Published on June 27, 2005

A few months ago, we got a call from a company which was about to move its entire office to a brand-new location across town. This was going to present some big challenges for the management, as well as rank-and-file staff. Here are just a few of the concerns. How will I get to work when we change offices? How can I pick up my child from school if this is going to be our new location? Who is going to find my stuff when it gets moved across the city? Where will they put my office? Will I have a view? Is the food any good in that area? This office is on a very high floor – is that safe?

Sound like a challenge for the management behind this major change? Well, of course it was. But in this case, everyone knew that the change was going to occur, and most people already felt it was a pretty good idea. The current headquarters was really old and too crowded – not very inspiring considering the company’s strong image in the community. When visitors came around, the old place was a little embarrassing.

So here we had a case where the change was already known. The main task for management would be to do the anticipating and planning needed in order to make the change go smoothly.

As things turned out the company did indeed take careful steps to involve everyone in the move and ensure that they understood the process of change itself. They organised some advanced workshops to make the most of the office change, using the move as a way to help everyone understand the general process of change itself. If people could learn how to handle this one, they might be able to better deal with other types of change in the future.

But with most organisational changes (unlike this case of changing offices), only a few people at the top believe that the change is necessary. The rest of the staff may be completely unaware of these outside “winds of change”.

And for many of them, there could be a lot of fears and concerns that a particular change will not be good for them; they might have real trouble making the necessary adjustments. Now this is a difficult type of change.

Once, while working on another project, we brought together a mixed group of Thais and non-Thais for a brainstorming session. The topic: “What do you feel are the obstacles that stand in the way of change?” These were some of the highlights:

Sunthorn: “I would be afraid that I won’t be able to produce the necessary changes, or can’t get the results which the bosses expect of me; in other words, I might fail.”

Sasithorn: “Some of us might not see ‘what’s in this change for me?’ I think that before you can expect people to support your new scheme with enthusiasm and commitment, you have to understand what discomforts and dangers you are asking them to face . . . and what they stand to gain.”

Anders: “Some of us tend to be quite impatient with new programmes, and they want to see results pretty fast.”

Ian: “Some people have had bad experiences with previous changes. It can be a kind of cynicism, where people feel, ‘Is this another flavour of the month?’”

Aphorn: “Everyone already has lots of pressure at work. Some of us would feel the situation is already pretty overwhelming, without taking on something new.”

Andree: “That could definitely be true, especially since this change raises all kinds of unknowns, and may not have been

tested to see if it works for a company

like ours.”

Benjamas: “Some of our staff don’t have much tolerance for ambiguity. They like things as they are, where everyone’s job is clear and stable. This new business could be a temporary disruption to our habits and routines.

“And if we will have to learn some new skills, some of the older staff are going to get really nervous. A lot of them are already set in their ways and hate anything different.”

Next week, we’ll dig for some strategies which experts have recommended, in order to convert some of these attitudes, and make the members feel safer and more enthusiastic about changes that will affect them.

This article was contributed by Dr Henry Holmes, author of “Working with the Thais”. Holmes’ organisation specialises in consulting and training for Thai and international companies, in the fields of team building, leadership communication, cross-cultural partnerships, and assertive skill building. He can be reached at (02) 652 9025, at crosscul@loxinfo.co.th, or at his website, www.crossculmgmt.com.

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