Resistance to change in the organization: check out 7 valuable tips on how to deal with this type of behavior in your company

For a company to evolve and become stronger, sooner or later it will need to undergo a process of change. These changes can be mild and specific or have a more profound and transformative nature.

In any case, one of the biggest challenges that managers need to face is precisely the resistance that employees tend to show when certain changes are imposed on them in their work routine, leadership, work environment, organizational culture, responsibilities and even internal relationship dynamics.

With this in mind, we have brought you some content to explain the concept of organizational change and the main types of resistance to change within a company:

1. Incremental Change
2. Transformational Change
3. Evolutionary Change
4. Revolutionary Change
5. Voluntary Change
6. Involuntary Change

Furthermore, we invite you to continue reading to also check out 7 valuable tips on how to deal with resistance to changes in the organization and better conduct these processes in your company.

What are organizational changes?

Organizational changes refer to changes, planned or unplanned, that occur within a company and that can be motivated by factors internal or external to the organization.

These changes can have an impact on different aspects of the business and their main objective is to adapt the company to market reality, make it more competitive and stronger and extend its longevity.

Organizational changes are classified into six categories:

1. Incremental Change

The goal is to add something to routines and processes that already exist. Implementing incremental modifications is easier and more prevalent.

2. Transformational Change

Transformational change affects the structure of certain internal processes and dynamics.

3. Evolutionary Change

This type of change is made with the aim of taking the company to a higher level, adapting it to market reality.

4. Revolutionary Change

Revolutionary changes are much more profound, drastic and bold. They seek to radically modify certain aspects of the business and are therefore more difficult to implement.

5. Voluntary Change

The organization realizes that it needs to change and is dedicated to making these changes to ensure the company's sustainability.

6. Involuntary Change

The external environment has undergone changes that force the company to also change in order to adapt to it and remain sustainable in the long term.

Note that voluntary and involuntary changes can also fall into one of the four previous categories, depending on their characteristics.

See this diagram with summaries of the types of organizational changes that can occur in a company:

Types of resistance to change

Although necessary, it is not uncommon for organizational changes to end up facing some resistance from individuals and groups that are directly or indirectly impacted by them.

Changes are not always received calmly and naturally, which ends up being a major challenge for managers who want to implement certain changes.

There are essentially two kinds of organizational resistance to change. The first alludes to active resistance, which is typically characterized by outward animosity and aggression from the parties affected by the forced changes.

In this type of resistance to changes in the organization, it is common to observe louder manifestations that go against the implemented changes.

The second type has a more passive character and manifests itself in a less explicit way, such as small sabotages, “laziness”, apathy, little or no willpower to adhere to imposed changes, lack of collaboration and low productivity.

7 tips on how to deal with resistance to change in the organization

To survive in the market and gain competitiveness, companies need to be willing to undergo changes, whether in relation to the adoption of new technologies, development of new products, digital transformation , positioning, etc.

But, as we saw earlier, you need to be prepared to deal with resistance from employees.

Below are some tips we have put together to help you deal with resistance to changes in the organization:

1. Be clear when explaining what changes will be implemented and why they are necessary;
2. Do not verticalize changes by trying to impose them from top to bottom, seek to horizontalize implementation;
3. Do not base changes on personal and subjective reasons;
4. Assess people's reactions to imposed changes and the type of resistance they present;
5. Be available to help employees during the period of implementing changes;
6. Hear what affected parties have to say about the changes;
7. Invite stakeholders to participate in the process of defining the changes that will be implemented.

Managing change in a company involves managing the risks of change, so it is worth watching this video on risk management, with Carlos Borges:

These were our 7 tips on how to deal with resistance to change in the organization.

Now that you know more about this subject, you will be able to implement the necessary changes in your company more efficiently.