Change is a necessary but sometimes painful aspect to running a practice.

Professional firms find it particularly hard to execute change not least of all because partnerships aren’t very good at achieving consensus. I’m sure you’ve been to many partner meetings where one “no” resoundingly derails what had seemed like an excellent plan before the meeting!

In this short read we consider the reasons change is difficult and share some tips on how to tackle future changes successfully.

Are you just papering over the cracks?

For big changes in particular, check that you are changing the right thing.

Professionals often prefer a collegiate atmosphere and so avoid conflict with one another. One unfortunate consequence that we often see is that instead fixing an underlying problem, firms opt for a “big new project” instead, in the vain hope that this time things will be better.

Unfortunately, this won’t really help because changing a system does not change the people who use the system. You’ve got to get to the heart of an issue and resolve it, however unpalatable this is, before embarking on something new.

Why don't your colleagues share your enthusiasm?

Perhaps you are a charismatic change-enthusiast, but don’t forget that resistance to change is the default state for many of your colleagues. If you want their backing you should try to imagine things from their perspective. What is going on in their heads?

Here are the three resistances we encounter most often:

1. I am comfortable. People have the most remarkable ability to put up with situations that may not be good, but are at least familiar. A favourite garment that has seen better days feels way more comfortable that a newly bought one.
2. I am selfish. There is a general perception that organisational change may well benefit the firm, but will be a change for the worse at a personal level.
3. I know better. Your teams don’t really believe you understand the challenges they face. You believe your proposed change will make things better, but they fear it will only make things worse.

Jeremy Hyman Associates' tips to making change work

Bearing in mind these pushbacks, what can you do?

1. Be honest. Every change entails risk. Risk of absolute failure, risk that things after the change won’t be as much improved as you hoped, risk that jobs won’t be better or even exist. Your colleagues are not stupid, and the less open you are about risk, the more suspicious they will be that this change will fail.
2. Prove it. Find other examples where a similar change has worked. Asking your colleagues to believe you is one thing, but showing them an example which has already worked is far more convincing. Try to find a valid parallel – maybe another firm in your network?
3. Sample it. Don’t undertake the whole change in one monolithic exercise. Change a bit and let your colleagues experience the expected benefits. It is much easier to sell change as a continuation of something that has already worked rather than something wholly new.
4. Mitigate risk. Tell the people who will be affected what you’ve done to mitigate risk, and then ask them what more they think should be done. Allowing them to influence how the change will be managed is a good way of engaging and empowering them.
5. Switch tack. Adjust the dynamic so that accepting change is more attractive than resisting it. Articulate that as the firm grows and evolves, change is essential and inevitable. If this does not appeal to them, perhaps they’d be happier at a firm that isn’t making changes (but perhaps more sensitively expressed than this..!)
6. Invest appropriately. The cost of the project should include plenty of support to help people through the process so they can enjoy the benefits fully and sooner, recognising that not everyone adopts change at the same pace. The most resistant people can become your strongest advocates.

Jeremy Hyman Associates is a leading independent technology advisory practice acting for PrimeGlobal and several member firms. They are pleased to continue offering a one-hour complimentary consultation session with Jeremy to managing partners or IT partners, as a gesture of our ongoing partnership with them.