Making Change Work in the Public Sector by Using Science?

Jan Hills is a Partner at Orion Partners: strategic HR consultants that specialise in supporting HR transformation. http://www.orionpartners.co.uk/

The degree of change expected in the Public Sector today is unprecedented. How can HR achieve that change both in the business and in the function and yet reduce the degree of pain and resistance?

The challenge now for HR leaders is to improve performance and the motivation of HR staff as the function continues to undergo significant change and to lead change in the business. Key to achieving this is the buy-in of the HR staff themselves, especially those people in business facing roles such as shared services and business partners.

We all know that people resist change; but does this have to be the case? The latest research from neuroscience (the understanding of how the brain works) is beginning to show us why change is painful, why it is resisted and what HR leaders can do to make change easier and to quickly institute new ways of working.

What we often hear from HR leaders who are trying to change the way their team works within the business is that the issue is not direct resistance.  At an intellectual level people agree with the proposition that HR is there to work strategically to achieve the people aspects of the strategic plan. However, what we hear time and time again is that in spite of this, people revert back to their old ways of working or even fail from the outset to make the shift to the new job description and competency model. Coaching from HR leaders has little impact.  HR business partners in particular often complain that their line clients actually support their continued role in transactional tasks and that this is frustrating as these tasks take up time and keep them away from the more strategic role. Many HR leaders have provided incentives to adopt the new behaviours including coaching, mentoring and financial rewards to no avail. In addition, business partners often tell us that they can see that the new ways of working should be intrinsically satisfying and good for their career.

In other words there is no logical reason for them to continue working in the old way. But before we make judgements, reflect on when you personally may have resisted change. We have all done this at some time, even when logically we know it makes no sense. However, this makes sense when we look at the results of neuroscientific research into how the brain works. Developments in technology have allowed scientists to literally see how the brain deals with change.

This research is beginning to show from a scientific point of view why change is so painful and, more interestingly, how HR leaders can make it less so. The research shows that people’s response to change is pretty common, dispelling the myth that some people are able to cope with change and others are not. We all react to change at a biological level in the same way. Change is painful at a physical level. Change activates the prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain is often called the executive area and is responsible for goal setting, decision making and planning, but also for error detection.

Change is a form of error detection. Our brain responds to and encourages us to create patterns, regular ways of doing things. This is very useful because these patterns act as a short cut; you don’t have to work out how to do something like open a door afresh every time.  In addition, these types of routine or regular activities are run by the basal ganglia which is much more efficient in terms of energy usage. After a period of time, our job becomes one of these regular actions. We get comfortable doing the transactional tasks, the role is predictable. Doing something different to the norm is the equivalent of telling the brain something is wrong. This activates the emotional centre, the amygdale which controls our flight or fight response. The new behaviour is registered as an error and hence a potential threat to the brain. Whilst the prefrontal cortex can override the more primitive emotional centre this takes a lot of energy and it soon becomes fatigued.

Unfortunately, traditional change management approaches are not compatible with this new understanding of the brain’s functioning. Bonuses and incentives or threats of job loss or sidelining to less strategic roles will not overcome the biological reaction to change.

The approach to change also often relies on simply telling people to adopt the new behaviour or assuming they will just adapt once they seen the logical sense of the new approach. But this approach creates warning messages in the prefrontal cortex. The way to get past the prefrontal cortex threat response is to help people to decide for themselves that the new approach is what they want.

At Orion Partners we have been working with organisations to adopt a brain friendly approach to change. We call this the HR Leaders Change Charter and it uses the finding of neuroscience and our HR leaders research and applies them to change at three levels.

Firstly, how the HR leader responds to the change. It is impossible to effectively lead change if you have not understood your own reactions and emotions.

Secondly, leading change in the HR function. How does your leadership style help or hinder others to accept the change and what practically can you do about it. We help HR leaders activate more reward responses in the brain and less threat responses. This ensures their people accept and work in the change environment.

Thirdly, leading change in the business which is probably the greatest opportunity for HR to show its worth and model leadership.  Again, science can help alongside the results of the ‘difference that makes a difference’ in great HR leaders which we discovered in our HR leaders research.

This type of approach can seem complex but the results are much more likely to deliver. People will accept the change and make the new ways of working their own. Just the revolution the Public Sector needs. The bonus is also less personal pain and organisational resistance.

The degree of change expected in the Public Sector today is unprecedented. How can HR achieve that change both in the business and in the function and yet reduce the degree of pain and resistance?

The challenge now for HR leaders is to improve performance and the motivation of HR staff as the function continues to undergo significant change and to lead change in the business. Key to achieving this is the buy-in of the HR staff themselves, especially those people in business facing roles such as shared services and business partners.

We all know that people resist change; but does this have to be the case? The latest research from neuroscience (the understanding of how the brain works) is beginning to show us why change is painful, why it is resisted and what HR leaders can do to make change easier and to quickly institute new ways of working.

What we often hear from HR leaders who are trying to change the way their team works within the business is that the issue is not direct resistance.  At an intellectual level people agree with the proposition that HR is there to work strategically to achieve the people aspects of the strategic plan. However, what we hear time and time again is that in spite of this, people revert back to their old ways of working or even fail from the outset to make the shift to the new job description and competency model. Coaching from HR leaders has little impact.  HR business partners in particular often complain that their line clients actually support their continued role in transactional tasks and that this is frustrating as these tasks take up time and keep them away from the more strategic role. Many HR leaders have provided incentives to adopt the new behaviours including coaching, mentoring and financial rewards to no avail. In addition, business partners often tell us that they can see that the new ways of working should be intrinsically satisfying and good for their career.

In other words there is no logical reason for them to continue working in the old way. But before we make judgements, reflect on when you personally may have resisted change. We have all done this at some time, even when logically we know it makes no sense. However, this makes sense when we look at the results of neuroscientific research into how the brain works. Developments in technology have allowed scientists to literally see how the brain deals with change.

This research is beginning to show from a scientific point of view why change is so painful and, more interestingly, how HR leaders can make it less so. The research shows that people’s response to change is pretty common, dispelling the myth that some people are able to cope with change and others are not. We all react to change at a biological level in the same way. Change is painful at a physical level. Change activates the prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain is often called the executive area and is responsible for goal setting, decision making and planning, but also for error detection.

Change is a form of error detection. Our brain responds to and encourages us to create patterns, regular ways of doing things. This is very useful because these patterns act as a short cut; you don’t have to work out how to do something like open a door afresh every time.  In addition, these types of routine or regular activities are run by the basal ganglia which is much more efficient in terms of energy usage. After a period of time, our job becomes one of these regular actions. We get comfortable doing the transactional tasks, the role is predictable. Doing something different to the norm is the equivalent of telling the brain something is wrong. This activates the emotional centre, the amygdale which controls our flight or fight response. The new behaviour is registered as an error and hence a potential threat to the brain. Whilst the prefrontal cortex can override the more primitive emotional centre this takes a lot of energy and it soon becomes fatigued.

Unfortunately, traditional change management approaches are not compatible with this new understanding of the brain’s functioning. Bonuses and incentives or threats of job loss or sidelining to less strategic roles will not overcome the biological reaction to change.

The approach to change also often relies on simply telling people to adopt the new behaviour or assuming they will just adapt once they seen the logical sense of the new approach. But this approach creates warning messages in the prefrontal cortex. The way to get past the prefrontal cortex threat response is to help people to decide for themselves that the new approach is what they want.

At Orion Partners we have been working with organisations to adopt a brain friendly approach to change. We call this the HR Leaders Change Charter and it uses the finding of neuroscience and our HR leaders research and applies them to change at three levels.

Firstly, how the HR leader responds to the change. It is impossible to effectively lead change if you have not understood your own reactions and emotions.

Secondly, leading change in the HR function. How does your leadership style help or hinder others to accept the change and what practically can you do about it. We help HR leaders activate more reward responses in the brain and less threat responses. This ensures their people accept and work in the change environment.

Thirdly, leading change in the business which is probably the greatest opportunity for HR to show its worth and model leadership.  Again, science can help alongside the results of the ‘difference that makes a difference’ in great HR leaders which we discovered in our HR leaders research.

This type of approach can seem complex but the results are much more likely to deliver. People will accept the change and make the new ways of working their own. Just the revolution the Public Sector needs. The bonus is also less personal pain and organisational resistance.