The Little Black Dress – the key to changing bad habits in your team

Change is needed – and it has to come from your people. Here’s how to do it.

Turning bad or lazy habits into good ones is notoriously difficult, but is well worth the effort as it affects morale and productivity. The Chemistry Group has turned behaviour change into a science with Pod Coaching – it helped a major telecoms company get 14% ahead of Service Revenue Growth Targets for the first time in 7 years, with teams overachieving instead of underachieving. The company achieved UK revenue growth of 5.3%.

Here are Chemistry’s top tips, from Salim Earle, Business Analyst: Focus on what people really want – Weight Watchers don’t ask their members to focus on ‘losing weight’ but get to the nitty gritty of what individuals want – to fit into a Little Black Dress or to trim down. So, recognise the thing to change – one change at a time is easier to achieve – and make it specific to meet their own goals and the business goals – this becomes a crucial anchor.

Work together. Collective behaviour change is far easier – and far more sustainable – if experiences and challenges are shared. In this way, too, people support each other and drive other’s changes through a shared mentality and desire to change.
Find the blockers – Consider the things that could block results. Either remove them – or at least be aware that they could
arise.

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Nudge and nudge again – it isn’t easy to change habits and people need to be regularly reminded of both rationale and the importance. Nudges do the trick, and they take many shapes and forms – emails/articles/texts/apps/talking. The key is to keep the behaviour change at the top of the individual’s agenda, reinforcing change through consistent support.

Make it safe – Get people to share their challenges and successes without judgement or criticism. Be aware, creating a safe environment is difficult but essential. Accept it and find ways to make it work for staff and the organisation.

Understand how the mind works – give people the time and space to exercise their behaviour change. Changes will only become a habit if they are truly embedded in the subconscious mind.