How Employee Engagement helps in Change Management ?

Various independent and organisation based studies have revealed that employee engagement is the heart and soul of the change management process. Multiple researches at highly productive and reputed organisations seeking new competitive advantages in this ever changing business environment have exposed that the higher level of engagement, involvement and dedication of employees is the primary requirement to successfully implement a change initiative taken by the management.

Most of the employees are reluctant to change and there can be various reasons behind it. But if an organisation is not considering implementing and bringing change just for the sake of it, it needs to take the reluctance of employees in to account and take essential steps to help them understand its necessity and benefits in a manner that brings positive results. The dedicated employees who always look forward to take challenges may not be as much reluctant as ‘not engaged’ and disengaged employees. Translating employee reluctance in their keenness is so important to bring the required change and establish it until the next is required.

While there is no single clear link between employee engagement and change management but various themes and interpretations can be extracted depending upon the studies and researches conducted by the organisations and change management experts. It is believed that the greater the employees are engaged, the more likely they would go an extra mile to deliver the best performance and adopt various changes implemented in the organisation. Their fondness towards the organisation, their dedication towards their work, their keenness to achieve more and their job satisfaction support all business processes that are related to bring a change. If employees are actively engaged in their job, they will readily support the change management initiative taken by the management.

Employee engagement has been listed as a primary requirement to the success of a change management process. Of course, a proper communication channel and vigilant project management are the backbone of any business function. But where employee engagement, involvement, dedication, ownership and accountability are built, things become relatively easier. However, it doesn’t mean that organisation can take it easy and assume that engaged employees will always welcome a change initiative. The moment they feel that it is not bringing a positive change in their way of working, organisational culture, work environment or their overall personality development, they will be reluctant to take it further and be a part of it.

The organisation needs to carefully communicate it so that employees interpret in the similar manner as it has been communicated. Until both top management and employees are on the same side and think alike about a specific change initiative, it is almost impossible to take it to the next level and implement it. The organisations can’t dictate their terms; rather they will have to welcome suggestions and ideas from the employees and strike a right balance in order to implement it. No matter how small or big the change is, it requires careful action planning and follow-up at each step of the process.