In Part I of this series on dealing with change, we talked about the fact that most people have trouble accepting change because it is so scary.  In this installment, I'll present some of the ways in which you can encourage your staff to buy into the changes you need to see to help your business grow.

Seek Input

So many of us get the idea that as the person who built the companyfrom scratch, the CEO is the only one who can introduce changes thatwill help the company to grow.  We often overlook the vast amount ofknowledge and insight our employees possess.

Before you introduce a change to all of your employees, you must have a sense of all of the foreseeable implications of the change, both good and bad.  One of the best ways to do this is to seek input from the experts:  selected employees at all levels of your organization.  Your best resource to find out how a particular change will affect each specific department in your company is to ask one or more employees from each department.

For example, although you may be the company expert in talking to investors, your janitor is likely more proficient at mopping the floors.  If your goal is to reduce your company's impact on the environment, you will likely be the one to determine what effect this change will have on your stock price.  However, if one of the ways you plan to achieve your goal is to substitute "green" chemicals for all of the existing chemicals your company uses, you would be well-served by consulting the janitor to find out if all-natural cleaners will cut through the stains on the bathroom floors.

 Chances are, you didn't hire your staff only to validate your ideas.  You hired them to do the things you can't do, whether because of a lack of time, a lack of skill / knowledge, or a lack of desire.  (No one really likes clearing copier jams and cleaning the bathrooms!).  As the employees have learned their jobs, they may have experimented and developed new methods to improve their productivity.  The last thing you want to do is to make a change that might threaten the progress an individual employee has already made.  Rather, you'll want to capitalize on their good ideas.

To do this, invite at least one member of each department to a brainstorming session.  Present to the group the over-arching goal you wish to achieve, such as reducing your company's impact on the environment, decreasing costs by a certain percentage, or improving the company's safety record.  Once the group understands the goal, get out of the way and let them work!  In all probability, they will come up with suggestions you would never have thought of on your own, and they will choose changes to won't adversely affect current practices.

I'm not suggesting that every employee suggestion will be feasible or cost-effective to implement, but the wealth of ideas you will gain from an employee brainstorming session will give you a large pool of possible actions from which to choose.  And the best part is that since the suggestions came from the employees, it's tough for them to dismiss the ideas as "just another management program."

Clear Communication

Once you have collected the ideas from your staff and decided on a course of action, your job is to make sure each and every employee understands his or her role in achieving the goal.  A general meeting may be held with the entire staff to explain the goal and how it benefits the employees.  Will they get a share of the profits?  Protection from layoffs?  Performance bonuses?  If you can't figure out how the rank and file benefits from the changes, it's a sure bet they won't be able to see the connection.

Departmental meetings should be held after the general meeting to detail the specific actions each group will be contributing to achieve the goal. 

Periodic follow-ups should communicate progress toward the goal and celebrate incremental success.  These follow-ups can be in the form of bulletin board postings, departmental meetings, PA announcements or even podcasts.  As you get closer and closer to your goal, be sure to reward employees for their efforts.  For example, if your goal is to reduce waste by 30%, you might want to have a pizza party when the group reaches a reduction of 10%, a breakfast buffet at 20%, and a steak cookout at 30%.

In Parts III and IV of this series, we'll take a look at the cycle of change, including the four stages your employees will naturally go through as they become committed to the changes you have introduced.