Four Tricks to Building Support for Your Change Efforts
Change is hard. On a personal level, it's emotionally challenging to break ourselves of habits we're attached to, and on an institutional level, it can be exceedingly difficult to overcome the inertia of ingrained systems and bureaucracies. So we asked a group of folks who know all about implementing change in the workplace - our former Impact at Work Award winners - how they managed to make significant company-wide impact while doing their day jobs. Communication, they say, is key. So here are four tricks to gaining buy-in for your next impact project...
1. Deliver your message through the right channels
Good communication lies at the heart of Darren McGann's 2011 win (then called the Force for Change Award). Darren's company, KPMG, had already made a commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by 25%, and had rolled out a videoconferencing option for employees to help cut down on long-distance travel. But if you build it, they will come doesn't always work overnight...
Darren realized that to get staff to use the new videoconferencing services, they'd need to get the message in front of employees at the moment they were making their travel decisions. So KPMG updated the company's travel website with an environmental message, and an option to reserve videoconferencing time instead of booking big-carbon footprint plane tickets. The result? A 95% increase in videoconferencing, and 932 metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided.
2. Start with key influencers and expand from there
But to get his idea implemented, Darren first had to get people on board - and not just anyone, either. Find an executive champion, says Darren. Early support is invaluable as you build your business case and engage other leaders.
From there, he had to build support among stakeholders throughout the company. Darren collaborated with various internal process owners including IT, travel, and procurement to ensure everyone was aligned.Our 2012 Impact at Work Award winner, Asheen Phansey, echoes this critical tactic. Find your allies and keep them involved, Asheen told us by email. They could be from all different functions and levels in the hierarchy...recruit them to help in whatever way they can.
3. Customize your message
In any given organization, business units each have their own unique goals and concerns. Not everyone will respond to your brilliant impact project with equal measure; some worry they will have to take on more work, while others might fear they have little say in changes being made.So it's important to identify what's important to them early on, says Darren, and use that when pitching your ideas. I created unique communications for each audience, specifying why I needed their support and the direct benefit to them.Once you know what motivates those who can help your project become a success, you can shape your message in a way that resonates with their needs to ensure full buy-in.Brandon Tidwell, an award-winner from 2010, suggests positioning sustainability initiatives as a tool for innovation and engagement. Move beyond cost and environmental savings, he explains, to demonstrate how the project can generate value - direct or indirect - for the company, the university or for the organization.
4. Communicate early and often
You can't force employees to change their behavior, says Amy Green, another 2012 Impact at Work Award winner. But you can educate them, talk with them about it, and work with them to help them decide to make the change in themselves.
By engaging your co-workers, asking questions and listening to the answers, and sharing successes along the way, it becomes much easier to build support for whatever impact initiative you're tackling. Clear and concise communication at each stage of the project is vital, says Darren, who kept KPMG's internal stakeholders engaged by sending out weekly updates.
Support for your impact project
Launching an impact project - large or small - can sometimes feel daunting. People can be set in their ways, and processes and policies can feel set in stone. The reality is that you'll never know when your idea will gain traction, points out Brandon Tidwell. But if you keep at it, and keep communicating, gain traction it will. Our Impact at Work Award winners are living proof.Of course, if you'd like additional support, be sure to download the recently updated Impact at Work Toolkit, which walks you through the process of kicking off a social or environmental project in your workplace.And let Brandon's advice guide you: Live with dissonance, he says, being patient and impatient at the same time. Continue to push the organization to make change, recognizing how timing, relationships, and alignment matter.
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