Overcoming Resistance to Change
Ronald J. Recardo
Ronald J. Recardo is the
managing partner of The
Catalyst Consulting Group, a
management consulting
company heated in CroTnwell,
Connecticut. The Catalyst
Consulting Group specializes in
operations improvement and
strategic change management.
Its clients include PPG Indus-
tries, Inc., Johnson & Johnson,
Pitney Bowes, Johnson &
Higgins, and Scherin Berlin.
National Productivity Review/Spring 1995
A
sk managers, internal change agents, and supervisors the number-
one challenge they face, and most will respond that it's stakeholder
resistance to change. Over the years, a host of tactics have been
employed to overcome this resistance, ranging from training and filtering
communications to mass personnel displacements. Since the problem still
persists, a new approach is needed,
WHAT IS CHANGE MANAGEMENT?
The 1980s and 1990s have been a period of unprecedented change.
The globalization of markets, increased foreign competition, and rapid
technological change are but a few of the variables causing volatile and
sometimes unpredictable change. To maximize their competitive position,
organizations have embraced a number of strategic and operational
initiatives. Strategic initiatives include mergers, acquisitions, divestitures,
and consolidations. Operational initiatives include Just-In-Time QlT),
Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), Material Requirements Plan-
ning (MRP), Total Quality Management (TQM), and process reengineering.
Change management is the process an organization uses to:
• Identify new demands and/or constraints that the external
environment places on them,
• Identify the type of strategic and operational initiatives needed
to maximize organizational performance,
• Design, implement, and evaluate appropriate initiatives.
Companies that are successful in implementing change report much
greater employee commitment to initiatives, smaller productivity fiuctua-
tions during implementation, and significantly shorter implementation
timelines. As has often been said, time is the perfect barometer for
comparing most organizations. If most managers study the strategic and
operational initiatives that their closest competitors are undertaking, they
will find that the vast majority of companies are involved in an old-
fashioned foot race. These companies are commonly implementing the
same initiatives. Therefore, competitive advantage is gained by being the
CCC 0277-8556/95/140205-08
© 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Ronald J. Recardo

first one to cross the finish line. Simply stated, the organization that is able
to institutionalize their initiatives first realizes the benefits sooner, leaving
all others in a catch-up position.
Organizations that want to overcome resistance to change must collect
data to identify the relative strength of each factor that is causing the
resistance and how it varies by stakeholder group. Once this has been
determined, the most appropriate tactics for reducing resistance can be
implemented. Following are twelve common reasons why individuals
resist change:

Organizations that 1. The organization's architecture is not aligned and inte-

want to overcome grated with a customer-focused business strategy. All
resistance to change organizations are composed of the following elements:
must collect data to
identify the relative • Structure—the work processes, reporting relationships, unit
strength of each boundaries, and the way jobs are designed.
factor that is causing • Business systems—the human resource systems and practices,
the resistance and communication systems, and administrative control systems,
• Infrastructure—the technology that is used to transfer inputs
how it varies by
to outputs and the physical layout of an organization's facilities,
stakeholder group.
• Core capabilities—the core competencies of the organization,
for example, being engineering- or market-driven.
• Individual capabilities—the knowledge, skills, and abilities
found in each employee group,
• Culture—the values, norms, assumptions, and beliefs that are
prevalent within an organization,.

The characteristics of the first five elements determine the

organization's culture. Resistance to change w^ill be minimized
w^hen each element of the organization's architecture is closely
aligned and integrated with a customer-focused business
strategy. Misalignment sends out mixed signals—for example,
we w^ant people to w^ork effectively in teams but we reward
only individual performance,
2. The individual and/orgroup is negatively affected. People
don't always resist change. If your manager offered you a
promotion that provided you w^ith more money and greater
visibility, chances are you w^ouldn't resist this. Humans tend to
conduct a subconscious cost-benefit analysis ^vhen faced with
an organizational change. If they view^ themselves as being
worse off, they tend to resist change. If they view themselves
as better off, they embrace it,
3. The organization does not communicate expectations
clearly. Most organizations do a poor job of communicating
to employees. Employees are sometimes forced to conduct the
cost-benefit analysis discussed in point 2 on incomplete or

National Productivity Review/Spring 1995

 Overcoming Resistance to Change

incorrect information. Organizations that do an adequate job

of communicating the w^hat, the why, and the how regarding
the change frequently don't clearly spell out their expectations
regarding future employee performance,
4. Employees perceive more work with fewer opportuni-
ties. Strategic and operational initiatives commonly require
modifications to work processes, reporting relationships, com-
petencies, and individual roles and responsibilities. In this age
of downsizing, quality management, and reengineering, this
usually means more work for employees, w^ith typically the
same or less opportunities for reward,
5. Change requires altering a long-standing habit. Human
beings tend to be creatures of habit. As the adage states, "It is easier
to worship the devil you know (and are comfortable with) than
the devil you don't know." Initiatives frequently alter long-
established habits relating to work rules, job design, and limits of
dedsion-making authority. During this process, individuals struggle
with various amounts of uncertainty as they break away from
what they are familiar with and comfortable doing.
6. Relationships harbor unresolved past resentntents. Or-
ganizations that have poor labor-management relations fre-
quently need to address unresolved issues before embarking
on a new change initiative. Failure to address these lingering
issues will almost invariably affect the project's success,
7. Employees have fears offuture competency/job secu-
rity. Change initiatives almost invariably entail new skill or
If organizations do knowledge requirements. If organizations do not provide
not provide timely timely and targeted education, employees will become appre-
and targeted hensive regarding their future job security or job competency.
education, employees An excellent example of this is the way organizations have in
will become the past introduced computers into an office setting. An all too
apprehensive common scenario is for employees to come into work one
regarding their future morning and unexpectedly find a PC and several binders of
job security or job software documentation on their desks,
competency. 8. The organization lacks adequtUe rewards/punishments.
Human behavior tends to be directed toward self-satisfaction,
A common oversight is the failure to identify the type of
behaviors and output measures that should be rew^arded and
compare them to those currently being rewarded. If manage-
ment neither rewards the desired behaviors or output measures
nor punishes noncompliance, then employees have little
incentive for embracing the change,
9. The organization has poor internal communications.
Effective communication occurs in three directions: top-down,
bottom-up, and horizontally. Significant effort must be directed
to keeping the work force apprised of the big picture and how

National Productivity Review/Spring 1995

Ronald J. Recardo

the change will affect them. Management must also develop

procedures and vehicles to actively solicit employee input and
address their ongoing concerns,
10. Change modifies existing social interactions. All organi-
zations are composed of formal and informal groups. Those
people who we regularly eat lunch w^ith and the cliques we
belong to are examples of social interactions that occur within
informal groups. If a change significantly modifies long-
established social interactions, resistance is likely to occur. This
is because the needs—such as recognition and affiliation—that
One of the key the informal groups w^ere satisfying are no longer being met,
variables employees 11. The change was introduced poorly. Care must be exercised
will use to judge to determine the appropriate scope of introduction—for ex-
management ample, pilot or companywide—speed of introduction, and the
commitment is the amount of employee involvement. An initiative that is intro-
sufficiency of duced without carefully considering these variables will not
resources allocated. have cascading commitment throughout the organization,
12. The organization lacks sufficient resources. A sure-fire
way to foster employee resistance is to ask them to embrace a
change without giving them the necessary resources to com-
plete the task at hand. One of the key variables employees will
use to judge management commitment is the sufficiency of
resources allocated.

HOW PEOPLE RESIST CHANGE—AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Understanding how employees resist change is considerably more
difficult than understanding wby they resist change. That's because the
how comes in both overt and covert forms:

Overt Ways of Resisting Change Covert Ways ofResisting Change

• Sabotage • Reducing output
• Vocal opposition • Withholding information
• Agitating others • Asking for more data or studies
• Appointing task forces and
committees

It is much easier to identify employees (typically managers, supervisors,

and informal group leaders) who overtly resist change. Once identified, the
appropriate strategy and tactics can be applied to solve the problem. But over
70 percent of the time, employees use covert means to resist change. This
provides the greatest challenge to management. These individuals tend to
verbally espouse support for the change but inwardly are hoping to stall the
change until the next initiative du jour comes along, A favorite tactic they
employ is asking for more information or appointing committees to lengthen
the decision-making process. But there are several steps that managers can
take, to effectively reduce employee resistance to change:

National Productivity Review/Spring 1995

 Overcoming Resistance to Change

1. Communicate a clear vision of the change. The senior

management team is typically in the best position to develop
a vision of the desired state, A well-developed vision w^ill
communicate the fact that something is broken, while creating
a sense of urgency in employees to act,
2. Senior management must lead the change. Successful
large-scale organizational change only occurs from the top
down. Middle managers and staff people simply don't have the
authority to make the widespread change that is needed to
ensure success. Senior management must act as role models
and demonstrate their commitment personally. They must also
clearly communicate their expectations and hold people
accountable for success,
3. Modify the appropriate elements of the organization's
architecture. Depending on the type of initiative being
implemented, one or more elements of the organization's
architecture may need to be modified to support the change.
For example, if an organization intends to switch to self-
directed work teams, the structure (unit boundaries and
reporting relationships), information technology (applications),
business systems (performance management, administrative
policies), infrastructure (the physical layout of offices), and
individual capabilities (employee competencies) would have
to be modified to support this change,
4. Create a communications strategy. Early in any initiative,
Middle managers and a detailed communications strategy should be developed. This
staff people simply strategy should accomplish three objectives: (1) communicate
don't have the the desired future state, (2) solicit employee input during the
authority to make tbe design process, and (3) identify employee concerns and
widespread change unresolved issues during implementation. Two critical things
that is needed to must be avoided: constantly surprising employees, which
ensure success. creates anxiety and fosters mistrust, and promising what you
can't deliver. A well-developed strategy will ensure that the
following issues are clearly articulated to employees:

• The business necessity behind the change,

• Theme and vision of the change,
• Timelines, approach, and the outcome of the change,
• A clear definition of what needs to be changed,
• Who will be affected by the change, and
• Benefits of the change from an organizational and employee
perspective,

5. Pilot the initiative to demonstrate a quick success. We

live in a world where managers are evaluated in terms of
quarters, not years. Even corporate superstars are only as good

National Productivity Review/Spring 1995

Ronald J. Recardo

as the last quarter's performance. If you want to ensure

commitment, it is essential to demonstrate performance in a 60-
to-90-day period. This initial success will also help you
overcome the "not invented here syndrome,"
6. Develop procedures and practices to equitably address the
needs of the "losers." Most change projects create three distinct
groups of people: the winners, the unaffected, and the losers.
Individuals who obtain enhanced status, responsibility, financial
gains, or visibility as a result of an initiative are clearly the winners.
Another group of employees will be either indirectly affected or
untouched. The concerns of the winners and unaffected groups
should be integrated into the overall design/implementation plan.
The individuals ^vho are the biggest resisters of change are those
who are the most negatively affected by it. It is important to
The individuals who develop special procedures or policies (outplacement assistance,
are tbe biggest education, job reassignment, etc.) to equitably address the
resisters of cbange concerns of this group,
are those who are the 7. Eoster cascading commitment. Effective change requires
most negatively that individuals take on the roles of champion and missionary.
affected by it. Champions are people ^vho are in a position to mandate
change, while missionaries are those who actively help make
the change happen. Whenever possible, use informal group
leaders as missionaries. Successful long-term change occurs
only when there are a sufficient number of champions and
missionaries at each level of the organization. It is also
important to remember that individuals from affected groups
should be actively involved in the planning, design, and
implementation of any initiative,
8. Modify performance nteasures and rewards. Although
this area has been traditionally considered taboo or untouch-
able, it must be addressed during any initiative, A comparison
of the types of behaviors and performance measures that are
typically rew^arded in a traditional manufacturing environment
and those rewarded in a JIT/TQM environment show^s ^vhy. In
a traditional environment, the behaviors re^varded include
adherence to directives, maintenance of the status quo, and
specialization. In a JIT/TQM environment, the focus is on
willingness to learn new skills, continuous improvement,
cooperation, and teamw^ork. The performance measures in a
traditional environment tend to focus on efficiency, utilization,
and individual output (quantity). Conversely, in a JIT/TQM
environment, the focus is on team output, flexibility, adher-
ence to schedule, and the number of innovations per em-
ployee. In short, the behaviors and performance measures
rewarded in a traditional environment are almost exactly
opposite to those required to support a JIT/TQM initiative.

10 National Productivity Review/Spring 1995


Few things cause as
much frustration as
asking someone to do
sometbing and not
providing timely and
sufficient resources.
National Produaivity Review/Spring 1995
Overcoming Resistance to Cbange
Without significant modification of these criteria, the wrong
behaviors and performance measures are rewarded,
9. Link the old to the new. It is not uncommon for individuals
to go through a process of mourning the past. Allow them to
express their grief and loss and avoid bad-mouthing the past.
This will only foster defensiveness in those who either de-
signed or maintained the "old" way of doing things,
10. Provide timely education. The identification and delivery of
education is an integral part of any well-conceived change
initiative. In most cases, the education is conducted in a top-
down fashion and focuses initially on conceptual and strategic
aspects of the change. For example, in a strategic quality
management initiative, the education may begin with senior
management and address topics such as the characteristics of
future competition, a definition of world-class performance,
quality management strategies, and design/implementation
variables. Benchmarking can be used to measure how the
organization compares with its competitors across a wide
range of key success factors. This information can be effec-
tively used to create dissatisfaction with the present state and
a sense of urgency for the change.
As the education is broadened throughout the organization
it should focus less on conceptual or strategic issues and more
on new skill acquisition. A significant portion of this second tier
of education should be targeted to individuals in key positions
within an organization who must support the initiative for it to
be successful. Their education should focus on modifying their
behavior and on technical and nontechnical skill acquisition,
11. Supply adequate resources. Resources can take the form of
money, facilities, equipment, or access to key people. Few
things cause as much frustration as asking someone to do
something and not providing timely and sufficient resources.
An initiative that has inadequate resources signals either a lack
of support or poor project management. Either scenario is
inconsistent with a successful initiative.
12. Don't send mixed signals. On the average, employees today
are better educated and more sophisticated than those in the
past. Management must "walk the talk" in all its actions and
directives, because employees have become adept at recogniz-
ing disparity between what is said and what is done. The
greater the disparity, the greater the distrust. If employees
believe management has a hidden agenda or is not committed,
they w^ill perceive the initiative to be another one of those
programs that will go away after a short period of time.
15. Replace key individuals. As a last resort, it is sometimes
necessary to reassign personnel who either don't have the
11
Ronald J. Recardo

needed skills or personal attributes or who choose not to

support the initiative. For every problem employee on the
payroll that is allowed to fiourish, there are eight other hard-
working employees who are aware of the situation and wonder
, , why management allows the problem to persist. The ultimate
Resistance to cbange , , , , ,
,** way management can commumcate Its conviction and support
is tbe most critical , ^ , „, , , „ . ,, , . .
IS to replace biockers who w^ant to scuttle an lmtiative,
issue tbat must be
aaaressea lor any Resistance to change is the most critical issue that must be addressed
lniuaiive lO De f^j, ^^^ initiative to be institutionalized. Managers who invest the time in
institutionalized. clearly presenting their program for change, analyzing stakeholders'
~ reaction to it, and following the advice outlined in the 13 points above will
find the task of introducing change into the organization much less
burdensome and much more productive, O

12 National Productivity Review/Spring 1995