Perceptions of Change
In the previous section, we examined how reactions to change are affected by external and internal factors. External factors include actions that an organization or its change leaders take whereas internal factors have to do with the very personal way that individuals view a change based on their experience and beliefs. Let’s examine factors that influence individuals’ perception of change.
Think of examples of changes you have personally experienced. They can be personal (i.e. marriage, divorce) or professional (i.e. change of job).
- Identify what, from your perspective, makes the difference as to whether a change is perceived as positive or negative
- Did being “locked in the trunk” or having “a hand on the wheel” make a difference on your perception of the change?
Changes Messages in the workplace: Senders and receivers
Like any message, announcing a change involves a sender and a receiver. Let’s take a few moments to examine how change is communicated and how that affects the receiver’s perception of the change. The scenario below was one of which our change management expert recently encountered during a restructuring project:
A supervisor sat down with an employee to discuss a major restructuring project within the company. The supervisor was enthusiastic and positive. She covered all the key messages—business reasons for change, key drivers in the marketplace, and the urgency to update processes and systems to remain competitive. The supervisor clearly communicated that this is a challenging and exciting time. When the employee asked about job changes, the supervisor replied that the design was still underway.
Take a moment to answer the following questions in the comment box below:
Later that evening when the employee discussed this change with her spouse over dinner, what do you think her key messages were? How do the interests of the employee differ from those of her supervisor?
Once you have responded to the question above, please watch this video about the employee perspective of change messages.
As your comments may reflect, what is important to the employer is different than what is on the minds of employees during times of change. The employee perspective may be affected by:
- Their career or educational plans
- Their situation at home and their personal relationships
- Past experiences with other changes at work
- What they have heard from friends and colleagues
- Current performance on the job
- Level of satisfaction with work
- Trust they hold with sender
When you are the sender of the change message, it is important that you remain mindful of your receiver’s interests in order to convey the message in a way that will help them perceive the change as being a positive one.
Making your employees aware of the change and understanding the need for it are just the start of the change process; in order to fully implement a change initiative, you must get them to become engaged in the vision and willing to contribute to the change. Next, we will examine a model that will assist us in understanding how to shape your message in order for your change effort to succeed.
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