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Taking the mystery out of change

Change is a constant in business today and, what’s more, it’s accelerating. Businesses are dynamic entities that are in a continual state of flux, which can happen for a host of reasons. Common changes include mergers, acquisitions, restructures, a new technology, legislation, the decision to outsource a non-core function, or a change of supplier to name just a few. These strategic decisions are often taken in order to maintain a competitive advantage in a fast-paced global economy.

Why it is important to deal with employees’ emotional response
Many companies have pushed through change with a project manager armed with a checklist to transfer physical assets and processes, such as technology and equipment, while minimizing any impact on business continuity. However, what is often overlooked is the natural human reaction to change, which includes fear, negative thinking and the assumption that most change is for the worst. Yet for a people-based service company there can be enormous benefits in understanding and shaping people’s reaction to change – the winning of their hearts and minds.

In a year Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions can transition in excess of 1,000 new employees, take on thousands of supplier relationships and come into contact with hundreds of thousands of additional building users. Therefore providing real estate and facilities management services is no longer enough, the company also has to support change on a truly vast scale.

When people transfer from a company that they may have worked at for years to one that they may not be familiar with, there is bound to be uncertainty and trepidation. However, dealing with employees’ emotional response to change has some very clear benefits to the transition process including continuity of service, reduced attrition and therefore HR costs, increased productivity from a more settled workforce, higher morale and improved business relationships, for example with suppliers. And the rewards go far beyond impacted employees – the entire client organization can benefit.

Managing change with Pathways at Johnson Controls
With these clear business benefits in mind, Johnson Controls has invested in a proprietary change management program, called Pathways, which links both the behavioral and technical components of change. The Global WorkPlace Solutions Global Change Management team developed Pathways over 10 months with input from senior executives from EMEA, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, as well as support from organizational psychologists.

The program, which is underpinned by extensive research, starts at the planning phase of the outsourcing process and continues throughout its transition. It helps people to understand the breadth of change their organization is undergoing and develop mechanisms to adapt. By addressing ingrained behaviors and employee perception of change from the outset, the company is able to create a foundation for a sustainable business partnership. Pathways is comprised of a series of collaborative workshops, which use true-to-life scenarios to encourage participants to think through the challenges they may face. The focus is on providing participants with the management techniques, tools and confidence to recognize and encourage change enabling behavior, and identify and address change inhibiting behavior.

Dr. Jim Bohn, Global Director of Change Management at Johnson Controls
Dr. Jim Bohn, Global Director of Change Management at Johnson Controls, explains, “During transition, many organizations consider the technical milestones and objectives to reach a successful outcome, but fail to focus on the human aspect. Approximately 65% of transition is people, yet it’s often the most overlooked factor. As a service business, change management is of particular importance to Global WorkPlace Solutions. By directly focusing on the people aspect of a transition, and by encouraging teams to face the need for behavior change head-on, Pathways greatly improves retention levels post-transition and has a direct impact on the overall success of the account.”

As one of the first customers to undertake the program, Verizon gained valuable insight to their organization. “By participating in Pathways, our leadership realized the areas where communication was lacking. We then brought in anyone directly affected by the transition to participate. The program gave our team a renewed emphasis on the need to communicate and tell people what we’re doing”, commented Don Boos, Manager of Critical Facilities at Verizon. Since the program, Verizon has implemented a variety of communication methods to drive ongoing engagement and awareness.

The themes of the Pathways workshops apply to all vertical markets and industries. Pathways has been translated into multiple languages and is now supported by 20 Johnson Controls certified Pathways facilitators worldwide. By taking time to focus on the unknown, teams are able to establish trust, build relationships, and build the foundation for a successful business partnership. According to Dr. Bohn, “People have anxiety about change - it’s normal. But once they get a chance to consider what is happening and weigh up possible outcomes, they find it is easier to accept change and enthusiastically support a sustainable business partnership.”

Johnson Controls and Verizon co-presented on Pathways at the CoreNet Global Summit in Chicago. Find more information in the presentation for download.

Top tips for managing change by experts in Global WorkPlace Solutions

  1. A natural tendency of a manager is to shelter their people from concern by downplaying the level of change that is going to occur. Doing this can ultimately damage the credibility of the leader and create distrust amongst the team. Being honest and open throughout the change process is critical, it will yield people's trust and ultimately their support for change – Jeffery Walters, Vice-President, Global Change and Transition Management, Global WorkPlace Solutions
  2. Recognize and encourage change enabling behaviours, as well as addressing change inhibiting behaviours. Managing behavior is much more straightforward than managing motivation. When we observe people performing activities that help change, we need to encourage those actions. Conversely, when we see people inhibiting change, we must first ask why and gain insight (people may have good reasons for their inhibiting behavior), then address it through coaching – James G. Bohn, Ph.D., Global Director, Change Management Office, Global WorkPlace Solutions
  3. Respect shared heritage - it's is important to start a new relationships from a point of mutual respect. If you actively recognize achievements and successes in the past, and look to build on those, you can engage with folks and help reduce the natural anxieties that arise during any change, therefore helping to gain trust and reduce insecurity – Kevin Westcott, Vice-President and Global Account Lead – GlaxoSmithKline Account, Global WorkPlace Solutions
  4. Communication is critical. By developing a robust communications plan and by delivering consistent, timely and relevant communications to impacted stakeholders you can help to calm and diffuse the rumour mill, and ensure people feel informed and engaged throughout the change process – Emma-Jayne Sherry, Global Change Communications Manager, Global WorkPlace Solutions
  5. It's important to understand that everyone goes through the change behavior curve at a different speed. Individuals need to adapt in their own time and some people will get there faster than others – Marc Aston, Change Manager, BBC Workplace, Johnson Controls

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