Managing Resistance to Change: A Guide to Workplace Transitions

As the saying goes, the only constant is change. Technological advancements, market demands, and evolving workforce expectations force companies to adapt continuously or risk falling behind in a competitive market.

However, change is never easy. Employees naturally resist change, which further complicates efforts to implement positive adaptations in the workplace. For HR leaders, this creates some complex challenges when introducing:

• New software
• New processes
• New leaders or team members

However, most change programs are unsuccessful, with more than 70% failing to meet their goals. Why?

The success of any new program depends not only on its details, but on the ability of leadership to manage the resistance to that change within the organization. Left unaddressed, resistance can slow down progress and have a cascading negative effect throughout the workforce. It may even derail change efforts altogether.

So, what can HR leaders do to proactively mitigate anxiety among employees and create buy-in? Let’s explore the nature of change resistance and some tips on how to manage it within your organization.

What Is Change?

Generally, most people agree change can be good — if it’s pursued voluntarily. But in the workplace, change tends to be implemented externally. This, in turn, disrupts the status quo. Change can be anything from moving one person’s desk across an office to a complete organizational upheaval affecting every person in the company. The cause is universal: an outside force makes things different, and employees must learn to adapt.

Some common examples of organizational change you might encounter are:

• Moving into a different office
• Implementing new company-wide software
• Changing a workflow to improve efficiency or quality
• Upgrading an inventory tracking system
• Management and hierarchy reorganization
• Offering a new time off system
• Hiring a new team member in a key role
• Ordering a new type of coffee for the break room

Anything that affects the work life of even one individual is a type of change that could cause resistance. Moving that desk from one side of the room to the other might be meaningless to the wider organization, but could be catastrophic to its occupant. It is only a matter of degree. But if leadership fails to manage that problem (appropriately), it could spiral into a disaster.

Contemplating change in a board room with flow charts and PowerPoints is easy, but organizations are more than charts and graphs. They involve people, and people will almost always resist mandatory change implemented by edict.

But you cannot implement change by edict alone. Change fails when leadership mismanages the most critical aspect of change: resistance.

What Is Resistance?

Resistance is the natural human inclination to oppose change.

Whether it’s a lone resistor or an organization-wide revolt, people will find ways to resist. Resistance can appear in non-direct ways, such as:

• Delays
• Inefficiencies
• Employee turnover
• Complaining/negativity
• Covert sabotage

All of these add friction to the process of change. Resistance can also include overt displays of defiance and outright rebellion that grind the entire operation to a halt.

Resistance is not necessarily malicious or even deliberate. It’s a normal reaction to a disruption in the status quo, no matter how big or small. People may resist unconsciously, which creates an even bigger leadership challenge. Either way, management's job is to figure out:

1. The level of the resistance
2. The cause of the resistance

Levels of Resistance

Resistance can happen at three general levels. Of course, real life usually involves some combination of all three, but the categories can help make sense of the problem.

Individual Resistance

How is this going to affect me?

This is resistance based on the unique, individual circumstances of singular employees. The change may not benefit them personally, or might actually harm them compared to the status quo. Individual resistance can stem from personality traits, such as a low tolerance for ambiguity. Even top employees can react poorly when the status quo is threatened.

A lone resistor has limited leverage for pushback, but even one influential worker can spread dissent quickly. However, individual resistance is usually the easiest to manage.

Group Resistance

How is this going to affect us?

This is resistance from entire teams, sub-organizations, or even the entire organization. This is especially problematic when resistance comes from highly successful units that might be happy with the status quo. If the current situation is working for them, disruption beyond their control can be infuriating and  tamper their success.

Compared to individuals, united groups may have more leverage for pushback against management. This creates a much more difficult situation affected by many factors including the size, status, and influence of the resistors. Leadership will likely be forced to negotiate a compromise — as relying on force might lead to massive attrition.

Organizational Resistance

How will this affect the company?

Finally, resistance may originate from the rules, systems, processes, policies, hierarchies, or bureaucracy of the organization itself. In this case, managing resistance is no longer about winning hearts and minds but rather about changing policy or uprooting systems that inhibit agility.

This is a more difficult task. Failure to plan ahead or mitigate organizational resistance can derail plans for change before they can begin.

Understanding the Causes of Change Resistance

Once you figure out where resistance is coming from, you need to know its cause. This is the next step to managing it.

More than likely, the resistance has more than one cause. It’s important for managers and HR leaders to be open to new perspectives from employees and flexible in how they address them. Here are a few root causes to consider:

Anxiety About the Unknown

People tend to prefer the status quo over promises of a better situation, regardless of how bad things might currently be.

Employees might be worried about how their roles might change. They may be thinking:

• Will I still be able to do my job?
• Will I become irrelevant (a common concern in the age of artificial intelligence)?
• Will my schedule change drastically (causing second-order effects with family or other obligations)?

The known is always less anxiety-inducing than the unknown, so employees might fight to preserve it.

Once employees master their roles and workflows, their survival mechanisms may be stubborn to make changes. They might fear they’ll lose more than they gain, and resist adoption.

Loss of Control

When change is imposed, rather than chosen, it's a reminder of how little control employees have over their jobs, or even their lives. Specifically, a new restructure might cause an employee to have less influence or autonomy. This might increase anxiety and thus cause resistance to change.

That’s why it’s important to create a culture where the needs of the employee are balanced with the needs of the organization. When implementing the change, make it clear how the employee stands to benefit. This can mitigate a lot of resistance up front.

Lack of Trust

Resistance can also come from a lack of trust in leadership. If employees have heard grand visions that failed to materialize before, what reason do they have to believe that the next big change will be any different? No matter how bad the current situation is, it’s better than wasting time and energy on ambitions that aren’t their own.

In other cases, lack of trust can come from unethical workplace behavior, the radical spread of disengagement, high turnover or attrition, or even a toxic work environment. Even in such environments, where change is absolutely needed, resistance can still thrive. Measuring employee engagement and satisfaction is key to addressing distrust and setting the stage for important change.

Disorganized Implementation

Even if employees initially embrace change with enthusiasm, this goodwill can quickly evaporate if the process devolves into chaos.

Even in the best cases, change is inherently messy. Mistakes will be made. But there is a fine line between the managed disorder of change and outright chaos. Employees will resist if it’s clear that an extended period of disorder lies ahead, born from a poorly implemented plan.

Disorganization manifests in a variety of ways including poor communication, unrealistic timelines, missed checkpoints, inadequate tracking, and a general lack of accountability among leadership. HR leaders should expect resistance in these cases and plan ahead with tools and processes that can help keep projects on track.

Managing Resistance to Change: 5 Tips for Success

How can leaders encourage employees to embrace change? Here are some tips that might help:

1. Create Buy-In

To succeed with any new initiative, a critical mass of employee buy-in must be achieved. Leadership must transform the change process from an external imposition to one that is owned by those it impacts the most.

NOTE: This is absolutely essential. To succeed with any new initiative, a critical mass of employee buy-in must be achieved.

Buy-in requires collaboration and empathy. Leadership must change the narrative from “this is something we are forcing on you for the good of the company” to “this is something we are doing together for the good of everyone.”

To do so, leadership must first understand how this change will affect employees. From there, you can incorporate your people into the process and empower them to make decisions about the outcome. In many cases, this will need to occur at all levels of an organization, from the lower-level employees to the senior leadership.

This might mean that leadership doesn't get 100% of what they want. However, a 90% solution with broad organizational buy-in is more likely to succeed than a 100% solution that triggers resistance (and perhaps failure).

2. Lead From the Front

Managing change resistance requires leadership by example. An anxious, wary, and skeptical workforce is watching the change closely. If you’re sending mixed signals or are not quite convinced of its benefits, it will be obvious to everyone. Here are a few ideas for leading the change:

• Hold management accountable for mistakes. We are all human, change is hard, and mistakes are bound to happen. Recognize them, own them, and move on. If possible, have management address these issues with subordinates with transparency. This will foster trust among team members and make it easier to implement new initiatives.
• Acknowledge employees who are supporting or implementing change. Positive reinforcement with tangible rewards or recognition can be effective motivation. You may also interview slow adopters and resistors in private to learn more about their reservations.
• Be proactive. Problem prevention is better than problem management every time. If you accept that resistance is inevitable, you can plan for it in advance. Have the answers before the questions, and this will go a long way toward building trust and ultimately increasing buy-in.

If this change is not coming from senior leadership, find a way to involve them anyway. If senior personnel are visibly supporting and participating in the change process, employees might accept it more easily. If there is no enthusiasm to buy in at the top, why would anyone else join in?

3. Communicate Effectively

Leadership should be responsible for communicating the vision of the change program to everyone involved and affected. Communicate why the change is worth it, how it will help them, and why it needs to happen right now. If employees can understand the vision, they will be less likely to resist — even if they don’t necessarily agree.

Communicate timelines and progress checkpoints. If a timeline is blown, be transparent about its status. If it is difficult to determine the  next step of the change, communicate that as well.

Maintain open channels of communication throughout the process. You can host workshops, forums, and Q&A sessions regarding topics related to the change. Genuinely listen to differing points of view, which might provide insight that can improve the process.

Use positive, decisive language and avoid equivocation. As a leader, you’re asking people to follow you into the unknown. Even if you have your doubts, now is not the time to express them or simply default to consensus. Communicate a clear vision and message, and people will follow.

4. Offer Training and Support

Leaders must recognize the fear and anxiety at the root of change resistance and aim to make the transition process as painless as possible.

Offer training courses to assist employees through the process. Resources should be easily accessible to ensure everyone can develop the skills and abilities needed to adapt to the new paradigm. Nobody should be left behind. Remember to be proactive and present training and support solutions in conjunction with the change plan itself.

For example, if management is implementing a new software system, make the system available to employees well in advance of actual implementation. Change is hard, and the sooner employees can interact with new systems, the faster they can hit the ground running when implementation is complete.

Of course, be ready to offer support for employees who might be overwhelmed by the process. Even the best, most productive people might reach their breaking point with change like new technologies. Provide resources to help people manage the mental load, and try to respond to each and every complaint. Sometimes, just being heard is enough to reduce anxiety and resistance.

5. Stay Organized

When employees see goals achieved on time and in order, their trust and confidence grows. If the process is a disorganized mess, employees will check out and resist, consciously or unconsciously. Never underestimate the value of effective organization when undergoing change.

Organization relates to every aspect mentioned above, including communication, leadership, training, planning, and more. Ad hoc solutions won’t help and will likely fail under increased pressure. Instead, invest in trusted change management solutions and systems that can help you implement strategies at scale — it’s worth the cost.

Manage Change With Criterion HCM

Change is inevitable and so is resistance. But resistance is only a problem if you ignore or fail to plan for it. By establishing a solid plan, using effective communication, and creating resources to support your team, management can limit anxiety and increase buy-in. These are all key steps to reduce resistance and optimize your chances of success.

If you are seeking solutions to optimize change resistance, Criterion HCM is an ideal partner for growing organizations. Built with real HR professionals in mind, our intuitive, unified human capital management platform gives you flexible control over payroll, recruiting, training, employee data management, and more. Streamline time tracking to payroll, customize onboarding workflows, and manage positions and benefits with ease.

Criterion helps you put people at the center of your operations with an open API for seamless integration with any platform. Curious to see what Criterion can help you achieve? Book a demo to experience a truly unified HCM platform designed for HR leaders.