Effective Change Management Practices in Call Centers

What is Change Fatigue? Change Fatigue is a general sense of apathy or weariness about organizational changes within a business or department. Change fatigue can manifest at all levels of the organization in many ways. It may present as feelings of resignation or indifference. Resistance and burnout may also occur. When these symptoms continue, stress levels rise and negativity spreads. As a result, Change Fatigue can become a roadblock to improvement while contributing to lower productivity and retention. Change Fatigue Mimics Grief Understanding the normal reactions, you will encounter as a manager during the implementation timeline can make adopting changes easier because you will anticipate them and deal with them appropriately. The reactions people experience in the face of workplace change mirror the reactions people experience when confronted with death. A grieving process ensues. This process plays out in stages over a timeline that varies from person to person.

Kübler-Ross Change Model Curve Emotional Response to Change

Shock Surprise or Shock at the event

Denial Disbelief: Looking for evidence that it isn’t true

Frustration Recognition that things are different: something anger

Depression Low mood: lacking in energy

Experiment Initial engagement with new situation

Decision Learning how to work in the new situation: feeling more positive

Integration Changes

integrated: a renewed individual

Time

In 1969, the Kübler Ross Change Curve Model, was created by the Swiss American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross to show the 5 stages a person goes through when grieving a death. Change managers noticed very similar patterns among employees because a new way of doing something meant the death of the old way. So, the model was expanded and modified for business use. Each stage is an opportunity for managers to act. Acknowledging these stages and taking appropriate actions to help your team overcome them will greatly reduce Change Fatigue.

Kübler-Ross Change Curve® . EKR Foundation. (2021, September 25). Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.ekrfoundation.org/5-stages-of-grief/change-curve/