zandax online course logo
zandax website search
zandax phone callback
Info, Blogs, Contact & Login
Courses
Tests

8 Ways to Deal with Change

From the ZandaX Human Resources Blog

Articles to help with the demands of human resources

Home  >  ZandaX Blogs  >  Management Blog  >  Human Resources Articles  > 
8 Ways to Deal with Change

8 Ways to Deal with Change

A post from our Human Resources blog

Article author: Jordan James
      Written by Jordan James
Change is an inevitable part of life and business. If your business is not changing regularly, then it's unlikely to last beyond the short-term. All durable organizations have strategies and processes to deal with change so that they don't get left behind by the competition.

As we mention in our Change Management course, it's very common for people in organizations to fear change. Humans are hard-wired to be risk-averse, and to prefer the status quo. However, change should be part and parcel of a business's daily operation. It should be the way the business works, and should sit at the heart of what the business stands for.
Change
So how do you make change work in an organization? Let's have a look at the 8 best ways to deal with change.

1. Change regularly

Make your staff accustomed to change. Rather than waiting until absolutely necessary to make one big change, make change a process - a journey. Make it an exciting part of work, and alter the way change is perceived in the organization. Don't change for the sake of change, but make the business environment a place of continuous improvement and refinement.

2. Build a flexible workforce

Flexibility is the shock absorber that facilitates effective change management, and stops the process from breaking the company. Flexibility comes from the top. It involves strategic adaptability, and the company's capacity to train its staff.

Employees that are able to perform several job roles, and have the ability to adapt to different environments, are more likely to help an organization proceed through change. This flexibility comes from training, recruiting the right people and an organizational culture that supports everyone as individuals.

3. Build a great company culture

An organization can be defined by its workforce, and its collective attitude to change. If your workforce is able to adapt to different situations, willing to work until the job gets done, and able to deal with stress as it occurs in a newly evolving workplace environment, then your company is likely to be culturally ‘fit'.

Cultural fitness involves buffers to mitigate against employee stress, encourages personal responsibility in terms of job performance, training and interactions with employees and customers, and enables each member of the company to feel as though they are contributing towards its success.

4. Communicate honestly

Employees can sense when something is wrong. When an organization fails to communicate effectively with its staff, they will talk amongst themselves and it's quite possible for a culture of fear to emerge.

Communicate necessary changes to your teams frequently, honestly and openly – this way, you'll nip fear in the bud, and pull your teams closer together, even during turbulent times.

5. Prevent power hoarding

Change means uncertainty, and in uncertain environments people tend to try and hold on to their power and authority. This can often mean that people withhold information that should be shared, and cross-silo communication and co-operation can diminish.

During a change management process it is vital that you understand the pivotal people in the change process and that you manage them effectively. This means understanding their interactions with other people.

Do they have an open door policy, or are they secretively locked away in the office? Are they following honest and transparent policies that will ensure the change occurs effectively? Are they holding and attending enough cross-department meetings to facilitate a free flow of information?

Team Meeting

Keep an eye on the key players during times of change, and make sure they don't become nodes of dysfunction in the organization.

6. Get people involved from the start

A change process works best when stakeholders are wholeheartedly engaged in the process. This means getting people involved from the start:  get their input on how things should progress, and what the end result should be. By getting stakeholder feedback throughout the organization, and providing an inclusive platform for change, you will foster the right attitudes to change.

7. Show strong leadership skills

Perhaps the most crucial aspect of change in any organization is the leadership. There must be a hundred percent commitment to an action from the top for belief in the change to trickle down through the layers and silos.

Strong leadership is more than lip service to management ideas; it means direct, personal, and passionate communication from those at the top of the organization. It means the CEO, HR Director and every other pivot say the same thing: "This is what we are going to do; and it is going to make the company better". Lack of strong leadership will mean a lack of direction.

8. Accept that change is inevitable

As the pace of technological advancement increases, and consumer behaviours become more sophisticated, organizational change, acquisitions, mergers and resizing will become more and more prevalent.

Agility is the key survival trait in 21st century business. It will be the organizations that can change direction in days or weeks, rather than months, that will lead the pack.

Sometimes change is imposed through a merger or other organizational event, but it is important to recognise that change is happening all the time – understand it and deal with it, and you'll set your company up for success.

Back to the Human Resources blog

Click the button for more Human Resources articles.

The ZandaX Leadership & Management blog

Click a panel for great articles on leadership & management

Write For Us

We pride ourselves on our busy, high-quality and helpful blog, and we're always looking for guest contributors to increase the variety and diversity of what we present.

Click to see how you can write for us with an original and well-written guest post.

ZandaX Blog Contents

Want to see them all? Click to view a full list of articles in our blogs.

Online courses to boost your skills
Click a button to see more about each course
Personal Development
Microsoft Software
 
 
Leadership & Management
Sales & Presentations
Service & Support
 
 
ZandaX online training course logo
ZandaX – Change Your Life ... Today
All content © ZandaX 2023
ZandaX LinkedIn logo
ZandaX LinkedIn logo
ZandaX LinkedIn logo
Close menu element
See how you score on a range of skills that are critical to your well-being and performance
Communication Skill test
Communication Skills
How Can You Communicate Better?
Would you like to see what kind of communicator you are? And how you can improve the effectiveness of your communications?
Likeability test
Likeability
How Much Do People Like You?
Do you sometimes wonder just how likeable you are? And wouldn't you like to see how you can (genuinely) become more likeable?


Time Management test
Time Management
How Can You Make More Use Of Your Time?
Are you frustrated by how easily time slips away? Do you get frustrated when things don't get done just because you run out of time?
Assertiveness test
Assertiveness
Are you Passive, Aggressive or Assertive?
Would you like to know where you fall on the behavior spectrum? Does your response to events sometimes surprise you?


Close menu element
Information & Resources
ZandaX information
Information
Read more about us, our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service
See how we want to help you, and how we make everything easy for everyone
Callback request
ZandaX Blogs
Articles to increase your knowledge and understanding in key areas of your life and career.
Read our blogs on Personal Development, Business Skills and Leadership & Management


Time Management test
Log In
Log in to your online dashboard
View your courses, review what you want and download your workbooks and certificates
Assertiveness test
Contact Us
An easy online form to get in touch
With options for More Information, Customer Service and Feedback


Close menu element
Develop Your Skills, Knowledge and Understanding with ZandaX
Click any subject in the listings for more information and a full list of courses

Personal Development
Personal Development training
Your soft skills affect everything you do, at work, at home and with friends ... they are truly life changing!
NEW COURSES
Online training courses
Hot Off the Press...
We're always adding to and upgrading our courses, so here are a few of our latest releases:
For a full listing of courses, please visit our Quick Course Finder to find exactly what you want.
Site Cookies
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better.

You can change your cookie settings in your browser. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue.

I'm fine with this