There are any number of barriers that hinder the ability of an individual to implement a required change in the workplace. By understanding what those barriers are, leaders can get employees engaged in change and enable them to more effectively implement a change that they must work with.
Barriers that hinder an individual’s ability to implement change include:
- Lack of skills or knowledge to work with the change. This may be due to insufficient or limited training.
- Lack of time available to implement and work with the change. This may be due to asking employees to implement a change when there is significant other activities taking place in the organization.
- Lack of resources to support employees as they implement the change.
Ideally, the leader will prepare ahead of time to remove barriers that will hinder implementing change in the workplace. This requires engaging employees early on in the change initiative and understanding their perceptions around the change, as well as preparing them for the change. Developing training plans as well as support plans early on in the initiative increases the comfort of those who will have to implement the change.
