6 essential steps to successfully implementing change in the workplace

You’re bound to experience changes in your workplace and job role at some point, and working in internal comms or HR roles means you are likely to be part of the team implementing change in the workplace too. We’ve seen a huge amount of change over the last few years with the shift to remote and hybrid work, turbulent economic times and new and emerging technologies, and one thing’s certain - it hasn’t been easy.

Employers desire a workforce that is resilient and willing to adapt to changes with ease. But this dream isn’t always a reality. Gartner has found that there are increasing waves of ‘change fatigue’ in workplaces and our own research found that a staggering 43% of UK employees believe their place of work is not effectively prepared for change. Change doesn’t happen overnight, it requires a clear vision, outlined steps and a whole lot of communication.

When done correctly, implementing change in the workplace can bring lots of advantages:

• It keeps your business growing and thriving: Successfully executed organisational change can enable streamlined processes and strategies, which increase efficiency and productivity to keep your workforce and workflow thriving.
• It encourages innovation: Change can make way for environments that support innovation and creativity which can lead to new ideas, products and services.
• It creates new opportunities: Organisational change enables businesses to adapt to market conditions, stay relevant in the midst of competition and enables you to capitalise on new opportunities.
• It can improve morale: Communicating and being honest with your employees throughout the process of implementing change in the workplace will make your employees feel included and respected, giving them a united goal to work towards which can foster the spirit of teamwork and collaboration.

Let’s explore some examples of organisational change, how to engage employees during change and 6 crucial steps for successful change in the workplace.

Examples of organisational change

What types of organisational change exist?

• Strategic: Changes made to the business to mitigate threats and leverage new opportunities. This could be anything from changes in management style to the overall business strategy.
• Structural: This type of change involves changing the organisation's structure. This could involve mergers and acquisitions, acquiring new business units or creating new departments to improve efficiency and pursue new routes.
• Technological or process orientated: Implementing new software or technology to help with the automation of tasks and the adoption of new manufacturing or production methods are all types of technological and process style change.
• People-orientated: This type of change involves anything related to employees. This can be changes to culture, employee training or onboarding new hires.
• Transformational: Transformational change can include all of the above - this type of change completely reshapes your business. This can be the most disruptive type of change and can sometimes last for longer periods of time.

Employee engagement during change

Our research into organisational change found that 39% of employees are resistant to change based on lack of awareness around the change, with 38% quoting fear of the unknown as their reason for not engaging with change initiatives. These statistics could be drastically improved if organisations make communicating change a priority.

When you communicate with your employees properly, they become engaged. Subsequently, your engaged employees will be hugely supportive of your organisation and its values and goals. When employees aren’t engaged, they’ll be actively resistant to change and are likely to suffer from poor performance and maybe even search for jobs elsewhere.

Our research identified that 43% of employees do not think that their organisation is prepared to effectively manage change. Here are some tips to ensure you can effectively implement and manage change in the workplace.

6 essential steps to implement change in the workplace

As the saying goes, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. When implementing change in the workplace, these are essential for transformational success:

1. Stakeholder impact assessment

If you really want change to work, ownership and commitment from all levels of the business is essential for a positive outcome. Doing this ensures your employees feel included in the decisions around the change, and allows for any conflicts or concerns to be discussed before actually implementing change in the workplace. Employee voice is crucial in this process.

Once you have identified your stakeholders, you need to be able to communicate relevant messages to each of the necessary groups. Oak’s personalised feed is the ideal solution, allowing you to segment and target your audiences with specific messaging that’s tailored and relevant to them.

How: Identify your stakeholders and how to communicate with them effectively. Understanding this enables you to have a clear picture of your different audiences, how they’re affected and the best ways to guide them through change.

2. Define clear outcomes

We found that 38% of UK employees say a fear of the unknown would make them resistant to change, similarly 39% said a lack of awareness would also make them resistant to change. The key is to clearly define the change process.

How: Decide on timelines, outcomes, the impact of change and the benefits that implementing change in the workplace will bring. This gives your workforce a clear picture of why the change is happening and why it’s for the better. Internal communicators must use this opportunity to curate a positive vision around change, with clear steps for each team so people aren’t left with ambiguity and anxiety around change.

3. Encourage employee input

Our research identified that 23% of UK employees said exclusion from change-related decisions would make them resistant to said change. Including your employees' opinions from the start will help to raise awareness of the plans and ensure employee voice is prioritised. All of this will create a more positive outlook on the change as employees will feel like they’re in control and part of the journey.

How: Utilise features like pulse surveys and polls where employees can provide honest feedback and raise any issues or suggestions. Create a community Hub for the specific change process you’re going through, where project leads can post updates and allow two-way conversation throughout.

4. Communicate regularly throughout

Only 36% of employees think change is communicated well in their organisation. If you don’t communicate change effectively, you open the doors to rumour mills, spreading misinformation and the truth getting lost and diluted.

How: Make sure you have a plan in place around how frequently you’re going to communicate with employees. Will you send messages weekly? Daily? Who can people go to if they need questions answering regarding changes? Where will you send your messages, and are employees aware of where they need to go for updates? These are all important things to consider.

5. Celebrate achievements

It’s not always about the end goal, it’s the journey we take to get there and this mustn't be ignored during periods of difficult change. Make sure you’re celebrating employees' hard work and wins, and encouraging people to learn from the setbacks.

How: Highlight team members’ inputs and show appreciation with employee recognition features to celebrate and share your thanks company-wide. This will help boost morale, performance and help create a culture of recognition.

6. Value feedback

Data is key and this is no different when implementing change in the workplace. Understanding concerns or uncertainties and checking in with your employees during change is essential for understanding how they feel, and where improvements can be made to ensure the best possible outcomes.

How: Using pulse surveys at the end of your change initiative is a great way to understand how employees felt about the whole process and how you can make improvements for when the next change project takes place.

Keep your people at the centre of your change communications

Effectively implementing change in the workplace all boils down to carefully considering your employees first and foremost, from how the changes will affect them to how you’ll communicate with them and support them through the process. Your employees should be high on your list of priorities, after all, they’re the people that will make your change a success, or a failure.

Did the statistics in this article interest you? We have more insights and information on organisational change in our Change Report which you can download right here.