'Under Water'

 

‘Under Water’

Do you ever feel like you and/or your team are ‘under water’ and don’t know why?  You may be experiencing change saturation.  Change saturation occurs when the threshold between capacity for change and the demands of implementing change is crossed. When this happens, people can experience a range of symptoms from confusion and frustration to physical impact.  It can also manifest as morale issues, scattered buy-in, wasted resources, or only superficial change.  Want to know if you’re dealing with change saturation?  Answer the following statements using a rating of low, medium, or high to get a high-level assessment of risk for change saturation.     

• The right amount of time has been allowed from the time the change was first discussed to when it was implemented.
• The change is being implemented in an organized way.
• The amount of change in addition to normal jobs duties is creating work overload.
• Impacted individuals are highly interdependent and rarely experience conflict.
• The change has significantly increased stress-related health issues.

After completing the survey questions, integrate your scores to determine the level of risk.  If the initial findings show a high risk, a more in-depth survey can be used to further refine areas of concern.  In closing, change saturation is a key people-related risk factor, should be included in the project plan, and action plans managed for risk mitigation.