Chapter 10Making Change Happen
Every time a supervisor stands up in front of the crew, announcing that, “We have a new safety policy,” it's a Moment of High Influence. But communicating change will almost always generate some amount of resistance simply because a follower doesn't have any choice but to go along with the change. Followers don't resist change…they resist being changed.
Assuming the change affects your followers, as the supervisor, you are responsible for the most important step in the change process: execution, making the change happen. Whenever a policy is changed, the supervisor's goal is to have every team member understand what the change is, and be committed to making the change.
Understanding that, there are two simple rules to follow that will make the change process go better. The first is to explain why the change is being made. Explaining why reduces resistance as people are far more likely to go along with a change when they know the reason. In the case of safety policies and procedures, the reason for the change almost always has something to do with something bad that happened somewhere else. The second rule is to focus on making the change happen, by asking, “What do we need to do to make the new policy work?”
Preparation Questions
The perfect time to apply this chapter is at the point where you will be communicating a new or revised safety policy or procedure. When you're called upon to do that, consider the following questions before you communicate ...