According to Mike Aroney’s article, The Non-Technial Side of Reliability, the second most common error organizations fall into when trying to overcome change resistance is Under-Communicating. They focus on the technical side and forget the all important Human factor.
“Typically, technical problem-solvers underestimate the value of communicating information to the organization. . . . In the absence of information, impatience and dissatisfaction grow and momentum can be lost. . . .The expectations of both senior managers and front line workers must be managed to maintain momentum and build critical mass.”
Miscommunication and lack of coordination cause more inefficiencies, delays, and lost opportunities than any other management problem. Too many organizations fail to recognize how important it is to communicate exactly what the changes are and WHY employees will benefit from implementing them. The details get left out and that simple lack of communication derails the initiative.
Corporate training programs and formal written policies and procedures are two of the most effective ways to bolster this critical flow of communication with an organization and prevent this Human Factor from de-railing efforts to standardize operations and streamline business processes. By writing policies and procedures that employees can easily access and understand and by implementing them as part of your corporate training programs you can radically improve the speed and effectiveness of positive change.