The challenge of building support for human resource programs
| Pages | 131-135 |
| Date | 12 June 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-02-2017-0012 |
| Published date | 12 June 2017 |
| Author | Rick Maurer |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
The challenge of building support
for human resource programs
Rick Maurer
Rick Maurer is based at
Maurer & Associates,
Arlington, Virginia, USA.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to provide human resource (HR) leaders with a practical,
straightforward approach to the challenge of building support (and reducing resistance). Building support
for new programs is difficult in many organizations, and the cost of failed change is large. HR is not immune
to these pitfalls. The primary reason that projects fail is resistance. Resistance itself is not the problem. But,
how leaders look at and work with resistance is a significant problem.
Design/methodology/approach –This approach is based on some 20 years of practice working with
leaders on ways to build support for change. The author has helped leaders apply this approach in HR
departments, as well as many other departments within organizations. This approach has been applied in
aerospace, healthcare, large city library systems and telecommunications, to name a few.
Findings –The key finding is not that this approach is so wonderful, but that the mindset of the leader(s) is
the key. When a leader or a leadership team believes that people and their thoughts and feelings actually
matter, and that the department is best-served by respecting the people who work with and for them, then
building support for change has a good chance of succeeding. The approach described here works well
with leaders who want to engage others with dignity and respect.
Practical implications –This paper is meant to be practical. In fact, it invites readers to consider a change
they are considering as they read the paper. By the end of the paper, readers should begin to see ways to
apply these ideas immediately. Many people apply these ideas without further education or consultant
assistance.
Originality/value –Resistance remains a bad word in organizations. (Organization development is a
notable exception to that generality.) Leaders often give lip service to engagement and take part in
high-involvement activities but fail to follow through. The author attempts to make the work as easy to access
as possible, while avoiding simplistic thinking, to give leaders low-risk ways to begin to increase their respect
for people (and their resistance). Leaders who try out more respectful ways to engage people are likely to up
the ante and experiment with deeper ways of making contact with others.
Keywords Change management, Human resource management, Project management, Influence,
Leading change, Resistance to change
Paper type Conceptual paper
We tend to believe in our own ideas and plans, and that can be a problem. I know
that sounds odd, but often our great ideas get in the way of building the support
we need. Our own brilliance gets in our way. Instead of people celebrating the
arrival of our new performance management system, they complain and drag their feet.
How come?
It is all about energy. Since the early 1990s when I started working on Beyond the Wall of
Resistance (Bard Press, 1996, rev. 2010), I have been interested in why people welcome and
embrace some ideas and resist others. While some ideas in organizations are bad and should
die early deaths, many others fail or simply fade away for other reasons.
The human resource (HR) department is no stranger to those challenges. I recall one
government agency that was trying to adopt its sixth new performance management system in
DOI 10.1108/SHR-02-2017-0012 VOL. 16 NO. 3 2017, pp. 131-135, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW PAGE 131
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