The Important Role of Learning in Change Management

Disruption is usually seen as a positive in today’s business world. When new technology, a new process, or new conventions are introduced, it’s seen as being ground-breaking or game-changing.

But often when big changes are introduced within an organization, they can be disruptive in a different sort of way. Management might balk at a new way of doing things. Employees might not want to use new platforms or technology. Some people might even openly rebel against it.

That’s a big problem if you’ve just invested in a substantial organizational change or an expensive solution — 70% of change programs fail because of employee pushback and lack of support from management, according to McKinsey.

While big changes are never easy, they aren’t impossible when managed wisely. It just takes communication, planning and (you guessed it) learning.

Why is change management so important?

Humans aren’t wired to like change; we experience anxiety when we go through transitions in our lives. Even positive, desired changes, like marriage or going on vacation, cause us stress because they take us out of our comfort zones. It stands to reason that we’d get stressed about changes at work as well. In fact, Gartner finds that  73% of employees experience moderate to high stress  when there are changes at work.

Why do employees experience stress over changes that are often intended to make work easier? Uncertainty bias.

When something in our environment changes, we tend to automatically see the change as negative. Uncertainty can feel like a loss of control, because we don’t know what life will look like after a transition, we might feel anxiety about what that change means for us and our job. It can be as small an anxiety, like a worker worrying that they won’t understand how to use a new platform, or it could be much deeper, such like that worker worrying they’ll be made redundant and lose their jobs.

It’s worth noting that uncertainty bias is a spectrum; some people are less tolerant of change than others. For those who are particularly intolerant of uncertainty, the anxiety may be more pronounced, and it may show up as defensiveness or an unwillingness to adapt.

However, change is inevitable, especially in an agile organization. In order to boost adoption and reduce stress, change must be managed.

How can change be managed with learning?

Socializing change is, in large part, about combating your team’s anxiety and demonstrating why a change is beneficial — not just for the organization, but for them. They also need to be able to ask questions, understand any new responsibilities, and become familiar with new platforms or technology that might be introduced.

Learning can help manage several aspects of change management:

1. Communication with your team

You can’t over-communicate with your team when a major transition is on the horizon. There are several things that need to be made clear, such as what’s happening, what the timeline is for the change, and what’s expected of your team before, during, and after the transition.

That communication also has to be a two-way street. Your team will want to give you feedback and ask questions, perhaps voice concerns or even frustrations about the change. Knowing who is resisting the change and what their worries are is an important part of paving the way for a smooth transition.

While there are many ways to send out such communication (email for example), self-paced learning modules have the advantage of being trackable. By educating your team about expectations and timelines using learning, you’ll be able to know who has received the information, who has not, and who has feedback for you. A learning module is also more engaging than an email, giving you more space to explain the need for transition and your expectations. Your team will also be able to easily find modules about the timeline, rather than digging around in their email to find that information.

2. Updating skills

Some of the most common changes in the workplace involve a skill update. An organization may be reshuffling roles, pivoting to a new business model, or introducing new technology. No matter what the change, your team is likely to need new skills.

Take the example of introducing a new platform or application. Your organization may have purchased the platform because it’s capable of solving multiple problems for your team, but did you know that most software features are never adopted by users? It’s widely believed by IT experts that 80 percent of users only use 20 percent of the features in the software they’ve bought.

Learning modules are a way to work with your team, helping them to learn a new platform and the features you expect them to use. By implementing software training or training on new tools within your existing software stack, you can update skills before a big change, and provide additional support to those who are struggling with the transition.

3. Acknowledging change fatigue

Change is constant, and your team may be exhausted by the amount of change they’ve been experiencing. It’s important to acknowledge that, and to give them breaks so that they don’t burn out.

By offering learning that focuses on their interests and mental health you can help employees cope during times of high stress and transition. You might offer mindfulness courses, meditation, or other wellness classes, such as yoga or stress management. Offering modules like this along with team-building activities is a way to let your team bond during a time of change, rather than feeling isolated.

Change is part of growth

Change is hard, but it’s also an important part of improvement. That’s why it’s important to communicate and openly discuss the benefits of an upcoming change within your organization, and why learning should be a part of your organization’s change management plan.

Learning can help you alleviate your team’s concerns about the transition, teach them new skills, and foster communication about what’s happening, why and how. It isn’t easy, but as long as you proactively plan for change, you can keep the disruption to your business to a minimum.