Are Your People Bought In?

Let's change

When a business decides to make changes, whether it's due external market pressures, a failing balance sheet or a new CEO wanting to make his or her mark on their new role, the people who carry the business on a day to day basis don't often get a choice in the changes.

Push-back

Of course, this means there is often pushback and gaining buy-in across the whole organisation becomes priority. This can create a challenge because as simple as gaining buy-in sounds, in practice people are unruly characters and gaining that elusive agreement and therefore high motivation to take the organisation in the direction it needs to go can be difficult to establish. 

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Getting buy-in

Below are some top tips for encouraging your people to follow you on your organisational journey and gaining that elusive buy-in:

#1 - Consult

Much organisational change occurs without the people on the ground having any input. The top layer tell the rest of the organisation what will happen, and it gets implemented. 

Now, imagine you are at home, and your partner says to you, "we are moving house next week. I've chosen a house but I need to to pack all of our things, book the removal vans, unpack everything when we arrive and make sure all of our electric, telephone, internet and water services are up and running within a week. Then, if there are any future issues with the house, I need you to fix them." 

You have had no input into the choice of move location and you knew nothing about the move before this point. Now imagine you hate the area you are moving to and can see no reason you need to move there. How do you feel? Put out? Ignored? Lost? I would guess motivated is not the word. 

This is how your people feel when they are told they must follow your vision of a new way of operating. They have no idea why you have chosen that vision, and they have not been asked if they believe in your ideas or have any ideas of their own. 

So, my first tip is to consult your people - ask them their views. They are on the ground, and they understand the working environment. They may not have a strategic vision, but they can certainly input and help you to make the best decisions for your business. 

#2 - Inspire

If you partner says to you, "we're moving house because I'm bored and want a change," you're likely to think, great thanks. I have to go through all this upheaval because you have a whim. 

Now imagine your partner says, "I think we should move house. I've researched where we can get the best deal, and make some money on our investment; I've looked into where the nearest drama group is so you can continue your amateur dramatics hobby, and there are great schools here for the kids. What are your views on my suggestion?" 

You are much more likely to say, "well, your idea works, so let's go with that."

It's important to inspire your teams to act with real evidence about why you think you should do whatever it is you're proposing. If you inspire people with your ideas, they are much more likely to follow. 

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#3 - Communicate 

Once you've got the insight from your people, and they feel included in the decision making, collate their ideas and communicate back to them. This shows you've listened and taken their views on board. 

#4 - Request Feedback

Once you've communicated, don't just forget about it, ask them "Is this what you had in mind?" If not, go through the process again until you have that elusive buy-in. Get buy-in in the early stages, and you're much more likely to hang on to it. 

#5 - Implement

Once you're sure you have a good temperature check on how people feel about change, and you know the best route forward, put the new ideas into practice. But be sure to ask people again what works for them. Don't just assume everyone works in the same way, and the same implementation processes will work for all, talk to your people about what works best for them and encourage your teams to do the same. 

#6 - Feedback Again

Get more feedback - and get it regularly. If things are going wrong you need to know about it and fast.. You don't want to lose your people, they take you where you want to go. 

Last but not least, #7 - Continue the Loop

Keep talking to your people, show them your interest in how they can help you to grow the business. Keep them engaged and you will be well on your way to achieving your vision. Remember, your people always know more than you think.