We’ve received a number of comments on a recent post, “Why Is Change So Difficult?“ Many of you commented that top management holds the key to overcoming resistance to change, yet company leaders sometimes don’t lead very effectively. Well, top management, here are some suggestions for overcoming resistance to change:

1. If you say “we need to change” and you don’t follow that up with a rationale, education, support, and guidance, you lose credibility with your employees. You have to lead, and not just with words. You have to show what change will look like, how it will come about, and give your people an honest, accurate cost-benefit analysis (i.e., it will take x, y, and z and may cause some short-term pain but we’ll be a stronger company in the long run).

2. Acknowledge employees’ stake in the outcome. If you think company owners are the only ones who have a stake in whether the company is successful and profitable, you’re looking at the situation too narrowly.

Your employees all have a crucial stake. If the company maintains the status quo and falls behind its competitors as a result, many employees may be out of a job. It’s in their best interest to see their company grow and change with the times.

Whether you know it or not, the majority of employees feel the company’s products are their products. Acknowledging this sense of pride in ownership will only reinforce their sense of worth and investment.

3. You value your employees’ insights. They’re involved from day to day in all the low- and mid-level processes. They see many things you don’t. Furthermore, you don’t have time to look for all the little details. Trust them to know what’s going on and invite their observations and criticisms.

4. At the same time, understand that your employees have different backgrounds and, therefore, different perspectives on your situation. They all have an interest in seeing the company change and improve, but how they read the company’s situation — and how they’d go about effecting change if they were in top management’s seat — will vary. Value the different viewpoints and use them to your advantage.

5. Understand the needs and requirements of the company at the different levels. Have you had a good talk with customer service, purchasing, or production lately? How do they see the company? What do they think the company needs to move forward? What do they need at their level to make change work?

6. You didn’t hire the best just to sit on their experience and talents, did you? You believe their personal and professional growth is in their best interests and yours, right? Well, why not make use of all that they have to offer? Show some trust in their knowledge and instincts…and in yours. It doesn’t make sense not to.

7. Everyone working together toward a common goal gives employees a sense of belonging and togetherness. “We’re in this together” isn’t just a slogan: it’s how exceptional organizations are run. It’s how companies like yours stay ahead of their competitors.

How does your company encourage change? How do you involve your employees in change? How do you get them to buy into the idea? I look forward to your comments.

This Monday, May 24, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) brings its annual World Conference on Quality and Improvement to St. Louis, Missouri. For three-plus days, some of the “best and brightest” in the field of quality are coming to one place to share their insights, real-life successes, and some of the challenges in developing, implementing, and maintaining quality management systems.

The WCQI agenda looks like this:

• Thursday-Sunday, May 20-23 - Preconference courses, such as the CQA exam refresher, and leadership meetings;
• Monday, May 24 - Conference opens; keynote address; lectures, presentations, and networking;
• Tuesday, May 25 - Keynote speech; lectures and workshops; and
• Wednesday, May 26 - Workshops, a Six Sigma Forum panel discussion, networking, and the closing session, which includes the presentation of the International Team Excellence Award.

There are presentations and workshops for everyone, from those who are just getting acquainted with quality to those who want to add to their already extensive knowledge of quality concepts and techniques.

Sponsors and exhibitors at the World Conference include:

• Bizmanualz;
  
• Abbott;
• Boeing;
• GE Healthcare;
• The Juran Institute;
• Minitab; and
• Northrup Grumman.

Coincidentally (or not), the ASQ’s event takes place at the same time as National Small Business Week in the U.S. (Wouldn’t it be great to get some cross-pollination of ideas between these two outstanding events?)

If you’re going to be at the WCQI, please look us up; we’re at booth #1013. If you can’t make it, keep watching our blog. We’ll be giving our take on the World Conference in the coming days.

Yesterday (11/30/2009), the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced it had released an updated version of its “Employment Law Guide“, an online system designed to help workers and employers understand many of the Federal laws affecting the workplace.

The Employment Law Guide is written to be especially helpful to employers who do not have a dedicated legal or human resources staff.  The update addresses recent and important changes in Federal employment law, including the 2009 Federal minimum wage increase, changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) pertaining to relatives of veterans, and the EEOC poster update referencing the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act (GINA).

The Employment Law Guide is a companion to the DOL’s FirstStep overview advisor, an online system that allows employers to quickly and easily determine which Federal employment laws apply to them.

You can see the DOL’s press release at http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/asp/oasp20091467.htm#.