Change is uncomfortable. But employees don't actually fear change, rather, they fear the unknown. They fear being changed, they fear being out of control. You can reduce employee resistance to change by taking these recommended actions –

Own the Changes

No matter where the change originated, you must own the change yourself. It is your responsibility to implement the change. You can only do that effectively if you plan how you will implement the change with the people you influence or oversee in your organization.

Get Over It

Once the decision to change is made, your agitating time is over. Whether you agree fully to the plan or not, you need to do everything in your power to make the selected direction succeed. Anything else is sabotage, and it will make your life miserable.

No Biased and Fractional Support Allowed

Even if you don't support the direction, once it is decided, you owe it 100% of your leadership and support. Partial support is undermining the effort – and it won't earn you any points from senior leaders or cause your coworkers and staff to respect you.

Help the Employees Identify What's in it For Them to Make the Change

A good portion of resistance disappears when employees are clear about the benefits the change brings to them. Benefits to the department and the organization should be stressed, too, but, nothing is more important to an individual employee than to know the positive impact on their own career or job.

Listen Empathetically to the Employees

You can expect that employees will experience the same range of emotions you experienced when the change was introduced to you. Never minimize an employee's response to even the most simple change. Hearing employees out and letting them express their point of view in a non-judgmental way will reduce resistance to change.