Managing resistance to change in workplace accommodation projects

The new management paradigm states that managing people is about managing feelings. For many people, change is a very personal and emotional issue, and can be difficult, especially when it involves their work environment. Employee resistance can pose significant obstacles to the planning and development of an office space relocation, particularly for projects that attempt to change the way in which people work. The relocation of employees is expensive, in terms of both operational costs and investments. This paper deals with both the psychological as well as the economic impacts of introducing a change. It is intended to equip facility managers who are delivering projects to understand not only the change process, but also more importantly, to discern why employees resist change and provide them with a multifaceted approach to facilitating the change process. One key element for managing the resistance to change is the use of effective, ongoing and varied communication vehicles. This paper includes an inventory of recommended communication tools that have proved to be both effective and successful. It will share experiences through ‘lessons learned’, that will demonstrate how ‘skipping steps’ in the process can jeopardise the success of the project. It is hoped to establish that time and resources expended towards the management of the resistance to change equate to time and effort well spent and can make the difference between success and failure.