At the end of almost every change initiative is a phenomenon usually referred to as “change fatigue”.
Change Fatigue – Departments, organizations and people that go through endless change that with no result.
With anywhere between 50 and 70% of change initiatives failing, it is no surprise that people are fatigued with change. It is equivalent to endlessly moving offices within a building and somehow ending up with the same or worse view no matter where you go.
At some point there is a belief that no change will make a situation any better.
WHY DOES CHANGE FATIGUE HAPPEN?
There are hundreds of really great explanations as to why change fatigue occurs. Here are the top three:
1. THERE IS NO CLEAR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WAS AND WHAT IS
Simply put, the change that was implemented doesn’t really change anything substantial. Many reorganizations fall into this category. There is some purpose or rationale for the change that is expressed early on. But, once the project is in full swing, leaders get swayed by the many voices that feel slighted. In the end, the change is really more like shifting names in boxes.
“Most reorgs are like moving furniture in a room at best or trying to moving the same furniture while the room is on fire at worst”
The change affects many, but changes little. People get really tired of those and wary when similar changes come up. Fatigue sets in right away.
2. PROCESSES IN THE “NEW WORLD” ARE CONFUSING AT BEST
Change is tiresome and complicated for almost everyone involved. It requires those impacted to alter practices that may have been in place for some time. There is quite a bit of energy that it takes to get through a change. If it is unclear or confusing people will find a way to do it the way they always have done and work around the new process.
3. ONCE THE CHANGE IS IMPLEMENTED, THERE IS A THRUST TO “GET BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS” OR “JUST GET BACK TO WORK”
One of the most common occurrences after a change is implemented is for people to “get back to their day jobs”. Here is the problem. Once the organization has changed, there is no “getting back to the way it was”. Things have changed. There is a new reality. Once you get married, the relationship has changed and there is no going back. It has been altered and the only way to be successfully is to deal with the NEW.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
1. KNOW THAT THIS IS COMMON AND PART OF THE CHANGE CYCLE
According to many experts change fatigue or at least the idea that people working on the change will feel fatigued is normal. Depending on the complexity of the change and how much the change impacts their livelihood, it can occur multiple times. The very best way to minimize the affect of it is to know that people often feel fatigued, anxious, etc. during times of change. Knowing this can help to ensure that it is planned for or at least there is not panic when it occurs.
2. INVOLVE PEOPLE EARLY AND OFTEN.
Change is like taking a road trip. People’s perspective about the trip is all in relationship to where they sit in the car.
Driver – feels good. They are in control of the route, the radio, heat, etc. Passenger – Feels pretty good. Can have input on direction and can also get access to the heat, radio, etc. Person locked in the trunk – not very good feeling. The drive is being “done to them”. They have NO control. Everyone is taking the same car trip, but the perspective is very different based on the level of control felt.
Change initiatives are the same. People want to have the feeling of control. They don’t want the change not being “done to them”. Ensure at the very beginning all people impacted, that can influence, that can work on, that will have to support, etc. (otherwise known as stakeholders) are involved. Generally, this is called “Stakeholder Management“. All too often, this is not only not done well, but not done at all. As any experienced change management practioner will tell you, this is a make or break step.
3. THE CHANGE IS NOT JUST SUCCESSFUL AT LAUNCH, BUT 6, 12, 18, 24 MONTHS AFTER ITS OVER
All too often, the focus of the change is the launch or “implementation”. This goes for any type of change – software implementation, reorganization, big process change due to governmental regulation, and anything else you can think of – Regardless of size or scope. It seems as if there is a focus on getting the department organization up to and maybe even through the point of change. Unfortunately, there is often not enough emphasis put on what happens after the change has been implemented. By this time, most of the consultants and many of the extra resources have gone away. However, this is when most care is needed.
• Managers need to have tools to talk to employees,
• Employees need tools to utilize new resources,
• Employees may need new methods to deal with customers.
It is vitally important that there is ample training, communication, and updates regarding the success of a change. The real measure of a successful change is not whether or not the implementation went without a hitch, it is whether or not the change had the required impact or is still continuing to make a difference in the organization long after the implementation has been completed. This will enable employees to see that there is some difference made in a positive way. It will magically alleviate much of the change fatigue
CHANGE FATIGUE IS A CONVENIENT WAY TO EXPLAIN WHY CHANGES FAIL.
No change initiative is perfect or will go off without any issues.
But,
• Knowing that fatigue is part of the normal process of change,
• Involving all stakeholders early and often,
• Ensuring that there is focus and energy placed on the processes to sustain the change will go a long way to increasing the success of change initiatives and eliminating the idea of change fatigue.
How have you seen change fatigue impact projects? What are some methods that you’ve seen success with to deal with “change fatigue”?
Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.
Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
