Management consultant John Pope despairs at the poor way change is handled in many UK organisations.

I see a lot of articles on change management and on overcoming resistance to change. Some of them focus on the need for change, some of the writers show interesting models of human behaviour; some have models of phases in a change management programme. Some journals concentrate on change management systems and software. So all good organisations, staffed with highly professional and well trained managers, should be able to handle change well. Or so I thought until recently.

I went into my Building Society to draw out some money which I wanted as a cheque. I was surprised when the girl at the counter said she would write one out; the last time I wanted one it was printed swiftly by machine. I asked why and was told that the ‘New System’ did not allow it, it had been left out because ‘cheques were going out’, but there was still a manual system. I then had to wait while my old passbook, issued only two weeks before, was replaced by the new version. I remembered that I had a letter “In order to improve our service to you we will be changing your account number and will not now send annual statements of tax deducted…”; I hadn’t, of course, been consulted and I doubt if any other customer had been.

I was in a hurry, so what seemed to me an eternity probably only took an age, and there was some time while the machine thought. There was more time while the girl took out a seven-page instruction leaflet and worked out what to do. At the end I asked her if any of the staff in the branch had been consulted on the changes, or had any training in the new system, which was a week or more late. The answer was a firm and slightly embittered ‘No!’ Now I am sure that the IT and systems people at the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society are, as individuals, very competent, but this seems to be yet another example of a failure in ‘change management’. No time or budget for staff training perhaps unrealistic deadlines on late system development.

We talk freely about ‘Resistance to Change’; we blame the staff for not ‘Embracing Change’. With experience like this are we not being just a little unfair on them? Change is essential part of an organisation’s strategy. Badly managed changes can wreck confidence and strategy alike. There are two basic options for management. Stop changing, or handle it better. The first option is not feasible, though change less, or change less often can be a better approach. Be selective, prioritise, are options. Manage change better is not an option; it is a necessity.

This is not the place to write about managing change as a project; others have done that. It is, as I am writing for managers with serious interests and responsibility in HR, the place to write about how they could and ought to influence management, at all levels.

It is unfortunate that so many managers do not really consider the effects their decisions have on people. If they did HR would have a smaller and easier job to do. As it is HR can help, if they get early involvement. They should become involved early in projects and ask questions:

• How will it affect the staff, how will you consult them, what questions will you ask, have you thought about…?
• Is this materially going to change their duties, work conditions, job descriptions, gradings?
• Will the staff need briefing, training, and when will you do this, (not on the day of the race, please)?
• What will you do about re-deployment, redundancy? Can HR be involved before you get into a legal tangle?
• How does this fit with other changes?

There are plenty more, of course. And on each of these questions I have an example where management’s failure to take proper advice has been expensive and embarrassing.

None of this is rocket science; it is common sense that managers making changes think carefully about the implications for all those likely to be affected. However, there seems to be a distinct shortage of common sense nowadays. Decisions are taken, laws are passed, which marginally solve one problem while aggravating another. The ‘Law of Unintended Consequences’ is much in evidence in government now, but also applies in business. We should know better: We would do better if we used more common sense, that most important management competency which I have never seen in any of the many competency models.

Now I am sure that many HR professionals do ask those questions, but not enough do judging by the frequency of subsequent problems. My local authority, which I know well, is making a series of major changes now. It has not considered the implications for the staff, or arranged training in the new systems in time, or seriously considered the implications of changing office hours. It is thinking about it only now that problems are emerging. Such a waste of staff goodwill.

Many in the HR profession want to make a real contribution to the strategy of their organisations. One aspect of strategy on which HR can make a real impact is on the way that change is planned; that changes are not piled one on top of another; that staff at all levels have confidence in the ability of management to make the right changes happen in a well controlled way, without embarrassing mistakes and reversals.

I have two pleas to make. The first is to senior managers who initiate and are responsible for major change: Don’t accept blindly what the systems people and the change management experts say. Do a reality check on the plans which have been put forward. Be sceptical about the project plan, especially if it is a multi-coloured print-out. Check that the implications have really been considered. Get HR involved if the change affects people (and it always does).

The second is to senior HR managers. Get aboard the change programme early and get alongside the senior manager responsible. Ask the awkward questions and get some attention paid to the human aspects of managing change. And I know some already do that, but the HR team at that Building Society and the local authority clearly did not.

And finally would someone please find a way of putting commonsense high in the list of management qualities, attributes or competencies.

A note about myself

John Pope has been a management consultant for 40 years and seen management fashions come and go. He has worked to improve the development and performance of managers and management teams at all levels for most of his career. He has strong views on the terrible waste of people’s talents at work. He has a reputation for original thinking on management issues. His papers help managers on a wide range of topics, and set out underlying principles and factors in a clear way.