It is something of a truism to say that change is a constant. But it is also true to say that resistance to change is also a constant.

The results-management system we have examined in this book is a people system, and not a paper system. Changing from what has been often perceived as a paper system to a people-centric system poses many challenges to all line managers.

Managing change is critical to the success of any efforts to implement the results-management system, the purpose for which is to improve individual and organizational productivity to address increasing wage costs.

Change-management experts have identified three behavioral impediments to introducing and implementing change: habits of thought and action; fear of the unknown; and vested interests.

In implementing the results-management system in any organization, the same real issues and concerns related to these impediments are likely to recur: the new system is time-consuming and more difficult to use; we're not sure whether direct reports will accept the new system or whether performance measures will be accurate and complete; results will be harder to achieve and so will my bonus; will I do better or worse under the new system? And so on.

These are genuine concerns. Managing change efforts is not a mechanical textbook exercise and it is helpful if managers can place themselves in their direct reports' position to empathize with their concerns and reservations.

Changing people's habits of thought and action entails having to replace these habits with new ways of thinking and of doing things. The more ingrained the old habits are, the harder it is to change them. The process by which they have become ingrained starts with past experience, which can be pleasant—which will prompt people to want to continue with that experience—or unpleasant or painful—making people want to avoid the experience again. Past experience therefore shapes people's perception of how things should or should not be done. It also causes most people to have fixed assumptions about what they will encounter in the future and thus can get in the way of their accepting something different or new. If, however, their experience of change has been a pleasant one, this may prompt them to accept the new more readily.

Communication and involvement through intensive training in the new—whether this new thing is a product, a service, a concept, a skill or a system—can help overcome resistance. Training experts tell us that people undergo four stages of skills and knowledge acquisition, from awareness, to understanding, insight and mastery, when they learn anything new:

A method commonly used in training sessions to promote awareness is to get people to reflect over their past experiences, pleasant or unpleasant, correct or incorrect. Explanations are given on how they could do things differently, in order to do them better. This leads into the second step and a greater understanding and consciousness of where they have erred. They then will be ready for step three, which is being conscious of where they are right or did right without external feedback. Once they have reached this stage, the learning needs to be reinforced, and it is here, in this fourth stage, that most training programs are generally lacking.

People must realize that it is the constant practice and application of the concepts and skills learned that can enable unconscious competence to take place, for the new concepts and competencies to become ingrained or internalized.

While most training programs have assignments for follow-up application, and end-of-program evaluations, these generally gauge the extent of receptiveness to the new concepts and skills. After the various projects and assignments have been submitted and reviewed, people tend not think about them much anymore.

For a more effective transfer of training to the workplace, people need to be trained to implement a system; in this case, the results-management system. If the whole organization subscribes to the system, then the attitudes, concepts and skills transmitted will be applied to the workplace for continuing on-the-job training and used till it becomes part of the organizational practice and culture. This will increase the likelihood of creating unconscious competence in the concepts and skills needed to implement and maintain the system.

The components of a results-management system and the competencies needed to implement it are set out in Table 7.1.

Companies obviously want their investment in training to pay off and Figure 7.1 illustrates how returns on investment in training could be derived.

Figure 7.1. Transfer of Training to Achieve Unconscious Competence

From this, it becomes clear that off-the-job training can create awareness, understanding, and the likelihood of acceptance of new concepts and skills, which is often revealed in the reactions of the participants in the end-of-program evaluation.

After the training, the skills and concepts learned have to be applied in the work environment to bring that learning to a state of unconscious competence. These applications must be reinforced by organizational commitment, which determines the organizational climate to encourage continual practice.

In the workplace itself, if everyone learns the same system, concepts, and skills, and the immediate superior accords priority to their implementation, this will serve to encourage regular application and practice.

Concepts, when applied often enough, lead to greater insights. Skills, if practiced often enough, lead to intuitive actions. Once this stage is reached, the old habits of thought and action would have been changed.

Training is usually seen as a means to an end. In this instance, training helps to bring about change, by helping people to look at things and do things differently.

Another factor militating against change is fear of the unknown. This is often compounded by a fear of failure or of looking stupid if the concepts and skills are wrongly applied. To overcome such fears and to ensure success, it may be necessary to take small, incremental steps in implementing change. Celebrate the little successes. Success begets success as it breeds confidence.

An effective strategy is to have pilot runs of small parts of the system progressively. De-bug them, make them work, and then move on to the next part of the system. Alternatively, pilot the whole system with the department or group that is most receptive, and ensure that it succeeds. The pilot project can be run in parallel with the current system.

Once the pilot project is successful, celebrate it and disseminate the learning as a model for emulation, to spur on others who may be ambivalent about it. If possible, leave the most resistant groups to the last.

This may take some time but the entire results-management system is made up of many sub-systems, each of which requires a number of core competencies to be mastered in order for it to be implemented well.

Transition in change management can be likened to the trapeze artist who has to take that leap of faith. He has to let go of the current handle and lunge forward to grab the next handle coming towards him. Rushing or pushing him forward could prove fatal.

Vested interests come in various forms. They can be simple human self-interest, self-preservation, or self-protection. They need to be addressed as they can impede any change initiative, but they can also aid the change if certain self-interests are addressed.

As shown in Figure 7.2, about 20 percent of employees in any organization will be dead-set against a change, as they will perceive the change to be detrimental to them. Another 20 percent will strongly favor the change, as they see immediate benefits to them, or they have not been benefiting under the current system. The remaining 60 percent will be ambivalent, sitting on the fence to see what happens. This critical mass has to be influenced for any significant change to come about.

Figure 7.2. Distribution of Vested Interests Within an Organization

Obviously, these will differ according to the type of organization and the type of change being sought. To ascertain the actual distribution of vested interests within a specific organization, focus groups can be formed to discuss and gather concerns and issues regarding the intended changes. These focus groups will act as the organization's eyes and ears, to find out what people need, fear to lose or need to protect.

Then, win-win solutions must be found. If win-win solutions are not immediately available, trade-offs can be considered (if a person is going to lose something in the compensation system, for example, a substitute in the talent-management system might be an acceptable trade-off).

Line managers will also have a major role to play in this because most concerns and anxieties are best learned unobtrusively in day-to-day interactions between superior and direct report, when people are less guarded.

Four groups of people are involved in the implementation stage:

This is not an HR project, but a company project. There must be ownership by everyone in the organization, but HR will play the role of facilitator, and line managers will play the role of implementers. Details of their respective roles are set out in Table 7.2.

A possible action plan to support the implementation could be done in three phrases:

Phase 1: Initiation

Phase 2: Transition

Phase 3: Consolidation

Acting on the initiatives suggested above is recognizing and working on the "driving forces" and "resisting forces" which most managers have learned from Kurt Lewin's well-known Force Field Analysis to bring about change.

Finally, a system is often held together and is inter-dependent with several sub-systems. Any malfunction in one can affect the proper functioning of the whole system. This applies to the implementation of the results-management system as well. Only committed organizational leadership can bring about an efficient and effective implementation of such a system.

Key Points to Ponder

• A system is only as good as its implementation.

• Even though the results-management system is a people system and not a paper system, resistance to change must still be managed.

• Three major impediments to change have to be recognized and managed: habits of thought and of action; fear of the unknown; and the vested interests of people affected by the change.

• To change habits of thought and of action, we can take a leaf from the training profession, which creates awareness of a need, enables people to recognize their ineffective habits, and to practice and internalize their effective habits.

• Individuals who change habits need to be reinforced by the environment they return to.

• Informal communication can help uncover and mitigate fear of the unknown.

• To attend to vested interests that can impede change, it is necessary to find out what these vested interests are and seek win-win solutions.

• The roles of everyone in the organization have to be spelt out, so that each group or individual will implement the action plan as a team, pulling in the same direction.

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