Why is Change Always About People?
Introduction
When you look at it really, change projects are always about people. It’s not about the production lines or IT solutions or supply chain processes or budget cuts or distribution lines. Because behind each of these very important business topics sits a person, a team, a manager. Sharing a collective form of behaviours and mindsets in a comfort zone of their own, they do not want their order or stability to be altered in any way. No wonder it’s hard to implement change because change is about people and people generally don’t like to change.
Protecting the Rice Bowl
And why do people dislike changes? Because people, more often than not, are creatures of habits and therefore see changes as bringing risks and uncertanties that disrupt or challenge their normal way of life. People’s intrinsic need is have a job and the associated financial security and social status. They also want stability and growth because that’s sustainability and they also want to be respected and they never want to “loose face”.
So people normally use an intricate web of relationships to influence all the changes that come their way to ensure that their way of life continues. This constant vigilance and tireless manoeuvring to ensure survival and growth in Asia is called “protecting your rice bowl”.
Of course there is nothing wrong with this. This is human nature and Maslow’s theory at work in different forms and ways all around the world regardless of cultures. However, this fear of loosing their rice bowl, for example by a board member or by a union leader or by a senior manager is often the only reason why sometimes change implementations are challenged, delayed or destroyed in a company. Any change program that fails to adequately address peoples’ feelings, especially those of fear, will struggle to survive.
Different Groups of People in a Multinational Company in Asia Pacific
Now, imagine a multinational company with manufacturing bases or offices in the Asia Pacific region and let’s try to identify the most common groups of people in this company who can impact a change.
First the headquarters that initiates a change at a global, Asia Pacific or country level. Then the next group of people who can influence the change would be the local leadership, the board members themselves. Then you have the senior management, managers and the staff of the company, divided by functions and departments.
Then the project leader tasked to implement the change and his/her team. The deputies, interns, volunteers and outsourced staff who help him/her with the project, as well as a group of influencers. Then the various stakeholders in the business who are impacted first-hand by the change. This could be internal business departments, customers, distribution partners and suppliers.
Not forgetting external consultancies and agencies who can also weld a considerable amount of influence in a change project especially if they have strong connections at the high level. And then in some cases you also have to factor-in the government offices, the community, media and lobbyists.
A Complex Web of Relationships
These groups of people have a complex web of relationships between them and they will harness these relationships to constantly pull and push each other during a change to protect their rice bowls.
Now add to this complex picture the challenges arising out of matrix management structures and the geographical spread of production sites and offices. In addition, consider the diversities of local languages, customs and cultures which are different from Bangkok to Beijing. And it just gets more complicated if it’s a foreign multinational company operating in Asia Pacific.
Address People’s Feelings During Change
When a change occurs in an organisation, different people will react differently to the change, either intentionally or unintentionally. Some will react in a positive way, some in a negative way and many of them might not react at all, waiting to see what happens next.
No matter how much you sugar coat a change, there will always be a small group of people who will be clearly disadvantaged or could not be reasoned with. In such cases normally there is no way to bridge the differences and the management has to make the hard decision of letting them go. That’s the best decision for the company and for the change process and unfortunately there is no two ways about it.
However, those who accept the change in some form will continue to stay and you need their understanding and support to make the change successful. And these are the people’s feelings that you need to address adequately during the change program.
People’s Inherent Belief Systems
People behave very strongly according to their belief systems shaped by their country in which they grew up, the religion that they practice, the education they received, the community they live in, the family that brought them up and also by their own personal experiences in life. In the absence of a strong company culture, people will always tend to make decisions and behave according to their inherent belief systems.
For example, people in China and Singapore have a predominant disposition to respect authority and to conform to changes more readily. As such, in most cases, you can expect that people working in these countries would accept and support their company’s changes, relatively speaking, more readily than say, people in other countries where it is acceptable to challenge authority.
Now, I am not implying that a change program in China or Singapore will be easy. I am just saying that you need to work harder in those other countries where people are used to challenging authorities.
Company’s Core Values in Times of Change
People can also behave according to beliefs shaped by their company, in addition to those shaped by their country, religion, education, community, family and personal experiences. And this is really great and this is what we need for a change process in a company.
Imagine a company that has ingrained deeply into its people the value of embracing changes compared to another where the same core value resides only on the corporate plaques at the reception area. Surely both companies will fare differently, in time, when challenged with a change.
As such, it is always a worthwhile endeavour to invest some time and money to install a set of core values deep into the ranks and files of a company. This effort will one day pay handsome dividends when the time comes when we need the people to support a change process.
Further, a strong company culture is especially important for companies which are jointly owned or operated and in which there are expatriate leaders and managers working hand-in-hand with a predominantly Asian staff base. You can imagine that the topics mentioned above to be even more complex in times of change in these companies.
The Role of the Change Consultant
That is why a good change program should feature a professional change management consultant, especially for the change planning. His/her role is normally to help companies understand the change in all its colours and then to support the company to make the right decisions with regards to implementing the change.
Normally as a first step the consultant will facilitate a discussion for the company to understand the change fully. What is the change really? Why is this change needed now? What is the expected benefit for the company and the people? The consultant will also facilitate the company to identify the groups of people in the company who will be impacted, in what ways and with what expected reactions. These analyses are referred to as Change Impact Analysis and Stakeholder Analysis, two critical thought processes important in developing the Change Strategy.
Key Takeaways
- Change is about people. Any change program that fails to adequately address peoples’ feelings, especially those of fear, will struggle to survive.
- Different types of people in a typical multinational company in Asia Pacific during a change are the headquarters, local leadership, managers, staff, influencers, customers and suppliers, each with their own agenda.
- The agenda is always the same for everyone. Its called “protecting your rice bowl” and people will use a web of relationships to protect their rice bowl.
- People will always behave according to their inherent belief systems during change which is often by their country, their religion, their education, their community, their family and their own personal experiences, in the absence of a strong company culture.
- It is therefore a good idea for a company to install a strong set of core values which will offer great support to the change process in times of change.
- It is also a good idea to hire a professional change management consultant to plan the change program because he/she will help the company to understand the change better and to also understand the people impacted by the change.
- The topics described above will be more complex in a multinational company operating in Asia Pacific with expatriate bosses and local Asian staff.
For Those In-Charge of Change 