Sami here, excited to learn from the Harbinger experience and Team in the role of Change Enablement & Learning Intern. What is your role at Harbinger? I'm a Change Enablement & Learning intern, where I help support clients through large-scale transformations. My work involves everything from developing learning material for our clients to supporting the development of our change management strategies. I also work on internal projects to help the Harbinger team in delivering the highest-quality service to all our clients. What are you most looking forward to in this role? I’m very excited about the opportunity to work alongside the entire Harbinger team, learning from their expertise while gaining hands-on experience throughout the entire change management process. I also look forward to seeing how change can be managed and implemented effectively and witnessing the direct impact of Harbinger’s work on client success. What do you hope to accomplish in your time at Harbinger? One of my main goals is to develop my problem-solving skills to analyze challenges and effectively design solutions within fast-moving environments. Moreover, I’m looking forward to gaining hands-on experience in change management, learning from the Harbinger team, and making this time a place for personal development and growth. What drives you every day? I get energy from building things—whether it’s launching a startup, writing a book, or mapping out a new idea. I’m naturally curious and love figuring out how systems work, how people think, and solving real-world problems. I’m always excited to take on new challenges, learn from new environments, push myself outside of my comfort zone, and see how small ideas can evolve into community-changing initiatives. What do you like to do in your free time? In my spare time, I enjoy reading books, exploring new startup ideas, and learning about how emerging technologies are shaping the future. I am also a big sports fan (specifically soccer and swimming), where I was a competitive swimmer for over 10 years. I also love travelling, getting to know new cultures, and exploring different countries.

Matthew here, excited to learn from the Harbinger experience and Team in the role of Marketing & Operations Intern. What is your role at Harbinger? I will primarily be supporting internal at Harbinger, focusing on revising written content to help lighten the workloads for my colleagues. Initially, my work will be behind the scenes at Harbinger, where I’ll be contributing to developing sales and marketing content such as case studies and other website copy.  What are you most looking forward to in this role? I am really excited to work with the many diverse companies that Harbinger works with and learn what some of these companies do, rather than just knowing the names. What do you enjoy doing during your free time? I really like playing either video games or sports depending on the day. Currently, I have been playing a lot of Overwatch 2 and Hockey whenever my league gives me the chance to play. I have also been getting back into volleyball recently and relearning the game. Do you have any principles you live your life by? I don’t think I have any specific principle that I live by but I always strive to help others out whether it’s at work, sports, or just day-to-day life. Any recommendations on places to eat in Toronto? While not a Torontonian myself, I always love going down Spadina and finding great Chinese restaurants around. Although not food, I cannot recommend enough Milky’s for coffee in Toronto, it is one of the best cafes I have ever been to both with their aesthetic and coffee. For my hometown of Calgary though, I absolutely love the Bánh mì from Kim Anh for food and coffee I would have to say Paradigm Spark has some of the best coffee in the world.

Ola here to support Harbinger in the role of Project Coordinator & Administration Specialist. I'm excited to help the team succeed. What is your role at Harbinger?   I joined the Harbinger team as a Project Coordinator and Administration Specialist. I support both internal and client-facing projects by tracking deliverables, scheduling meetings, managing tasks, and supporting communications. I also help the team with documentation, logistics, and other administrative needs to keep operations running smoothly.  What skills and experience do you bring to this role?    Recently, I completed an Honours Bachelor of Commerce in Business Management degree and an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration Management, so I am confident that my experience with project work, organization, and communication will be useful in supporting the Harbinger team. Additionally, I am used to working in diverse teams and tackling different projects at the same time.  What attracted you to this role at Harbinger?   While studying at Seneca Polytechnic, I did some volunteer work as a Project Manager, and I really enjoyed organizing work behind the scenes. When I learned about this position at Harbinger, it felt like a natural next step for me, and I knew that it would help me build on that experience in a more structured setting. I was also drawn to Harbinger’s people-first approach and the mix of consulting, coordination, and communication.   What’s your go-to comfort activity after a busy day?    I enjoy going out for short walks in nature or snuggling on a sofa with popcorn and watching a good Netflix series. Sometimes, I immerse myself in a virtual reality game – it is a fun way to reset.   What is a fun fact about you?    I love learning! Whenever there is an opportunity to learn a new skill, I quickly jump in and start the journey. For example, I recently built a virtual reality game set in a post-apocalyptic world - all while learning how to write code and operate the new software from scratch.

Rhiannon here to support Harbinger in the role of Digital Media Specialist. I’m looking forward to helping create immersive, digital stories that drive change. What’s your role at Harbinger, and what impact do you hope to make? At Harbinger, I am a proud Digital Media Specialist, bringing over a decade of experience in the digital media industry, particularly in video production, graphic design, and content creation. As a graduate of the Global Business and Digital Arts program at the University of Waterloo, I aim to bring a unique perspective on user experience tied with emotional intelligence to the table. My goal is to help shape immersive eLearning content through a fresh, human-centered lens. How did you find your way into this field or industry? My passion for creating immersive digital experiences started in childhood, when I began using our family’s digital camera to film short home videos. I loved making my family laugh with quirky edits and eventually started uploading these videos to YouTube, where they reached a wider audience than I ever expected. Content creation became a hobby that followed me through school and University, where I expanded into new forms of digital storytelling. Over time, I discovered the power of using media to evoke positive emotions and create meaningful experiences. That journey ultimately led me to Harbinger, where I’m excited to continue making fun, engaging content that brings learning and smiles to people's lives. What energizes you most about your day-to-day work? What energizes me most is the opportunity to create content that makes learning feel easy and enjoyable. I believe that the experience of learning, not just the outcome, deserves more focus in the eLearning space. Knowing that something I create might help someone feel proud of what they’ve learned or inspired to keep going is incredibly rewarding. I’m driven by the chance to design engaging, immersive learning experiences that make people feel both accomplished and empowered. What’s an unexpected thing we would find at your desk? A wide assortment of snacks! When I’m deeply engaged in work I love, I tend to lose track of time…including mealtimes. To keep myself going, I stock a fun variety of snacks at my desk, from crackers and hummus to a box of Japanese treats. It’s my way of staying fueled without breaking the creative flow. What is a fun fact about you most wouldn’t know?  Most people are surprised to learn that I’m a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. I dedicated over a decade of my evenings to training at the Dojang after school and earning my Black Belt remains one of my proudest achievements. It taught me discipline, perseverance, and the importance of showing up consistently - all skills I carry into my professional life today.

Kai here to support Harbinger in the role of Digital Marketing & Content Specialist. I’m looking forward to diving deeper into the digital creative space to help bring people together.  What is your role at Harbinger?  I’m joining Harbinger as a Digital Marketing and Content Specialist where I provide support to various other Harbingers internally. My main job is to create digital assets such as GIFs and videos, as well as keep the website, social media, and blog updated. I’m also responsible for brainstorming how to present Harbinger to the public. What skills and experience do you bring to this role?  I recently graduated with a Bachelor of Media Production and Design, so I am quite comfortable creating digital content with attention paid to accessibility, audience, and story. In addition, I am used to working in multidisciplinary teams where everyone has a different background and skill set they bring to the table. Of course, that also means I know how to best divvy up tasks according to who’s best suited to it.  What attracted you to consulting and Harbinger?  In the past I’ve really only worked on projects where the end product is the end goal. Where success is measured in the reactions to the presentation. I’m looking forward to doing work where success is not linear and does not come down to just one moment but many moments over time.     What do you enjoy doing in your free time?  I really like writing urban fantasy/supernatural stories and I’m always ready to play a game of cards. Unfortunately, that usually leads to buying too many pens, notebooks, cards and/or dice. Can you share a fun fact about yourself that might surprise people?  I was born left-handed but I’m primarily right-handed. There are certain things I will subconsciously do with my right hand that doesn’t feel right until I try it with my left hand (this usually comes up in sports).

Hello! I am Oliver, I joined Harbinger in May 2024 to help with finance and operations. I am looking forward to learning new skills and working with the Harbinger team. What is your role at Harbinger? I will be doing an inside job at Harbinger. Unfortunately, it will not be as exciting as the Charles Ferguson movie, but the change I intend will be positive. My role in finance and operations is to help make sure Harbinger stays organized and runs efficiently internally so we can provide the best service externally. What are you most looking forward to in this role? I am looking forward to working in an environment where I can grow and challenge myself. I am excited to work with the team here at Harbinger and make things efficient for them. I am looking forward to helping Harbinger be the best that it can be.  What do you hope to accomplish in your time at Harbinger? As mentioned earlier, I hope that I can clean-up, organize and allow my colleagues to work as efficiently as they can. I want to personally make sure that I learn a lot from working here at Harbinger and use this experience for positive personal growth.   Do you have any principles you live your life by? To take things as they come. I believe that preparation is important, but I make sure when problems arise that I do not worry about them. Worrying will not fix anything, and I believe this mindset of viewing things objectively and rationally has helped me work through problems efficiently and more effectively.   What makes you tick? I enjoy the little things in life. The small things like when you step outside to good weather, a refreshing drink, the smell of coffee in the morning. It is the little things I find appreciation in, which add up over time, helping me stay on track and motivated for the bigger picture items in life.   What do you like to do in your free time? In my free time I like to play football (soccer). Ever since I was young, I have been kicking a ball around and I just love running around, being outside and playing the beautiful game. I also enjoy watching football, but that enjoyment has slowly been waning with the poor performances of my favourite team lately. Other than football, I like to read, spend time with friends and explore new places.   Any recommendations on places to eat in Toronto? Coming from Singapore I have relatively high expectations for Chinese food. However, King’s Noodle on Spadina has some of the best Wonton Mee (noodles) around. The other dishes are good too, but their Wonton Mee is comparable if not better than a lot of the one’s I have tried back in Singapore.

It's been hard to miss - the ongoing discourse and buzz about Artificial Intelligence: What can it do? What will it do? How will it impact our daily lives and work? With the introduction of online platforms such as ChatGPT revolutionizing how we work, there is understandably a mixture of both fear and excitement of how things will change in the coming future. In this blog, we will discuss the capabilities of 3 AI platforms (ChatGPT, Mural, and Microsoft Copilot), their limitations, suggested guidelines for usage, and how these platforms can automate processes when implementing change. What are some well-known AI platforms (to date)? What can and can’t they do? 1. ChatGPT Let’s start off with one of the most popular platforms – ChatGPT. ChatGPT is akin to a chatbot with Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities, allowing it to generate human-like responses by analyzing prompts that a user feeds it. It also has Google-like abilities to provide answers to questions based on the amount of detail that it’s provided. ChatGPT could be great for saving time on creating first drafts for written communication and emails. It takes information and organizes it based on the way that you’d like it to. Which sounds simple, right? Not exactly. Because ChatGPT is so reliant on the information that you provide it, it can only be as effective as the prompts you use. For example, asking ChatGPT to draft an email without specifying word count or tonality generates a long-winded, formal-sounding response. The platform takes what you give it and generates a response based on those specific parameters. It takes skill and nuance to get it to do what you want! Another concept used in effective communications is how to best utilize one’s ‘voice’ in written communications. When the communication objective is to lead and guide individuals or stakeholder groups through change, the messaging is most effective and compelling when it resonates with the audience. Doing that requires understanding of complex details including the audience’s individual communication needs, their relationship to the sender, and the sender’s own unique style of phrasing. This is something that ChatGPT cannot do without a lot of parameters in place, nor can it do it perfectly. What does this mean for Change Management? ChatGPT can be leveraged to save time in creating first drafts of communications and emails. It can save time by providing ideas on how to phrase statements and structure communications. Where it comes short, is integrating emotional intelligence and contextual nuance into the messaging. 2. Mural Mural is another AI-augmented platform we have used to facilitate the process of our creative thinking. The platform is a visual collaboration tool that can be used to brainstorm ideas by creating mind maps, charts, and canvases. Using AI-enhancements, the platform can organize and synthesize ideas based on patterns and ‘cluster’ similar ideas into groups and themes. Where this feature can be used for change management purposes is streamlining our creative thinking process by categorizing different inputs from a change impact workshop into different groupings. The mental resources saved in automating this process can then be spent identifying common themes in perceived change impacts, which requires more critical thinking. What does this mean for change management? Like ChatGPT, we found that the AI functionality of Mural helps automate a manual aspect of change management, freeing up mental resources for more creative tasks. In this case, automating the grouping of data into a more organized form allows mental resources to be spent on more complex creative work. 3. Microsoft Copilot This add-on to the Microsoft Office suite aims to add AI-functionality to its wide range of tools including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. While Microsoft Copilot is still in development and is targeted for launch later in 2023, we are excited to see the promised features of the platform and what processes they will automate. By augmenting Office programs, Copilot expands what the software currently does. For example, Copilot enables Word to draft and refine communications with user inputs and prompts, much like ChatGPT. Excel’s Copilot allows insights from a spreadsheet to be quickly summarized. PowerPoint can create decks quickly by using existing documents. Copilot allows Outlook to quickly organize and summarize email threads with multiple responders. Teams grants the user the ability get up to speed on conversations, organize key discussion points and summarize action items. What does this mean for change management? Like ChatGPT and Mural, the productivity benefits promised by Microsoft Copilot provide increased mental resources to focus on the more creative aspects of change management. This can enable change managers to focus on stakeholder and client relationship management, collect information and insights from meetings and files more effectively, and become more efficient in building presentations and drafting communications. What can Harbinger do to help you navigate change with AI? Artificial intelligence can be a game-changer when it comes to automating manual processes and functions in change management. At Harbinger, we are continuing to grow alongside these new AI-augmented platforms, to better enable change for our clients. Please reach out to us for any tips for leveraging AI platforms to effectively manage your change. As one of our managing partners, Greg Roth likes to say, ‘Don't get left behind while everyone else changes!’ Other AI-driven Platforms that can support Change Management: Along with the 3 platforms listed above, here are 5 other AI-driven platforms we’ve found that can support Change Management activities and functions: Grammarly: Generate, contextualize, and polish written communications. Vyond / Pictory: Create video announcements and content for engaging and training end users. Fireflies: Record and transcribe notes from virtual meetings. Survey Monkey: Build professional-grade surveys to collect stakeholder feedback. Edugo: Create courses, and optimize employees’ learning based on individual training needs. Author Kevin Loi Senior People Engagement Specialist Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Competition is fierce; today, organizations are in a constant state of change in a race to survive. Drivers like globalization, industry disruption, supply pressures, and regulations are keeping executives on their toes to determine how to be sustainable. To remain competitive, one of the strategies includes organizational design – the creation of a system where people work together to reach common goals. This often results in an organizational restructure that reflects and supports the change in direction and future growth targets. Organizational Design (OD) initiatives are often initiated and owned by the Chief Human Resources Officer, or Human Resources department. However, we have also supported OD initiatives led by Chief Executive Officers, Chief of Operations or operations department. The ownership varies depending on the reason for the change, or the structure of the organization. Today, organizational design happens more frequently than in previous years, with a survey from McKinsey stating that 60 percent of the respondents experienced an organizational redesign within the past two years, and an additional 25 percent said they experienced a redesign three or more years ago. In addition to the statistics mentioned above, when done well, companies that are successful in implementing organizational design are: - 30x more likely to adapt well to change - 5.3x more likely to be a great place to work - 2.3x more likely to exceed financial targets Achieving these numbers and successfully managing this type of change requires a five-step change management strategy that includes an assessment, alignment with the business strategy, the creation of a change coalition, intentional employee engagement, and transparent and honest communications. Read below to learn more about each step: Step 1: Organizational Change Management (OCM) Maturity Assessments Completing change maturity assessments is required for a successful organizational design. This is a step that cannot be skipped, regardless of the size and scope of the change. We recommend collecting insights via stakeholder interviews, change readiness surveys and change impact assessments. Together, these assessments will provide the information you need to determine a path forward. For instance, the interviews may reveal a gap in communications, or minimal change experience from leaders. The change readiness survey will identify if there are too many large projects on the go and will help determine what projects need to be taken off the table before continuing with an organizational design initiative. Step 2: Alignment with business strategy and vision One of the questions employees always ask is, ‘why are we doing this?’. To make it meaningful, it’s important to not only connect the dots to the business strategy and vision, but also to articulate what it means to them at an individual level. How will this change impact them? Why should they care? How will this change help them to support the business in reaching its long-term goals? There are instances where no clear business strategy or vision is connected to the OD project. Harbinger recommends completing workshops with key stakeholders to define these if this is encountered. Once these have been developed, an employee engagement and communications plan is needed to increase awareness and gain buy-in. Step 3: Building a Change Coalition (also known as a Change Champion Community) Change must be activated from all levels, not just the top. Building a change coalition or change champion community that consists of leaders with or without title provides you with another channel to cascade important messages. It also empowers employees to be a part of the change – those appointed as change champions are responsible for supporting executives by sharing feedback, completing, and executing action plans to address resistance, and championing the change by demonstrating their alignment and support. Step 4: Employee Engagement and Enablement Employees spend a significant amount of time at work, and changes like organizational design can create feelings of uncertainty and mistrust. Much of this comes from being unsure of what the final structure will be and how it will impact them day to day. While you won’t be able to prevent uncertainty completely, there are various ways you can maintain employee engagement throughout the transformation. To start, it’s crucial to create channels for continuous feedback. Beyond surveys, collecting feedback from your change champions provides opportunities to complete pulse checks and acquire insights throughout the change. If you want lasting results, it’s important also to address and respond to the feedback. Keep in mind that responding does not always mean coming up with a solution or changing the direction of the project based on employee feedback. It can, however, look to confirm decisions or let your people know that more work is needed before you give them an update. Enable your people by involving them through the process – can they assist with crafting communications? Are there upcoming events or activities they could help to plan and execute? By empowering your employees, you are igniting a sense of ownership and allowing your people to figure out how they can manage change. Step 4: Celebrate Milestones Celebrating successes (big and small) is a critical component in change management. Not only does it show appreciation for their efforts, but it also helps to boost confidence and increases motivation. There are several ways to celebrate milestones including: 1. Leadership recognition – this can include an email or verbal acknowledgement. These should be completed regularly and tells your people that you are paying attention and appreciate their contributions. 2. Award programs – these work well for large-scale changes. If employees are supporting the change by exhibiting one of your organizational values, nominate them. 3. Events – celebratory events require coordination but can have lasting results. These are great opportunities to connect as a team and reflect on all the work that has gone into driving the change. For significant business transformations, like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementations, some of your employees could be making sacrifices like spending time away from their families. Holding a family event to thank not only your people, but also their families for their support, could be one of the ways to show your appreciation. Step 5: Transparency and honest communications Organizational design projects often bring feelings of anxiety. One of the first reactions from employees is “Am I losing my job?”. To support them with these feelings, it is recommended to be transparent and honest with your communications. For the most part, most of your individuals will not and do not need to understand the rigorous process that goes into organizational design. As you work through what this looks like, it’s important to inform and stick to the facts. For example, are you working with an external consulting firm to determine what your future structure looks like? Before your employees see them wandering the halls or hear about them from the grapevine, take the initiative to let them know whom you are working with and how they are supporting you with this project. Another example is to address whether people will lose their jobs. If you don’t know what the answer is, be open while also showing empathy. Let them know their feelings of uncertainty are valid and that once decisions are made, anyone impacted will be treated with respect and supported as they move through this difficult transition. Beyond being transparent and honest with your communications, no information should be shared without a comprehensive communications plan. Important updates should be coordinated with key stakeholders like the legal department or executives, and when decisions have not been made, no information should be shared. Leaders must also be prepared and equipped to have difficult conversations. This can be challenging when they are also experiencing the same changes as their teams. To support them through this change, we recommend providing tailored leadership training. An organizational design project is a regular requirement for many of today’s organizations; remaining competitive, meeting financial targets, and maintaining employee engagement are more challenging than ever. The five steps explained above are a great foundation for your organization, no matter what size, to execute impactful, supportive, and successful organizational design. Author Siri Maldonado Director People Engagement Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Hello! My name is Kevin and I joined Harbinger in April 2023 as a Sr. People Engagement Specialist. In true Harbinger fashion, I’d like to think that my introduction into a new setting is an impetus for growth, positive action, and meaningful change. Thanks for the introduction Kevin. Can you tell us more about your role here at Harbinger? My role as a Sr. People Engagement Specialist involves a few exciting aspects! On a regular basis, I enable, support, and guide our clients to progress towards their change management and enablement goals – both at the organizational level and the individual level. This involves working with our clients on their communications, engagement, and change management project activities at both a strategic and tactical level. I also play a similar role on our internal Harbinger projects including marketing, training, and administrative initiatives. I see that you have experience across different roles such as Talent Development, Coach, and Consultant. How does this help you as a Change Practitioner in your current role? ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, and a community to lead and sustain change in an organization. As a Change Practitioner, I would add that it takes a variety of experiences and a complimentary skillset to effectively support clients managing change. Working in Talent Development gave me the tools to help track the progress of individuals, especially as they adopt and commit to change. Being a consultant honed my analytical and critical thinking skills to provide clients the best recommendations and solutions to help them reach their goals. And finally, coaching clients through projects has taught me how to meet them where they are, and to be of value and service based on their change goals. What excites you the most about working in the field of Change Management? The fact that Change Management is both a professional field and a skillset is what excites me most! The current and future landscape of work is marked with constant change and transformation. As a professional field, Change Management is applicable to every industry and sector that goes through technological, process, and people-oriented change (which is all of them). In the next decade, one change that every working individual will need to adopt is how to use and work with automation and artificial intelligence. Being at the forefront of adopting new changes and helping others adapt is one of the most exciting things of working in this field. What is a professional success you’re proud of? One of my first Change Management projects that I worked on from beginning to end was the implementation of SAP ERP at Weston Foods at its 50 bakeries across North America. To manage and enable the change of a system in a large company - from the very first bakeries to the very last corporate teams - taught me about how different stakeholder groups can all go through their own individual change journeys so uniquely yet so similarly at the same time. The experiences I had in this project mirrored changes happening in my own personal life. Being able to experience the journey both professionally and personally, and to successfully come out the other end solidified that as something I’m proud to have gone through. Do you have a motto you live by? Why? "Trust the process". Change is a process; life itself is a process. This motto has allowed me to contextualize the events of my life as steps towards greater outcomes. It’s enabled me to also help others and enable them to take charge of their own change journeys. What do you hope to accomplish or contribute to in your time here at Harbinger? I’d like to help our clients navigate transformational change, whether the changes are resulting from new technologies, new cultures, new processes, or other factors. I’d also like to lend my own ideas and experiences to build on our own internal processes and value offerings through the Change Enablement Academy and thought leadership in the industry. What do you like to do in your free time? In my free time, I’m an avid Latin dancer (Bachata), gym-goer, and meditation / breathwork practitioner. Author Teresa Cimino Change Enablement & Learning Specialist Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Change Resistance is not a new concept. In preparing for this blog, I looked into when the term first came into existence. There’s an HBR article from 1969 that references a study from 1948 about Change Resistance. I found the study and article fascinating, knowing that we’re just building on something that’s been around since the 1940’s, and that not much has changed. Today, a staple of Change Management programs are specific plans or activities to capture and manage “Change Resistance”. While knowing what change resistance is and how to manage it is important, is there more we could be doing for our organizations when it appears? In this article, we’ll discuss: What Change Resistance is, and when and how it shows up Typical Change Resistance Management approaches And finally, why and how we can do better than just “managing” resistance What is Change Resistance? First of all, what is “Change Resistance”? Unfortunately, when organizations go through change and see behaviour that is not “positive” or “helpful”, it is often labelled as “resistance”. This is why there seems to be an “epidemic” of change resistance out there. And unfortunately, the word resistance implies a host of negative things. Let’s take a step back and talk about how a change initiative usually plays out when formal Change Management is in place. Typically, a Change Impact Assessment is done to understand the potential effects of a planned change to all stakeholders. This should lead to a change plan of some kind, including adjusting roles/responsibilities/jobs, planning for training, communications, or even adjusting the design of the change. However, you’ll never capture everything, especially down to the individual level (this is why we like to say “Change happens at the individual level”). For example, how is it possible to determine from an assessment that a particular employee is worried that a potential role change will affect their chances of a promotion? That being said, Change Resistance can happen at any point in time. No sooner than the words “We’re implementing a new system...” are uttered, people may react positively or negatively. But let’s assume people are reacting to real information and details on how a change might affect them. At this point, you may start to see what we call “Change Resistance”. PROSCI’s descriptions of what change resistance looks like in an organization is a good place to start understanding how to recognize it: Emotion – Fear, loss, sadness, anger, anxiety, frustration, depression, focus on self Disengagement – Silence, ignoring communications, indifference, apathy, low morale Work impact – Reduced productivity/efficiency, non-compliance, absenteeism, mistakes Acting out – Conflict, arguments, sabotage; overbearing, aggressive or passive-aggressive behavior Negativity – Rumors/gossip, miscommunication, complaining, focus on problems, celebrating failure Avoidance – Ignoring the change, reverting to old behaviors, workarounds, abdicating responsibilities Building barriers – Excuses, counterapproaches, recruiting dissenters, secrecy, breakdown in trust Controlling – Asking lots of questions, influencing outcomes, defending current state, using status While we see that these are all fairly negative (and in some cases toxic) behaviours, the natural next question is: Why? The other natural question that occurs to us is: Are these reactions representative of an individual’s or group’s behaviours in other circumstances as well? We get at this a little later. Managing Change Resistance Once we’ve identified specific instances of resistance, we seek to “manage” them in order to ensure adoption of the planned change. Here’s a simplistic take on typically what happens next: deeper interviews or discussions with stakeholders are held to understand the root cause of the various instances of resistance. And here are some typical examples of what might be learned, and how we might respond: Missed impacts that will affect users: Change plan, rollout plan, or design is modified Lack of understanding of the change: More communication to educate stakeholders, training to support ongoing learning Negative impacts to stakeholders or no benefits to them: Leaders and managers are engaged to discuss how to support/counsel those who have “nothing in it for them”* *This point is worth a little sidebar. Its easy to say that you will share the “What’s In it For Me” (WIFM) in order to obtain buy-in, but the reality is, often in changes that drive real value for organizations, there are people who will only “lose” as a result of the change. Leadership needs to tackle this head on because this “loss” is often the factor that is enabling the benefits of the change. To be blunt, just search LinkedIn for change resistance and you’ll find a raft of approaches or tactics to manage different forms of resistance and get buy-in. Of course, an engaged Change Professional will have a toolbelt of approaches and tactics to manage the resistance. At this point, I’m often asking myself what could we have done better? How could we have helped more? How the resistance manifests, in our experience, often points to some other institutional or cultural weaknesses. Here’s some examples: We might be able to guess the answers to these questions, but it’s important to realize that these are much larger challenges that will take organizations time to sort out. Sometimes how a project addresses the issues are just band-aid solutions so we can keep the project moving along, as opposed to trying to solve the root cause. From a Change Management standpoint, we’re frankly hoping for compliance at best, in order to get to the end of the initiative. (Ignoring for now the need to ensure change sticks, but that’s a whole other topic to explore.) What Can we do Better? Use Change Resistance as a Mirror The leaders who’ve made the most of the change they’ve put their organization through are those who’ve used the exercise to take a good hard look at themselves and their culture. Here’s a quick self-diagnostic: What is it about my _____ that fosters the Change Resistance behaviours we’re seeing? Culture Hiring Practices Performance Management Leadership Communication Feedback Mechanisms Employee Empowerment / Agency Why is this important? If this exercise points you clearly to areas to be improved, then we think its incumbent on you to start now. As Harbingers, we know that the expression “change is constant” is proving itself outdated. Change is actually accelerating. Never mind the changes you’ve decided are important for your organization, what about external change? Covid? ChatGPT? Recession? The most fit organizations will be the most nimble. That means your people need to be set up successfully to adapt to change quickly. Being nimble means being resilient. As the old adage says, it’s the journey not the destination. Going through the change is, in of itself, an opportunity for your organization to evolve. Paul Lawrence, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School puts it best, he says “When resistance does appear, it should not be thought of as something to be overcome. Instead, it can best be thought of as a useful red flag—a signal that something is going wrong.”. For my fellow Change Management Professionals out there, I hope you are, if you’re not already doing so, encouraging or challenging your clients to take look at the bigger opportunity when they see Change Resistance. It’s not always an easy conversation, but one I think those who are fortunate enough to make a living doing what we’re doing, should be committed to having. Authors Barnaby Chan Co-Founder and Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

UX is all about change, and it’s quickly changing the world as we know it Over the past 30 years, the term ‘User Experience’ (UX) has risen from obscurity and established itself as a driving force behind virtually all our modern products and services. UX design concepts have reached beyond digital interfaces and permeated the meeting rooms of diverse industries. It’s not a small thing; it’s a reflection of a greater trend in our economy and the population as a whole: people are more interested than ever in spending money on experiences over material possessions. This is reflected in the data too; since 1987, the share of consumer spending on live experiences and events relative to total U.S. consumer spending increased by 70%. There is no doubt that the Era of Experience is on our horizon. Making an active effort to embrace UX can be the factor that elevates your product or service to the next level, and this is especially applicable in the field of Change Management. In this emerging era, it is fundamental that change managers embrace user experience concepts. What is UX? Like most trends that experience rapid growth, User Experience can sometimes be difficult to define. It’s not a coincidence that the term has grown in conjunction with the Digital Revolution that started in the 1980's. The concept of UX gained traction to address the accessibility gap that began forming during the development of early digital technology. Back then, engineers and developers had one primary goal: how can we make this new technology work? It was an important goal, one that brought forth many incredible digital innovations – and a myriad of painful experiences. Unclear interfaces, primitive graphics, and poor instructions are just a few factors that made using these technologies particularly difficult and inaccessible to most people. It’s only in the last three decades that we’ve seen a real and powerful push among designers towards refining these existing technologies by tailoring them to the user, starting with the establishment of a new goal: how can we make this technology work for humans? "The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” -Steve Jobs Steve Jobs was arguably the most influential driver of User Experience as a concept in business. His unshakeable fixation with understanding the needs of his users took the market by storm, generating products that fulfilled our consumer wants before we even realized we wanted them. And perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of Apple’s user experience was its focus on creating products with simplicity. The company strove to create intuitively obvious interfaces and a painless shopping experience, empowering their users to pick up their products and play with them effortlessly. For Apple, this was their key to success, and the company went on to change our relationship with technology forever. How does UX impact Change Management? (And why should you care?) Change is at the core of User Experience. While UX designers craft experiences, they also collaborate with their users to reinforce long-lasting behaviours. Change managers play a similar role in the organizations we work for. The rise of User Experience isn’t just changing the way we build and develop our technologies, it’s also changing what we expect from our own life experiences. As our experiences become more efficient – easier – our frame of reference for what a good experience should feel like transforms as well, to the point where encountering a difficult user experience can cause someone to disengage from listening to a message completely. This is why embracing User Experience is vital for those working in Change Management, where generating engagement and empowerment is critical for change adoption success. Long story short: having bad user experience when it comes to planning and executing your Change Management activities can mean the difference between the success and struggle of your organization’s transformation. How to incorporate UX into your CM workflow After reviewing the inception of UX, its emergence into our products and services, and its impact on people’s perception of their experiences, we are left with three compelling insights that can motivate us to keep user experience in mind when implementing change: People search for meaningful experiences. People often don’t know what they want until you show it to them. People expect seamless experiences. Incorporating these UX insights into your workflow doesn’t have to be a big transformation at the start. Success is the result of applying a few simple daily disciplines that, over time, add up to big accomplishments. Here are three UX strategies that you can start integrating into your change management processes: Strategy #1: User Research Leading user research is a sure-fire strategy for predicting what people want and need so you can be better equipped to create a user experience that is meaningful to them. It doesn’t mean that you need to create tedious surveys or analyze data, it can be as simple as going out and talking to people, or more importantly, listening to them. Ask questions about their work, what they wish to see improved, and what they think about your organization’s change. Your user research efforts will not only give you excellent knowledge about your audience and the business, but it will also help you build trust and empathy with the individuals impacted by the change. People need to feel like they are genuinely being heard and supported throughout the change process, and leading user research is a perfect way to show your willingness to support them. Strategy #2: Task Analysis For UX designers, a good experience is the result of solving many little challenges. It’s essential to identify the small barriers that are making the experience feel difficult, and focus on improving each one. This process, known as task analysis, involves identifying all the tasks that users complete to achieve the desired outcome. By implementing task analysis to your Change Management approach, you can begin addressing areas of common frustration and maximizing your audience’s willingness to engage with your message and change activities. Strategy #3: Iteration We say all the time that change is inevitable, and the same applies to our Change Management process. It’s important to actively review our past change activities and strategies to see what we can improve for next time. UX designers work with the same iterative approach; they forge a change, test it, discover useful insights, and then make new changes. By adapting and enhancing your Change Management process, you can be certain that your work is undergoing consistent improvement and your message is maximizing its reach. If you’re curious about the benefits of adaptability, take a look at this article to gain some insight into how adaptability is your secret to success. Peer through the looking glass of User Experience In the last three decades, the concept of User Experience has transcended technological interfaces and become a lens for observing the world and how we interact with it. The philosophy behind UX reflects the ongoing change in how humans perceive and prioritize their individual experiences. The reason behind this paradigm shift isn’t certain, but its impact on the market make UX a force to be reckoned with – and the market is just one representation of people’s growing expectations for seamless and efficient experiences in all facets of their lives. In a field where audience engagement and communication are essential, change managers and leaders would benefit greatly from being aware of UX concepts and even integrating certain UX practices into their workflows. Author Carmen Skoretz UX Design and Learning Specialist Toronto Email l LinkedIn

If you’re thinking about all the changes happening in your organization, you may be wondering when it’s the right time to start managing change. What we’re essentially here to say is: don’t wait until it’s too late—start early. Don’t wait until the start of a project to begin introducing people to the change. Chances are, they’ve already caught wind of it, and have plenty of questions and worries about what’s to come. To prevent confusion and to get a head start, you want to be the one who sets the tone for a positive change narrative by beginning your change initiative well before the official project start date. As pointed out in this Prosci article, Change Management is not Project Management. Change Management is not a set event in the project plan; it is an ongoing process meant to support change throughout an organization. While the right moment to start Change Management will always depend on the project’s situation, the fact is that projects always benefit from starting Change Management earlier as opposed to later. Be Proactive, Not Reactive Be the one who sets the tone and starts the Change Management initiative in your organization. Don’t let the need for change catch up to you, and don’t let the change narrative spiral outside of your control. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure after all, so even if you don’t see the need for Change Management right away, it’s best to get started before the need does arise. Just like any good project, plan for risks, rather than having to come up with a plan on how to deal with them on the spot. According to this IndustryWeek article, starting Change Management late can produce negative consequences such as: employees being less likely to get on board with the change, extra expenses if your project starts to lag as a result of poor adaptation, and struggling to catch up to meet deadlines. If Starting Early is the Answer, Why Doesn’t Everyone Do It? When should Change Management start on a project? Preferably earlier than the project’s start date. If it’s as simple as that, why doesn’t everyone implement this strategy? Some people may feel they don’t have the necessary information about the change to inform their team with accurate information. It often happens that people get so caught up in all the changes and planning in a project that they forget one of the most important parts: communicating the change. While there is validity to wanting to give as detailed information as possible, as soon as a change initiative has been concretely decided on, it’s best to start communicating with your team about the project to come, even if the information is scarce. This practice creates transparency, trust, and improved communication so that your team is not feeling kept in the dark. If you are the one communicating about the change, you are better able to control the way it’s received by your team. Even if you don’t have all the details of the project, communication should remain a priority. Why is Starting Early Worth It? So far, we’ve talked about why you shouldn’t start your Change Management initiative too late, so what are the benefits of starting early? As previously stated, by starting early, you have better control of the change narrative. The biggest bump in the road of change initiatives tends to be people’s capacities to adapt. By having extra padding time before the project starts, your team will be given more time to adapt to the idea, and possibly bring up any qualms they have with the project. Communication is always a key point to remember, and the effort you put in will bear fruit in the end. Team members may speak up about potential risks they see or offer solutions on how to better implement the change. Are your People Change Ready? If you’re wondering whether your early start paid off on your team, and on yourself, you may want to ask yourself whether you and your team are change ready. Take a look at our change readiness survey in our free resources page to get a better idea. Looking at the survey in advance can also give you a good idea of where you should be before a project’s start date. When Does Change Management End? Since we’ve talked about when Change Management should start, the next logical question is to ask when change should end. Is there truly an end? From a Project Management perspective, the end is when the change management team pulls away, leaving the organization steady and capable of sustaining the change they just experienced. From a purely Change Management perspective, there will always be the constant need for change as people and the world around continue to evolve. Maintaining changes is all about adapting to your surroundings. You should aim to create a culture of change resiliency within your organization. Change resiliency can be defined as a constant state of adaptability, where your organization is always prepared for the next hurdle to come. If the Change Management was handled correctly from the start, people in your organizations (both leaders and their teams) will have become more change resilient for the future. To learn more about when Change Management ends, take a look at one our vlogs where Greg Roth, Managing Partner, talks about what the average length of a change initiative is. Keep in mind, culture change doesn’t happen overnight, so be generous with the time you need to properly adapt and sustain the changes you’ve worked so hard on. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email l LinkedIn