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Training Staff to Cope With Change

The three quotes above highlight the importance of change in our lives. For business, change is something that is ever-present. No business or business environment ever stands still. It follows from this that every business has to cope with change.

At the front line of most change in business will be humans. The workforce will be the ones who have to adapt to new situations and to the effects of changes inside and outside the business. Making sure that they are suitably trained to be able to cope with these changes is an important part of the leadership and management process.

Training programmes might be one way in which the workforce can be helped to cope with change. Copyright: Simon Gray, from stock.xchng.

The Nature of Change

Change is a curious thing - we might think of it as having the following characteristics:

• Change is linear - it proceeds through a series of set stages
• Change is predictable - we know something of how things are going to change
• In knowing how things change, we can put in place plans to manage change
• Leaders and managers have some control over change
• Most external change factors are outside of the organisation's control
• Most uncontrollable changes are largely exceptional

(After 'Innovation and Change in Organisations', King and Anderson, 1995)

In reality, it is likely that change is none of these things. Change can happen anywhere, anytime and come from any angle. It is certainly not linear or predictable. For example, a key worker in a small business could have an accident on the way to work, involving a key worker, meaning they will be off work for six months,could be badly affected by

Political changes in international markets can cause sudden significant effects on a business. A chance conversation can have major effects. New technology or new information can have a significant impact on many businesses - largely unpredicted.

If we look at some of the major news events of the last few weeks, we can see some evidence of this. John Prescott and Charles Clarke have both been the 'victims' of circumstances that have changed not only their lives and work but also those of many others; some businesses have been affected by the arrival of avian flu in the UK; Wayne Rooney was expecting to go to the World Cup and play for England but his injury has not only affected England's chances but also the many businesses that might have been hoping to exploit the 'Rooney effect' as a means of making money during the World Cup.

Planning ahead may be one way to anticipate change - but anticipating change is as far as it can go. Employees can be helped to understand the process and nature of change and be given skills to become more flexible and able to confront and cope with change. Copyright: Jonathan Natiuk, from stock.xchng.

Forms of Change

The following provides some ideas about the types of change that can confront any business. Of course, these changes do not just come singly; they might come two and three at a time. The business has to be able to cope with them.

The list could go on.

What is the response of some businesses to these sorts of changes? The following list might be some typical responses that could be heard in many an organisation:

The above might be seen as being potential barriers to change in an organisation. Change is something that can bring about a number of different responses - the fear of change, however, might be one of the primary responses that generates inertia and stagnation in a business.

Many people will go through a series of stages in coming to accept change. These may range from refusing to accept it, trying to ignore it, being frightened of it, through to a lack of control then to begrudging acceptance, a desire to find out more and internalising the change - seeing it as being part of the normal working process.

Think about the massive impact that IT has had on the working environment in the last 20 years. Many people have had to adapt to the use of this new technology - many have made the transition successfully. For many businesses, the identification of training needs and making sure that staff had the appropriate training not only to cope with the technology but also to be confident about handling new versions and extensions of that technology, has been something that they have had to face.

Task

Chip and Pin technology is something we might think is fairly straightforward. For a business, it is another change that they have to consider. Staff have to be confident in dealing with all aspects of such a seemingly simple change. Copyright: Melodi T, from stock.xhcng.

Choose one business that you think is undergoing some form of change. You can get ideas from looking through news articles. Alternatively, it could be a business in which you have part-time work or a local business that you have visited or had work experience at.

Identify the main change that is affecting your chosen business - write 500 words stating what the nature of the change is, where it is coming from (is it internal or external) and what the main effects of the change are likely to be on the way the business operates.

Try to find out the main aims and objectives of the business - in what way do the changes identified affect these aims and objectives?

Now turn your attention to the human resources in the business. What impact are the changes likely to have on the employees?

Devise a plan for training staff to cope with these new changes - remember that the plan is not just about telling them about the change, it is something that they are going to have to come to terms with and may well have some anxieties about. How do you maintain morale and motivation in the face of such changes? How do you go about identifying what sort of training the employees might need?

For example, many firms have had to cope with the introduction of 'chip and pin' technology in recent months. What are the training requirements that have to be put into place to meet these needs? Do you need to do a skills audit (find out what skills the staff do and do not have)? Do you need to send staff to an external training course or is it more appropriate to do the training 'in-house'? What are the longer term implications for ensuring that the staff are able to 'internalise' the training so that it becomes part of their everyday working pattern?

For some staff, changes might be a cause for some considerable anxiety and concern - how do you manage the training needs of such people to ensure that the changes go smoothly and productivity is maintained or even improved? Copyright: Tom Denham, from stock.xchng.

You may choose something more significant - for example, a business that has decided to reorganise its management or re-locate to a different part of the country. The training needs and how they are managed here are likely to be far more complex.

Finally, write a short 500-word evaluation of the training programme you have identified and consider how appropriate it will be in helping staff to understand the change and also to be able to cope with other, similar, sorts of changes.