Business

The Four Stages of the ‘Shift Curve’ Small Business Owners Need to Know About

The ‘shift curve’ is a useful tool for small businesses to understand the stages of personal transition each employee goes through. Kubler Ross developed this model to explain the grieving process (Shock and Denial, Anger and Fear, Acceptance and Commitment).

This model helps small business owners predict how employees will react to change and advises them on how to help and support employees in their personal transitions.

An organization does not change just because of new systems or processes. It changes because the people within the organization adapt and change. Only when people within the organization make their own personal transitions can the organization benefit from the change.

The Change Curve model

The ‘shift curve’ model helps small business owners understand the stages of personal transition and organizational change. This model includes four stages that employees go through as they adapt to change.

Stage – 1: Shock and Denial

Stage – 2: Anger and fear

Stage – 3: Acceptance

Stage – 4: Commitment

Level 1: Shock and denial

This is the first reaction small business owners notice in their employees: they react to the challenges of the status quo. This reaction is seen more in experienced and established employees because these employees are indifferent to new systems and procedures. They are uncomfortable with fear of the unknown, fear of doing something wrong, and lack of information. They feel threatened and fear failure. In these circumstances, they usually take it as friction rather than opportunity.

What do the employees need here?

Employees can experience this stage multiple times. To overcome it, employees need information, they need to understand what is happening in the organization, and they need to know how to get help from the organization.

Note: This stage particularly affects those employees who have not experienced any major changes before.

What should the organization do?

At this stage, it is the responsibility of the owners to communicate with their employees and educate them on the benefits they will gain from adapting to the new systems, personally and professionally. Remember not to overwhelm your employees by flooding them with a large amount of information at once, or they may even be more confused.

Stage 2: Anger and fear

This is the second stage that you see in employees. As employees react to a change, they begin to express their anger, concern, resentment, or fear. They can resist change actively or passively. This stage could be dangerous and if the organization does not handle it carefully, it could result in chaos.

What should the organization do?

At this stage, the small business owner must carefully handle employee objections. Since the reaction to change is personal and emotional, it is impossible to prevent it from happening. Therefore, the organization should try to address the employee experience and resolve the issues as soon as possible.

Note: As long as employees remain in Stage 2 of the change curve while escaping progress, the change will not be successful.

Stage 3: Acceptance

This is a turning point for both employees and the organization because employees have stopped focusing on what they have lost and have started accepting change. They start to explore the changes and get a real idea of ​​what is good and what is not, and how to adapt accordingly.

What should the organization do?

This stage is critical: employees need time to learn and accept things. So don’t expect your employees to be 100% productive during this stage. Give them time to learn and explore without much pressure.

Stage – 4: Commitment

At this stage, there will be a commitment from employees to analyze and embrace the change. They begin to rebuild the way they work and this is the stage where the organization begins to see the benefits of change.

Benefits of the change

At this stage, the organization will see the benefits of striving for the well-being of its employees when they were in a grieving stage. The positive effects of the change curve are now more evident through your productivity and profits.

The change curve is an effective model for small business owners while managing employees. Placing an employee on the shift curve will help the business owner decide how to communicate information effectively to employees and what kind of support they need. This helps them take the necessary measures and protect both the company and the employees.

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