Understand quiet resistance after a process change
A team can agree to a process change in a meeting and continue working differently afterwards. Quiet resistance may reflect disagreement, but it can also reveal missing information, competing demands or a process that fails in real conditions. Investigate the work before deciding what the behaviour means.
Editorial responsibility: Nardus Oelofse, Chief Consultant.
By Chase & Marshal
Look for patterns you can observe
Examples include parallel spreadsheets, incomplete records, delayed updates and repeated requests to use the old method. Compare these patterns across tasks and teams. Find out where the new process is working as well as where it is being bypassed.
Avoid treating a label such as resistance as an explanation. A staff member may be protecting a customer commitment because the approved route cannot handle an exception. Another may not understand why the change matters. Those situations require different responses.
Ask people to show the difficult part
Sit with someone completing the work. Ask what they need at each step and what happens when the usual information is missing. Invite a recent example where the new process made the task harder or left a decision unresolved.
In an illustrative operations team, staff might delay logging a request because the new system requires details the customer has not provided. The team then maintains a separate list. Changing the intake sequence could address the problem more effectively than another reminder to update the system.
Check the message from managers
People notice which behaviour receives attention. If a manager asks for the old report, rewards speed regardless of completeness or routinely approves bypasses, the new process loses credibility. Align management requests with the way the work is now expected to happen.
Explain the reason for the change in terms staff can connect to their work and customers. Give them a practical route to raise issues and show what happens to that feedback. Participation matters most when it leads to a visible decision or improvement.
Respond to the cause and reset expectations
Provide practice where capability is missing, adjust the process where design is weak and clarify responsibility where ownership is uncertain. Where the process is workable and expectations are clear, discuss ongoing non-adoption directly and fairly.
Review a small sample of work after the adjustment. Look for dependable use and a better outcome, rather than formal compliance alone. Successful adoption means people can perform the task, understand why it matters and trust the process enough to use it during a busy day.
Questions answered
Should we ask staff directly whether they support the change?
Ask, but also observe the work. People may support the purpose while struggling with the implementation. Concrete examples help separate disagreement, missing skills and process design problems.
Related
Sources
Sources supporting the factual statements in this article. Findings should be read within their stated dates, geography and scope.
- Early Warning Signs of Resistance and Fatigue | HRM Guide. hrmguide.io. Publication date not supplied.
- 08 Signs and Symptoms when Employees Resist Change | CMI. changemanagementinsight.com. 2021-08-15T12:01:40+00:00
Help the new process take hold
We can help understand why a change has not taken hold and work with leaders and staff on the practical conditions needed for adoption.
