Change is a constant in the business world, and companies must be able to adapt quickly to stay competitive. Unfortunately, many employees resist change. Resistance increases if employees feel that it disrupts their routine or if they perceive it as a threat to their job security. Therefore, companies need to gather employee feedback during and after a change to improve how change is implemented.
In this blog post, we will discuss how to use employee feedback during a change to improve business processes.
Step 1: Collect Feedback
Collecting feedback is the first step to improving business processes. Schedule several points in the change process to collect information from team members. Some natural feedback points include:
- When changes are presented to a test group
- After training
- During the testing phase
- After implementation
Feedback can be collected through a variety of channels, including process metrics, surveys, interviews, and focus groups. It is essential to ask specific questions that relate to the change that has been implemented as well as how the change was presented. Some questions to consider asking include:
- What do you like about the new process?
- What do you dislike about the new process?
- What challenges have you encountered while using the new process?
- What suggestions do you have for improving the new process?
- What would have made the change process smoother for you?
- What do you wish you would have known when you were first learning about the change?
Step 2: Analyze Feedback
Once feedback has been collected, analyze it to identify trends and patterns. Reviewing feedback helps identify common issues employees are experiencing and highlight areas that require improvement. It is also important to categorize the feedback into actionable items that the appropriate department or team can address.
Some feedback will be geared toward the process itself, and some will be focused on how the change was presented. Both types of feedback can help to improve current and future process changes. Stay open-minded and growth-oriented as you solicit feedback to maximize improvement.
Step 3: Prioritize Issues
After analyzing feedback, it is important to prioritize issues based on their impact on the business. When all issues are given high priority, the change is diluted. It is difficult for the team to implement so many changes at once. Prioritize issues that have a high impact on the business or are causing the most disruption for employees. Proper prioritization will ensure that the most pressing issues are addressed first and that resources are allocated appropriately by the team.
Step 4: Develop an Action Plan
Once the issues have been prioritized, an action plan should be developed to address them. An action plan may involve changing the new process, providing additional training to employees, or making changes to the communication plan surrounding the change. The action plan should be specific, measurable, and time-bound to ensure progress is trackable and issues promptly addressed.
Step 5: Implement Changes
The final step is to implement the changes by following the action plan. It is important to communicate any changes to employees and provide them with the necessary training and resources to ensure that they can implement the changes effectively. It is also important to track progress and continue to gather feedback to ensure the changes have the desired impact.
Using employee feedback from a new change can help improve business processes and ensure that employees can adapt to the change more easily. Collecting feedback, analyzing it, prioritizing issues, developing an action plan, and implementing changes are all key steps in this process. By following these steps, companies can ensure that changes are implemented effectively and that employees can adapt quickly and positively to new processes.
