Employee Commitment to Change

Some people are more naturally open to change, while others are more entrenched in their routines and resistant to new things. Either way, the secret to bringing about meaningful change is allowing your employees to be actively involved in creating their transformation.

Written byLab Manager
| 1 min read
Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00

Employee Commitment to Change

By Susan M. Heathfield

Lab manager academy logo

Get training in Employee Engagement and Wellbeing and earn CEUs.

One of over 25 IACET-accredited courses in the Academy.

Employee Engagement and Wellbeing Course

A new manager asked me recently how she should go about getting her staff to “buy into” some changes she wants to make in the operation of their department. I asked her whether she wanted to spend the time on the front end necessary for earning staff commitment to the changes. Alternatively, I told her that she could spend her time policing the changes on the back end. Indeed, if staff members reacted too unfavorably, she might even have her ideas sabotaged and / or an open position or two to fill. At the minimum, her staff would experience a lack of motivation and feelings of disgruntlement.

She chose the first path, but not all managers do. You need to recognize that if you want whole-hearted commitment to any change, you must involve staff members. The employees who will be expected to implement the change, must be involved in the creation of the change. That doesn’t mean they set the goal, but they must be significantly involved in the definition and the details.

If you want to foster employee commitment to change, the employees must be involved in designing the changes, implementing the changes, and evaluating the effectiveness of the changes. Employees will never whole-heartedly support a change they were not involved in creating.

Source: About.com: Human Resources

Interested in lab leadership?

Subscribe to our free Lab Leadership Digest Newsletter.

Is the form not loading? If you use an ad blocker or browser privacy features, try turning them off and refresh the page.

Loading Next Article...
Loading Next Article...

CURRENT ISSUE - April 2025

Sustainable Laboratory Practices

Certifications and strategies for going green

Lab Manager April 2025 Cover Image