Introduction
The dynamic business environment is forcing companies to embrace change to be able to adapt to the shifting trends. Such trends entail things like globalization, technological growth, and changes in the global economy. Change resistance refers to workplace opposition to transformations or modifications of workplace processes that leads to alteration of status quo in the work settings. Change-which is an inevitable process-is a critical feature of the business environment in enhancing steadiness and addressing uncertainty. Employees resist change when they are not involved in the decision-making process or when the proposed change is going to interfere with their work (Serban, & Iorga, 2016). Effective organizational change requires the understanding of the various sources of resistance to ease the transition process. Communication plays an integral part in initiating the change process and reducing the level of resistance in the organization. A majority of organizations encounter the challenge of addressing and managing organizational change due to lack of an effective communication plan. The evaluation of the extent and depth of change resistance at Black Hill Corporation is critical in forming the basis of developing a solid communication plan.
Potential Causes of Resistance
People resist change because of various reasons. The introduction of change initiatives in an organization may lead to a breakup of the continuity of a work setting that creates a climate of improbability and ambiguity. Change may force the management to redefine or modify traditional structures leading to the introduction of unfamiliar structures that causes resistance. For example, leadership changes witnessed at Black Hill means that workers are subjected to new styles of leadership at different time intervals. The failure to inform employees about intended change causes distrust because employees feel threatened about their job security (Ten, Huijsmans, & Van 2015). The lack of proper communication between the management and employees leads to misunderstandings that limit the effective implementation of the change process. Moreover, the employees may resist the introduction of a new CEO especially if the previous leader had a lot of influence in the company. For example, David Emery, who is the current Black Hill CEO did not have an easy time stepping into the shoes of Daniel Landguth who had held the position for more than ten years. Appropriate communication prepares employees for any uncertainty, and this reduces the degree of resistance. Communication can be fostered through the scheduling of meetings and provision of a forum for feedback where employees can launch their concerns or ideas for effective change implementation.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Besides, people resist change for fear of losing jobs. For example, there was a lot of uncertainty about the future of Black Hill employees after the company acquired SourceGas firm in 2015 requiring the restructuring of the human resource management system .The introduction of change threatens the job security of people, for instance, the introduction of new technologies to reduce the cost of production can lead to downsizing of employees to reduce the labor cost (Yılmaz, & Kılıçoğlu, 2013). The fear of losing jobs makes people resist change because they can be rendered jobless that subjects them to financial crisis. The embracing of new technologies leads to the elimination of jobs that inhibit the success of the company.
Additionally, change implementation leads to a change of roles, and this makes it difficult for people to understand their new roles. Change implementation causes a change in job positions or titles because of a shift in responsibilities and introduction of new ones. For example, Black Hill lays off employees in new acquisitions as the management seeks to create competitive teams to hold the leadership positions. Employees resist change when they don’t understand how they will suit in the new way of doing things. This may require retraining to equip employees with new skills of executing new responsibilities. However, this may disrupt the confidence and security of employees who are not sure of how they will help the company in meeting its objectives and goals.
Potential Sources of Resistance
Resistance to change emanates from various sources. Blind resistance is one of the sources where employees become afraid without any solid information; it tends to arise due to changes in business structure like in new company acquisitions. Also, political resistance is another source where people believe that they might lose power base or position in the event the proposed change takes place. Lastly, ideological resistance is where people disagree based on ideas or intellectual differences.
A Plan for Minimizing Possible Resistance
A plan for minimizing possible resistance requires the management to have extensive knowledge of the people to be affected by the change. This is necessary for ensuring that the management can appropriately relay the message and address the issues that are likely to touch them. This can be solved by having regular meetings with the team to have background information and allow them to know what is expected of them and this will help in reducing resistance. Employee involvement in the decision-making process regarding the proposed change will make them be part of the process hence easier transition (Matos & Esposito, 2014). For example, informing employees about the changes to be expected once Black Hills add a new company into its portfolio is essential. Teams can be formed to enable people to share ideas, knowledge, and opinions regarding the change process and how they are going to address possible challenges. This will boost trust and confidence among the people thus minimizing resistance. Management can share questionnaires to seek the opinions of the employees concerning the proposed change, and this will help the management in determining the acceptance rate and device ways of reducing resistance among those who don’t support change. The decision concerning the type of change to take place is essential in allowing the parties to research to gather more information on how to implement the proposed to change.
The Relationship between Resistance to Change and Communication
Communication has emerged as a critical element that affects the outcome of any change. Communication is essential in influencing the process of initiating change, for instance, informing the people change, fostering consultation and provision of feedback. Communication enables the management to involve the employees in the process thus minimize resistance (Beatty, 2015). Poor communication leads to misunderstandings, confusion, and ignorance hence resistance to change. For example, Black Hill should inform employees about expected top leadership changes to ensure they are adequately prepared for the move. The leadership of an organization plays an integral part in putting proper communication channels in place that reduce resistance because each employee is aware of what is expected of him or her.
Communication Strategies
Several communication strategies have been developed to foster the effective implementation of change. Open communication strategy is one of the best strategies that allow the management to hear the other sides of the employees. For example, managers should involve employees in solving company problems affecting their welfare. Secondly, the timing of communication is crucial in making sure that the planned change takes place without delays and all the relevant information is available thus eliminating confusion and errors (Kuipers et al., 2014). Lastly, the development of a participative platform allows employees and the management to express themselves and share vital information. This will give employees an opportunity to influence the change process by use of their ideas hence promoting innovation and creativity.
Recommendation of Communication Strategy
The development of a participative platform is the most recommended communication strategy because it will provide employees with an opportunity of measuring the metrics against the established timelines. The platform will foster effective allocation of resources and sharing of knowledge, progress, and outcome of the change process. This will reduce resistance because each team will be aware of what is expected of them.
Solid Communication Plan
The solid communication plan is to provide an open communication system where people will be in a position to share information to enhance positive change. People will encourage making use of mass emails and automated messages to make sure that each person is aware of the intended changes. The promoting of frequent team meetings is essential in enabling people to be informed of the progress and change in plan.
Conclusion
Change is a vital tool that enables an organization to redefine organizational processes and structure to enhance success and reduce the cost of production. However, resistance to change is a common phenomenon because of employees of the uncertainties and job security. There is a need for organizations to develop an effective communication plan to aid in reducing resistance to change, for example, involving employees in the decision process and provision of timely of timely information.
References
Yılmaz, D., & Kılıçoğlu, G. (2013). Resistance to change and ways of reducing resistance in educational organizations. European journal of research on education, 1(1), 14-21.
Serban, A., & Iorga, C. (2016). Employee Resistance To Organizational Change Through Managerial Reengineering. In Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE (Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 366-374). Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania.
Ten Have, S., ten Have, W., Huijsmans, A. B., & Van der Eng, N. (2015). Change competence: Implementing effective change. Routledge.
Beatty, C. A. (2015). Communicating During an Organizational Change. Organization Studies, 15(3), 337-352.
Kuipers, B. S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Summers, L., Grandia, J., & Van der Voet, J. (2014). The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public administration, 92(1), 1-20.
Matos Marques Simoes, P., & Esposito, M. (2014). Improving change management: How communication nature influences resistance to change.
