Change Management: Helping People Adopt New Ways of Working

Welcome. In this lesson, we will explore the people side of change.

Distinguish a project milestone from successful adoption.

A system can go live before people can use it confidently. Define the specific behaviour each affected role needs to change. Use adoption measures alongside budget and schedule measures.

Start with a verb you can observe: record, approve, check or escalate. 'Be more digital' is too vague to coach. Define who performs the action, at what point in the workflow, and what a good result looks like. Separate adoption from business benefit: correct CRM use is adoption; fewer lost opportunities is a possible benefit that needs evidence over time.

Consider this example. A sales team receives a new CRM. Installation is complete, but customer follow-ups still sit in personal notebooks. The adoption goal is to record each follow-up in the shared system.

Pause here and try this activity. Choose one real change. Write the old behaviour, the new behaviour and one way to observe adoption.

Here is one possible response. Old: follow-ups stay in personal notebooks. New: the salesperson records the next action and due date in the CRM before leaving work. Evidence: the sales manager samples ten open opportunities weekly and checks completeness, rather than merely counting logins.

Before moving on, think about this question. The CRM is live, but staff still use private notebooks. Which measure best shows adoption? The best answer is: Percentage of follow-ups recorded correctly in the CRM. Adoption is visible in changed work practices, not only in technical delivery.

Welcome. In this lesson, we will explore a clear reason for change.

Explain the business reason and its effect on a team.

Describe the problem and the consequence of leaving it unresolved. Connect the organisation’s reason to each team’s daily experience. Invite questions instead of treating an announcement as understanding.

A useful change message answers three questions: why now, what changes for me, and where can I get help? Be honest about temporary inconvenience. Explain what is decided and what staff can still influence. Ask someone to explain the message back in their own words; silence at a briefing is not evidence of understanding.

Consider this example. A warehouse introduces barcode scanning. Explain that dispatch errors cause rework and delayed orders, then discuss how scanning changes picking and checking.

Pause here and try this activity. Draft a three-sentence change message: the problem, the intended improvement and what the team will do differently.

Here is one possible response. We lose time correcting picking mistakes. We will pilot barcode checks in one aisle to catch mismatches before dispatch. Pickers will scan the item and location, and report unreadable labels to the shift supervisor; feedback will shape the next phase.

Before moving on, think about this question. What should the first change message explain? The best answer is: Why the change matters and how it affects the team. People need a meaningful reason and relevant context before detailed training can help.

Welcome. In this lesson, we will explore participation and resistance.

Explore concerns without assuming everyone resists for the same reason.

Ask what the person believes they may lose or struggle with. Separate workload, confidence and trust concerns from technical faults. Involve affected people in improving the rollout and removing barriers.

Treat resistance as information to investigate. Someone may lack time, permission, trust or a usable exception route. These need different responses. Ask for a recent case, observe the task and agree a small corrective experiment. Do not promise to adopt every suggestion; explain the trade-offs and report what happened to the feedback.

Consider this example. A buyer avoids a new approval workflow because urgent orders get stuck. Listening reveals an exception-handling gap rather than opposition to accountability.

Pause here and try this activity. List two possible concerns about your change. Write a question that would test each assumption.

Here is one possible response. Concern: emergency orders wait for an absent approver. Question: show the last urgent order and where it stopped. Response: test an authorised deputy approval route with a recorded reason. Review turnaround and exception frequency before extending it.

Before moving on, think about this question. A user says the new workflow slows urgent purchases. What is the best first response? The best answer is: Ask for a recent example and investigate the obstacle. A concrete example helps distinguish a process problem from a misunderstanding or skill gap.

Welcome. In this lesson, we will explore learning the new way.

Design learning around the work a person must perform.

Train by role and task rather than presenting every feature. Use a realistic scenario and a short job aid. Check that people know what to do when the normal process fails.

Build the practice backwards from an acceptable output. For an invoice task, specify the required customer, tax treatment, source transaction and review step. Use fictional data in a safe environment. Include an error case and ask the learner to find the approved help route. A job aid should support the task, not repeat the entire software manual.

Consider this example. For invoice clerks, training includes creating a valid invoice and correcting a rejected transaction. A one-page job aid covers the essential steps and escalation route.

Pause here and try this activity. Choose one role. Define a task, a practice case and the evidence that shows the learner understands it.

Here is one possible response. Role: invoice clerk. Practice: prepare an invoice from a sample approved delivery and resolve a missing customer field. Evidence: correct source reference, values and approval status, plus an explanation of what to do when information is missing.

Before moving on, think about this question. Which training design best supports invoice clerks? The best answer is: Practice with realistic invoices and a short task guide. Task-based practice helps people connect knowledge to the work they need to do.

Welcome. In this lesson, we will explore ability through practice.

Recognise the difference between knowing and performing.

Give people a safe place to practise before critical live work. Observe task completion, including mistakes and exceptions. Provide coaching and remove access or resource barriers.

When a learner cannot complete a task, first check access, equipment and process design. More training cannot repair missing permissions. Observe without immediately taking over, identify the difficult step, demonstrate it and let the learner try again. Record the support needed so the next coaching session targets a specific obstacle.

Consider this example. A supervisor can describe a scheduling process but cannot complete it without help. A guided practice session and corrected access permissions close the gap.

Pause here and try this activity. Ask a colleague to demonstrate one task in a safe environment. Record where support is needed.

Here is one possible response. Observation: the planner knows the sequence but cannot save a schedule. Diagnosis: the assigned role lacks permission. Correct access through the normal approval process, then repeat a realistic scheduling task and check that the planner completes it independently.

Before moving on, think about this question. A person passed a quiz but cannot perform the task. What is needed next? The best answer is: Practical coaching and observation. Knowledge checks do not prove that someone can perform a task under real working conditions.

Welcome. In this lesson, we will explore sustaining the change.

Plan reinforcement after the initial launch.

Review adoption with people who own the daily process. Recognise useful new behaviours and resolve recurring friction. Retire duplicate workarounds only when the new process is reliable.

Reinforcement belongs to the manager who owns everyday work. Keep reviews short and focused on evidence, user feedback and unresolved friction. Avoid incentives that reward record quantity at the expense of accuracy. Stop duplicate reporting only after the new process is reliable and the relevant retention and control needs are covered.

Consider this example. A team reviews missing CRM follow-ups weekly for a month. The manager removes duplicated reporting and recognises complete records that helped resolve customer issues.

Pause here and try this activity. Create a 30-day review plan with one owner, one adoption measure and a feedback route.

Here is one possible response. For four weeks, the sales manager samples ten opportunities each Friday. Record missing next actions, agree one improvement and review it the following week. Retire the duplicate weekly spreadsheet after the team confirms the CRM report is complete and usable.

Before moving on, think about this question. What is the strongest reinforcement action? The best answer is: Measure adoption and resolve recurring barriers. Sustaining change requires feedback, useful reinforcement and attention to practical obstacles.