Understanding

aka…The truth about why workers resist positive change (and how to overcome reluctance and skepticism)

 

First, a bit of explanation…

 

This is the first in a series of articles regarding your current biggest challenges (based upon the results of the HU-2.0 Survey) when it comes to reducing human error and creating safer workplaces.

 

I’ll be addressing each of the first four in order of priority:

 

• How to get worker buy-in
• How to get management/leadership buy-in
• How to get people to use the Tools / follow procedures
• How to change the culture

 

Each of the articles in this series will have three basic parts:

 

• Why is this so? (why does this challenge exist?)
• Specific Action Steps for you to take
• Summary / Conclusion

 

These articles are by no means exhaustive, but are meant to provide a quick read on the topic, hopefully expand your context a bit, and give you some actionable steps that you can take immediately to begin addressing your specific challenges.

 

Why do workers resist change in the first place?

 

A perfect place to begin on this one is to recall Practicing Perfection^® Precept Number One:  Things are the way they are because they got that way.

 

There are generically a number of reasons why this challenge is at the top of the list:

 

Ø      A 180-degree misconception of who actually works for who

Ø      An abuse of a fundamental worker motivation

Ø      Expecting behaviors to change because “they” say so

Ø      The middle management debacle

Ø      Inconsistent / conflicting values and priorities

 

Ø      A Pyramid Inverted

 

There are those who actually do the things a business is designed to do, and there are those who provide support to those who do the things a business is designed to do. 

 

It’s really quite simple:  The actual ’workers’ are there to either make stuff, build stuff, or provide service to customers.  Without the workers…there can be no customers.  Since customers provide the revenue (the lifeblood) of the organization, without them…there is no organization.  So it all comes back to the workers.  Get the picture?

 

The rest of the organization, the “support staff” exists for only one purpose:  To make it as easy as possible for the frontline workers to do as good a job as possible for the customers.

 

First off, what do I mean by “support staff”?  In this context, I’m talking about virtually everyone not on the front line.  This includes leadership at all levels (including most supervisors) and all administrators.

 

Unfortunately, organizations (both large and small) oftentimes flip the whole deal on its head (at least in their decision-making processes), with some perverted sense that the workers are there to support…the support staff. 

 

Because of this, all types of  “programs” have been implemented over the years that are designed to get workers to do what the support staff wants them to do.  If you’ve been in the work environment for much time at all, you’ve undoubtedly suffered through at least one “program of the day”.  You know- one of those programs rolled out from on high with the promise that all of “our” (read that as “support staff’s”) problems would magically disappear. 

 

Unfortunately, there is no one-trick pony when it comes to eliminating error, reducing safety incidents, improving efficiency and productivity, or generally making the world a better place.  So after six months or so, such “wonder cures” have tended to go by the wayside and you and I (as workers) rarely (if ever) hear of them again.

 

This scenario has played out countless times over the past few decades.

 

When this happens to us, we feel jerked around, unheard, and sometimes even lied to.

 

Should it be a surprise then, that when a tool or a strategy that might actually improve human performance (how we do what we do) does come along, we find workers to be a bit skeptical? 

 

 

Ø      A Fundamental Worker Motivation

 

First, you must understand a fundamental motivation of workers.  This shouldn’t be too difficult since this is a basic tenet of human psychology (and since you’re reading this, I’m assuming you are human (a human who does work), and therefore this applies directly to you as well).

 

This basic element of human motivation in the workplace is this:  People come to work wanting to do a good job.

 

For most workers, there is no motivation problem.  There is confusion (“What is a ‘good job’?”), there is frustration (“What the heck are ‘they’ thinking?”), there’s lack of understanding (“Why do I have to do it this way?”), as well as conflicting priorities, inaccurate, outdated and confusing policies, processes and procedures, inconsistency and incongruency within the organization…the list goes on.

 

Oftentimes we as workers are left to sift through all of this and define for ourselves just exactly what it means to do a ‘good job’.  With such self-pieced-together understanding, we then work out tails off to do exactly that.  Unfortunately come reward time (annual appraisal, annual raise, promotion, bonus determination…etc.) we get told that (at best) we’re average, or maybe worse- that we just don’t ‘get it’.

 

Can you relate?

 

 

Ø      The Classic Power Struggle

 

When workers are frequently (or constantly) dictated to, there is a natural resistance to whatever is being dictated.  It immediately creates an “us-versus-them” environment.  Unfortunately, if you’re the one doing the dictating, you become one of “them” and the power struggle is on.

 

This power struggle occurs because of another fundamental element of human nature-  everyone of us wants to have some feeling of control over our work environment and the events in our lives. 

 

I was being interviewed by USA Today awhile back for an article about how to get people motivated at work following their return from summer vacation.  I brought the conversation around to one of the main reasons why you and I like vacations (and essentially any time off ) in the first place:  Because during our time off, we’re in control.  We decide when we’re going to get up, where we’re going to go, what we’re going to do, etc..

 

When ‘management’ comes down from on high with some major performance improvement initiative, here’s how it typically works:  A team gets together to decide what to do (often including the employ of some expensive consultant), a massive communication / training program is rolled out (wherein workers are told what to do), the ‘culture’ is [supposedly] changed, and worker behaviors are somehow magically expected to follow suit.

 

Ever been through one of these?  Rarely (if ever) does this approach actually work.

 

Why?  Because it sets up the classic “us-versus-them” power struggle.  And oftentimes, without seeking actual worker input or having knowledge of the actual issues, you end up creating a whole lot more of, “What the heck are they thinking?”

 

 

Ø      The Debacle in the Middle

 

On whole, we’ve made some good progress at flattening company structures; however, in most organizations there remains a ‘middle’, and frontline workers continue to tell us stories about how “they” are demonstrating inconsistency and being incongruent.

 

Workers hear senior leadership saying one thing, their managers something slightly different, and their supervisors even different still.  This has been a classic challenge throughout many (if not most) organizations

 

 

Ø      Inconsistent / Conflicting Goals, Priorities and Values

 

Many workers today are still seeing glaring inconsistencies and lack of congruity in policies and priorities.  One of the most classic that I’ve seen is where workers are told, “Safety always comes first.”  And yet, as soon as the schedule begins to slip a bit, they are encouraged (and even rewarded) for cutting corners to get the job done.  Rewarded that is, until something goes wrong.

 

When something goes wrong, let’s say a worker gets hurt because she sidestepped a couple of safety precautions in order to get the job done more quickly (i.e., do a ‘good job’).  Who gets whacked?  She does!  And such sidestepping is occurring by workers all over the place at this very moment, implicitly being encouraged and even rewarded by “them.”

 

I’ve even had contract workers tell me that in their work environment, if they refused to do something because it was unsafe, they’d get fired! 

 

 

What Can You do to Achieve Worker Buy-in?

 

At PPI, we have worked with organizations of all sizes in a variety of industries, from construction to manufacturing, to electrical generation and transmission, to…an orthodontic practice.  And all of our experience has proven that getting worker buy-in is NOT rocket science.  It simply comes down to understanding and acknowledging a few aspects of human nature.

 

In your current circumstances, you may recognize several of the classic issues above that tend to create worker skepticism and even apathy.  Do not attempt to tackle them all at once!  They weren’t created overnight, and it’s not likely that you can effectively undo them all at the same time.  

 

My suggestion is to identify your most predominant issue and go after it.  And it may be appropriate to start in only one department, or with a specific team.  The key is to have a near-term success and create a momentum, resulting in a few ‘believers’.  These ‘believers’ will then help you spread the success.  This is how true and lasting behavioral / cultural change actually occurs.

 

Our next Special Report, “Viral Accountability™” will provide you with comprehensive insights into how to “infect” your team / department / organization with massive positive behavioral and cultural momentum.  It will be published within the next couple of weeks.  You can be one of the first to receive a free copy by letting me know here.   

 

Okay.  Now that you know you cannot ‘build Rome’ overnight (like a lot of those programs they’ve attempted to ram down your throat over the years), here are five steps that you can adapt immediately and begin to target your specific challenges:

 

Step One:   You really need to examine the “why” behind whatever it is you are wanting to promote.  Do this by asking a very simple question: Will [whatever it is] make it faster/easier/safer/more efficient for the worker to do his or her job?  Only proceed if the answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

 

Note:  If you are being tasked to promote / enforce something on behalf of a more senior manager and your answer to the above question is “no”, take your thoughts and feelings back to that manager and get some resolution before you proceed.  Proceeding without a “yes” to this question will head you down that same road frequently traveled in the past..

 

Step Two:   Orchestrate your promotion efforts to capitalize upon the most fundamental element of human decision-making- WIIFM (what’s in it for me?)

 

This is classic human psychology / classic salesmanship 101:  You and I make our decisions based upon what’s in it for us.

 

So here’s how this works-

 

If your answer in Step 1 was “yes”, then you merely must look at your initiative through the eyes of the workers, and legitimately come at it from the angle of how it is going to benefit them.

 

For example, I’ve rolled the Error Elimination Tools™ out to thousands of workers.  And I’ve had great success getting people to use them (without the need for overseeing ‘management police’).  This is because…

 

(1)  They work

(2)  They are fast, simple and easy to use

(3)  Their use IS in the best interest of the worker

(4)  They are introduced to the workers from THEIR perspective (in other words, “Here’s how you can use these to your benefit,” rather than, “Our new policy is that you now must use these tools”)

 

To give you an example, I was indoctrinating a bunch of contract outage workers early one morning.  These included electricians, pipe fitters, mechanics, laborers, etc.  In the middle of presenting one of the Tools, this scary looking guy stands up, interrupts me, and holding up his copy of the Tools Handbook, says to the approximate 100 others in the room, “You need to listen to this guy [meaning me].  They’re serious about these Tools at this plant.  I worked here last outage, and I can tell you that every time we had a meeting, every time we had a pre-job brief, they have these handbooks out and they talk about them.   And I can tell you something else- these things work!”

 

So you see, with a strategy like this, EVERYBODY WINS.  Management wins because things run more smoothly (we achieve the desired results), the safety folks win because fewer people get hurt (again- achieving desired results), AND the workers win because they are able to better do a ‘good job’ with fewer mistakes!

 

Step Three:          Align your goals, priorities and values.  Stop sending conflicting messages! 

 

I could go on and on about this…but I won’t.  To keep it very simple- your actions must match your words!  For example, if worker safety is your top stated priority, then stop creating schedules where the time pressure essentially forces people to cut corners!

 

For workers to truly ‘buy in’, what you say and what you do must be the same.  You must make your goals very clear and very consistent.

 

A great example of what I’m talking about here occurred during the turnaround of the Brunswick Nuclear Power Station in Southport, NC.  This was a situation where performance had gotten to the point where the entire management team was replaced.

 

Upon taking the reigns, the new VP laid down a very simple mission for the station (in order of priority):

 

  “The safe, reliable, economical, and environmentally sound production of electricity”. 

 

This was absolutely brilliant, because

 

·        it was simple

·        it made sense

·        everybody at the station knew it

·        it laid down tangible understandable priorities against which every future decision could be weighed

 

This provided a consistent gage of values and priorities from which to move forward.  And the results were nothing short of miraculous- moving the plant from one of the worst rated in the country to one of the top rated in the country in only 2-1/2 years.  Such turnaround results had never been achieved before (nor since) in that industry.    

 

While the example I just gave was on a major scale, goals and priorities are more typically aligned by focusing on one issue at a time.  Let’s say for example that your team members are having issues with getting things done on time, causing endless due date extensions and schedule slippages.  An effective way to deal with this might be:

 

1.                 eliminate all action items that are truly not necessary,

2.                 re-zero the clock and establish new (and REALISTIC) deadlines,

3.                 make status visible to all (holding EVERYONE accountable), and

4.                 require high level authority for any future due date extensions.

 

 

Step Four:  Introduce a new definition of the term “leader.”  This new definition is:

 

“Any individual who takes personal responsibility for his or her actions and who positively influences the behaviors and actions of others.”

 

While not everyone wants to be THE leader, the concept of being A “leader” per the above definition falls right in line with doing a ‘good job’ for most workers. 

 

Here’s the deal:  Just as a boat rises and falls with the tide, the performance of human beings rises and falls with the level of expectation.  Set the expectation high, e.g., that every member of the team function as a “leader”, give them the latitude to conduct themselves as such- and watch what happens!

 

Step Five:   Give workers some actual control over their work environment.  What do I mean by this?  Let the workers themselves set the tolerances for the performance of their team.

 

                   This does a couple of great things for you.  First, if the entire team defines what is and what is not acceptable, with each team member (regardless of seniority or org chart position) having EQUAL say, they will OWN it.  When the workers take ownership of the tolerances, the ‘management police’ are no longer necessary.  Again- everybody wins!

 

At first take, this idea might sound a bit scary to you.  But I can tell you- we’ve facilitated this ‘tolerance development’ process with hundreds of workers, and in every case, senior management has been amazed at what the overall team comes up with. 

 

Again, this all comes back to the fact that when workers are treated as professionals, they conduct themselves as professionals.  Workers want to do a ‘good job’ and tighter tolerances create an easier and more consistent environment in which to do so.

 

The facilitation process we use to help teams of workers develop their ‘tolerances’ is called the Code of Honor.  You can find out more information about this process here. 

 

 

Now Let’s Summarize….

 

If worker buy-in is a challenge for you, remember that things are the way they are because they got that way, and consider which of the following causes apply to your situation:

 

 

• A 180-degree misconception of who actually works for who
• An abuse of a fundamental worker motivation
• Expecting behaviors to change because “they” say so
• The middle management debacle
• Inconsistent / conflicting values and priorities

 

With your top issue(s) in mind, now consider how to best go after one or more of them in a way to achieve a quick success using these five steps:

 

• eliminate all action items that are truly not necessary
• re-zero the due-date clock and establish new (and REALISTIC) deadlines
• make status visible to all (holding EVERYONE accountable)
• require high level authority for any future due date extensions

 

The key to long term sustainable improvement is culture change.  Culture is changed by changing the behaviors of the folks in the organization.  Want to know how to ACTUALLY change the culture (and do so in the shortest possible time)?  I’m laying it all out in our next Special Report, “Viral Accountability™- When ‘Good Enough’ is Not an Option”.  If you haven’t already done so, reserve your copy here.  (Oh by the way…it absolutely free.) 

 

Finally, join in the discussion.  Use your opportunity to comment on this blog to offer your insights, ask questions…generate discussion! 

 

Always remember- no one of us is as smart as all of us.  Together, we can accomplish amazing things!

 

Until next time,

 

-Tim