Altering Old Habits with Change Management

In life, the only constant is constant change. If a business does not adapt to the changes going on around it, it fails. Yet there is a disconnect in that humans are creatures of habit. We resist change even when we identify the changes are for the better. Being adaptable and embracing change management is an important soft skill in the modern workplace and perhaps one of the hardest to impart. 

Too many people are set in their ways and stuck in something we call “The Comfort Zone”. Although efficient for a while, it could mean long-term resistance to change. This resistance is not good for your business. Bookboon understands the problems this causes and has a solution to encourage change management in everybody.

What is the comfort zone?

No doubt you have heard of the Comfort Zone. We define it as the safety of the familiar and it can exist almost anywhere in any of us. In the workplace, it is the comfort of the familiarity of task routine. It may have once been that the routine was the best or most efficient way of going about one’s workday. People unwilling to break out of a comfort zone will resist changes to a task or to a role, new systems and even new technology. These things may or may not impact their role or how the business operates. It may be that employees lack confidence and need encouragement; it could be mere stubbornness. Whichever it is, it is something that businesses need to understand and challenge. The way to do this is encouraging a change management culture at all levels.

What is Change Management?

Change management is the philosophy of embracing change. It is the best antidote to the “Comfort Zone” that damages business’ productivity. Everybody knows that adaptation is the key to business success today even if we don’t always practice it.

Therefore, in order for a business to succeed, everybody needs to adapt a change management culture within the work environment. We tend to think of change management in corporate terms (as a long-term strategy). What is clear is that it’s just as important for employees down the chain to adopt such a strategy also.

Benefits of Change Management

It is clear that too many people resist change in the workplace too often. As discussed above, it may be a lack of confidence or stubbornness. It could be that they feel the new system will create too much extra work. Although not all changes to a business will always work, it is important that changes are made within the culture of change management. When we have good change management, we are:

• Eager to accept change as part of everyday life
• Willing to discard old and inefficient systems
• A willingness to learn, take charge of one’s own development and education
• Confident enough to embrace any changes
• Perceiving the need for change
• Being patient as changes are made

Psychologists understand that humans are creatures of habit. It is not enough to ask people to adopt change management. It must be encouraged to the point that change management becomes a soft skill.

Bookboon’s Solution

Is an employee comfort zone damaging your business productivity? Bookboon has a potential solution to this common problem. We are one of the web’s foremost providers of business training solutions. However, we differ in that we do not provide old-style, inefficient classroom training. We have a large, comprehensive eBook-library of training solutions for your employees covering a wide range of soft and other skills.

In repeated surveys, employees report preferring electronic learning as it permits them to work at their own pace in a way that suits their roles. We also know that it is cost-effective and takes less time out of the working day than conventional classrooms. Please browse the Bookboon eLibrary today.

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