Preparing the Work Force for Change
Change is all around us, and its pace is accelerating. Almost every organization's quality management system (QMS) has had to adjust rapidly to keep up. ISO 9001's subclause 5.6.2 about management review input requires organizations to consider information on "… changes that could affect the quality management system…." The clear inference is that the drafters of ISO 9001 anticipated that the QMS itself should be altered to accommodate external or internal change. ISO 9001 subclause 5.4.1 on quality management system planning also requires that top management ensure that "the integrity of the quality management system is maintained when changes to the quality management system are planned and implemented."
The basic message is that the organization must retain its ability to meet customer and other requirements despite change. Perhaps the most daunting part of this is the challenge presented by an unprepared work force.
There are at least two interrelated aspects of work force readiness to accommodate change. One relates to the emotional reaction that's experienced; the other is concerned with work force competence and related confidence.
The emotional issue is the easier of the two to address in the short term because we can anticipate people's basic reactions, which are usually one of the following:
• Some people embrace change. They may perceive the change as being in their best interest, or they may just want to see the organization get better.
• Some people passively accept change. They feel that they have no say anyway, and whatever is best for the organization is OK with them.
• Some people are hostile to change. They may see it as disadvantaging them, feel threatened by change, be uncomfortable with the uncertainty related to change, or they may feel that the change is just not in the organization's best interest.
An organization's leaders need to realize that the success of any change will depend on people. People must be given information about changes and the reasons they're needed. They need to be shown the data and information that were used in deciding on the changes. People will want to provide input, and top managers should take the time to listen. But the value of that input and the attitudes of employees will depend to some extent on how well top managers have addressed the other aspect of work force readiness: competence and confidence.
The time to begin to build the capacity of the work force to absorb and implement major changes is long before changes are needed.
Normally, people are better able to deal with changes when they have confidence in their ability to succeed. As the old saying goes, "If you think you can do it, you probably can; if you think you can't do it, you most likely can't."
An organization can develop competence by ensuring that the work force has the education, training skills and experience to meet the organization's needs. This can create a collective perception that by working together, employees are competent enough to handle any challenge that they'll meet. The work force's readiness to accept and implement change can be determined by surveys and self-assessment.
Preparation must start early. If, in stable times, the work force is given challenging but attainable goals and has worked in teams to meet them, it should be well positioned to take on more dynamic challenges. Employees will have learned to innovate together to meet challenges. The key is the word "learned." When teams undertake projects to make small improvements, the improvements aren't the only result; another is the learning that takes place and the confidence that learning brings. We often hear arguments such as, "Continual improvement isn't important because we have optimized the process, and we don't want the employees messing around with it." Such arguments and banning innovative improvement can doom an organization the next time revitalization is needed.
Alternatively, engaging employees in teams to perform many small improvement projects is an excellent approach to building overall employee confidence and competence. Successfully completed projects conducted in stable times can increase employee confidence. Start preparing the work force now for the inevitable change ahead.
Note: This article is based in part on Unlocking the Power of Your Quality Management System: Keys to Performance Improvement , by John E. (Jack) West and Charles A. Cianfrani (ASQ Press, 2004).
John E. (Jack) West is a consultant, business advisor and author with more than 30 years of experience in a wide variety of industries. From 1997 through 2005, he was chair of the U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 176 and lead delegate for the United States to the International Organization for Standardization committee responsible for the ISO 9000 series of quality management standards. He remains active in TC 176 and is chair of the ASQ Standards Group.
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