70% of change programs fail to achieve their goals, according to McKinsey. These programs invariably use a top-down approach. What’s far more effective is starting at the bottom—with the people who best know the ins and outs of how the business operates.
Authoritarian rule fails in business
Think about it: who has the greatest knowledge of the processes they implement every day? Who can most likely recommend changes that will increase efficiency and decrease waste? Who is going to be most affected by organizational change? Who is most likely to leave if it goes awry?
It’s generally not management—it’s your employees. Involving your employees shows them they matter, and if nothing else, this makes them more likely to advocate for your brand. It can be relevant to rebranding processes, as well.
As human beings, we generally appreciate being asked for our opinions—especially when the matter at hand concerns us. If I came home to find that my wife had rearranged my entire office without saying a word to me, even though it might look a whole lot better and be far more efficient, I’m probably not going to be happy—because I wasn’t consulted.
Your employees are the same. Their work world may be small, but it’s theirs. Are you asking for their vote? Are you talking to them about their needs? Are you trying to find out if they (gasp) actually have better ideas on how to improve the organization?
For a deeper look into how organizational change can be built bottom-up (From Optimove’s PostFunnel Summit 2019):
Organizational change is more effective when employees make suggestions
I worked as a store cashier for a while. After six months, if anyone had bothered to ask, I could have listed three simple changes that most likely would increase sales, reduce the number of angry customers, and generally make the business better.
Nobody asked my opinion. Nothing changed. I wasn’t exactly a great brand ambassador by that point because I had gotten the message loud and clear—my ideas and opinions didn’t matter.
This is an extremely common attitude. The C-suite (and worse, middle management) feel the need to prove their value. Ego takes over. They have to be the big idea people.
Admitting that things aren’t working is an admission of their failure. If they were to acknowledge that some of their best ideas for change came from some lowly employee, well, would their fragile egos survive?
These poisonous attitudes have led to failure for more than one business. They’re poisonous because they ignore the best potential sources for ideas—the employees who are on the front lines and know exactly where there are problems (and might have great ideas on how to fix them).
But employees also respect the social contract of work. If your business is a place where everyone’s opinion matters right from the start, they will offer their opinions and ideas frequently.
If not, and if you wish to change that, you may have to start by directly asking for their help.
Ask for help
One way to build consensus and ease the transition of organizational change (even within organizations where keeping mum has become a survival tactic for employees) is to hold a series of meetings where their opinions are intentionally solicited.
This might be harder than you think. You may have to be quite explicit about telling them that it’s okay to voice their opinion (especially if they’ve become used to keeping quiet). You may have to work through some of their frustrations and issues first—before you can think about change.
But even within healthy organizations, there may still be resistance to eliciting suggestions from lower level employees. As management, you break down those barriers when you open a discussion and ask them for help.
This can take the form of a series of meetings, potentially requiring a number of smaller sessions with all hands on deck. It’s going to take an investment of time. But you’re already throwing time, energy, and resources into the big organizational change you have planned—why not take the extra time to make sure it succeeds?
Happy employees are productive employees, too. Do your best to show them they matter, and they will reward you with higher quality work. And a greater commitment to advocate for your brand.
Good luck out there, marketer.