How can HR keep employees committed to organizational changes?

Companies spend millions of dollars each year on efforts to make change initiatives successful. And yet the results are frequently dismal-changes fail to achieve their objectives and leaders are left wondering what went wrong. A survey conducted by OnPoint Consulting showed that the real source of the problem isn't getting employees' support for the change effort, it's keeping their support and commitment at high levels.

The survey provided the following guidelines for what HR can do to avoid the commitment dip and implement successful changes in any company:

• Be forthright about the change and its impact. Many leaders are hesitant to discuss a change with employees. Sometimes it's a misguided attempt to protect them. Sometimes it's because they feel they won't be able to answer all of the questions. In either case, not discussing a change with employees is a mistake.

• Model behaviors that support the change. Be sure your leaders don't revert to old behaviors. If employees perceive that there are two sets of rules and behaviors, the change will lose credibility and be seen as less important.

• Get middle managers on board. Conventional wisdom emphasizes the importance of getting the senior team on board. But one big difference between top companies and less successful ones seems to be the extent to which middle-level managers feel involved in and integral to the change process.

• Don't put your plan on automatic pilot. Many companies do a lot of work on the front end to put a plan in place that clearly communicates the objectives and prioritizes them so that employees know what they should be doing when. They assume when they lay out the work to be done, all they need to do is switch on the automatic pilot and say, Go, and employees will stay committed to the plan and carry out the change. Companies that do this will find that they aren't achieving the change objectives they planned for. Treat your plan as a living document-one that you keep coming back to and revising as you learn and discover unanticipated problems and opportunities.

• Set realistic objectives and milestones. Regardless of how often you revisit and revise your plan, your change won't be successful if you aren't realistic about what can be accomplished in the time available. Don't set employees up for failure by asking them to bite off more than they can chew in the first critical few months. If they feel overwhelmed or pressed for time in getting certain goals accomplished, they will lose enthusiasm for the effort. Thinking big is great, but not when it endangers your change implementation. As your employees reach realistic goals and milestones, they will become more positive about the change and will see its benefits.

• Don't underestimate the resources required. The overcommitment of existing resources to too many initiatives or the underestimation of what it takes to accomplish the stated change objectives is a primary cause of change intiatives' failing to meet their intended outcomes. Keep in mind that your employees have regular jobs aside from the work they'll do to make the change a success. If you don't provide them with the resources they need to be successful, they either won't be able to commit themselves to making the change successful or they won't be able to do their jobs well.

• Maintain enthusiasm and excitement among your employees. Think about what's going on during the first month of the change. Senior-level managers are pumping up the troops, traveling from office to office promoting the change and making sure everyone is on-board. After the first month, however, those senior-level managers return to their day-to-day jobs and employees can lose focus on the task at hand. To keep employee enthusiasm from waning, continuously celebrate your company's successes and communicate the benefits of the change to your employees so that they stay motivated and continue to perform at a high level.