership team ensuring that information is disseminated clearly and within a timely manner. For employees, the unknown erodes trust, so being up front with information is important. - Manager

7 Consistent, face-to-face communication that sells the change to employees is the best way to encourage it Our survey respondents are clear on what is needed to encourage a more accepting attitude towards change. Firstly, the reasons and motivations for change need to be agreed upon as the right ones; then these need to be communicated regularly and openly with employees, so that they are able to understand their own roles in this change, provide input, and see how it benefits both themselves and the organisation. You need your managers to be aligned in their understanding on the need for change. Develop clear and simple messages that resonate with everyone (adopt the KISS principal) and focus your message on the WHY. - HR Business Manager Communicate from the start with as full as possible rationales, justifications and clearly defined outcomes - not just change for change sake. - State Manager Respondents emphasised that communication should be face-to-face and designed to encourage discussion, involvement, and engagement, rather than just making announcements : Rather than telling them what will be happening, we should talk to them about what we are looking to achieve and get their buy in prior to deciding what we will be doing. They then feel part of the decision making process and are more likely to embrace it. - HR Manager Regular verbal communication is a must group meetings, interactive meetings and, where possible, getting as many people involved in strategy meetings to understand and implement the changes. - Human Resources It was also stressed in the surveys that the executive leaders in the organisation need to be seen to be driving the change and communicating the vision: One way I saw that worked really well, was to have the CEO visit every site and conduct town hall meetings, where he outlined not only what we were doing but why, how and where it was going to take us. - HR Officer Best way to communicate and encourage change? Two-way communication 44% Consistently face-to-face 29% Sell the benefit of change 27%

8 Workplaces with widespread resistance to change need cultural development programs It is evident from our surveys that there are some workplace cultures in Australian organisations where widespread resistance to change exists. Automatic resistance to change when it is imposed upon individuals (who may not understand the reasons for the change) is not particularly surprising; after all, change can be a massive event and most people react poorly, as noted by one respondent. The resistance created can be difficult to break down because it involves addressing one of the strongest human emotions: fear. The culture of many organisations is embedded in what they have previously done and a change in the norm brings about concern and fear of what is to come in the future. - HR Advisor The question is: what is driving the fear and how can you get people to move past it? - National Recruiting Manager Often, where the reasons for change have not been adequately communicated, change is perceived by an employee with fear of the unknown, and he or she feels completely alienated from the process: One of the problems when it comes to making changes is that employees opinions, ideas and feedback aren t necessarily taken on board. - Vendor Services Coordinator How can companies develop an ability to constantly adapt to change? Culture 69% Communication 26% Structure 5% According to almost 70 percent of respondents in Perth and Hobart, developing an organisation that is constantly able to adapt to change requires the development of a completely new culture, where these problems are addressed. Cultural change is a complex process involving many factors. But leaders certainly need to examine the motivations for change and implement a sound strategic plan that suits their own organisation, if they are to be successful. I think the most common reason that change culture fails is that it is rarely done for the right reasons, nor does it often go far enough, or address perhaps all the key reasons change is required. If the change is to be successful, it needs to be something that every strata of a business can see some benefit in. It needs to be addressed at every level of the business and the idea that it s one size fits all needs to change. - Human Resources & Training Professional

9 While this takes planning, coordination, time, and effort, the result is a more sustainable and flexible organisation: The moment a new employee walks through the door they will see that this company is based on movement and change. - Human Resources SUMMARY: THE CHALLENGE OF DRIVING CHANGE Despite the elements of fear and resistance clearly playing a role, many of the problems respondents identified in implementing change in an organisation result more from a lack of support from the leadership team than anything else. Virtually all of the barriers to change identified above can be addressed by improving leadership skills understanding team members and dynamics better; overcoming fear and resistance; being consistent; communicating to all team members where the company is heading and why; providing the right resources; and ensuring that all the right managers are in the right positions to drive the process through all levels over the course of time. As one management consultant put it: People need to stop trying to drive change and look at ways to support the people at work in positive ways to get their cooperation for change. And once the process has been started, it needs to continue; it must be monitored to see whether the desired changes continue to happen or whether people are simply reverting to previous behaviours: It s critical to keep your focus on what people are saying and doing to be able to measure whether the culture is changing in the way you need it to. Often people approach cultural change from a process perspective; it has nothing to do with process, but everything to do with behaviour. This is why it is so hard and why it requires people to take their time and appreciate that people s behaviours change in different ways at different times. - National Recruiting Manager

10 DISCOVER MORE ABOUT WORKPLACE CHANGE AHRI s HR in Focus Conference is coming to Perth and Hobart in October. This one-day program will explore workplace change in relation to the role of the HR professional, recent theory, how to build a culture that thrives on change and more. These topics will be addressed in relation to both the private and public sector, and will feature special guest presenter Dan Gregory, Founder and CEO of The Impossible Institute who will discuss building a culture that thrives on change, as well as other local speakers. Conference details For more information and to register: PERTH Tuesday 21 October am pm Crown Perth Registration closes Tuesday 14 October HOBART Friday 17 October am pm Wrest Point Tasmania Registration closes Friday 10 October 2014.