There is so much change happening in our work place these days that it can be difficult to find time to do our ”day” job.  As organizations bring in changes, new technologies, and new programs to make them more effective, efficient and collaborative, the one thing that is rarely accounted for is the time it takes to adapt and make these changes.

One organization I was working with recently commented on how much change there had been over the past few years – in their team, their department, the IT department and headquarters. When looking at things from a progress and innovation perspective, this is great news. The bad news is how long it takes for each individual to get familiar with the changes, accept the changes, and apply the changes.

How do you handle all this additional work and continue doing the job you were hired to do when there is still the same number of hours in the day?

The people I spoke with in this organization said they ended up having to do this additional work on their own time –on evenings and weekends. The problem is that these new initiatives may end up being executed improperly because people aren’t being rewarded or measured on how well they are aligning to the changes and implementing the changes. Things end up being unintentionally ignored or done haphazardly because they are rushed. Employees become worn out and disengaged from the additional work and change which is being pushed onto them.

As leaders in organizations herald the need for innovation and change, there needs to be time allocated for employees to make changes.  Employees need to have conversations with managers and executives about the time requirements of changes.  Employees need to be measured and rewarded for initiating and adopting change. Both employees and leaders need to set aside time and recognize the effort involved to get on board with change.  These are part of successful transitions and paths to creating a culture of innovation.