.Managing resistance to change should not be solely a reactive tactic for change management practitioners. There are many proactive steps that can be used to address and mitigate resistance that should be part of the change management approach on a project.
Resistance is addressed in all three phases of Prosci’s 3 Phase Change Management Process:
Phase 1: Preparing for Change
During the creation of the change management strategy, generate anticipated points of resistance and special tactics to manage them based on readiness assessments.
Phase 2: Managing Change
The resistance management plan is one of the five change management plans you create in this phase, along with the communication plan, sponsorship roadmap, coaching plan and training plan. These change management plans all focus on moving individuals through their own change process and addressing the likely barriers for making the change successful. The resistance management plan provides specific action steps for understanding and addressing resistance.
Phase 3: Reinforcing Change
In the final phase of the process, you collect feedback to understand employee adoption and compliance with the new workflows and processes prescribed by the change. Evaluating this feedback allows you to identify gaps and manage the resistance that may still be occurring. This phase also includes the top ten steps for dealing with resistance to change, which can be a powerful tool for managers and supervisors in the organization.
Formally addressing resistance ensures that it is understood and dealt with throughout the lifecycle of the project. It moves managing resistance to change from simply a reactive mechanism to a proactive and ultimately more effective tool for mobilizing support and addressing objections.