Malcolm from Wollongong is a frustrated manager tasked with implementing a change program with staff who are highly resistant. "How can I possibly win over people who say the changes to the system have ruined their jobs and taken away a lot of the conditions they highly prized?"

I often pity the poor line manager like Malcolm who is stuck between senior managers with big ideas and staff who are suspicious or even downright hostile towards management initiatives that do not always take into account situations and sensibilities on the "front line". While it is Malcolm's job to keep things running and to translate policy into action, for his own sanity he needs to realise he can only do what he can do and no more.

It is part of the paradox of being human that while we are continually changing minute by minute and get bored and burnt out doing the same things endlessly, at the same time we have an inbuilt survival mechanism that makes us wary, anxious and sometimes hostile in the face of uncertainty.

For Malcolm, he will have his own uncertainties about how to articulate the new system to his staff that will be stress-inducing and on top of that, he has to cop the suspicions and possibly poor behaviour of people who are reluctant to change.

The first and most obvious place to start looking for improvements is in the communication that is happening. Conduct a mini audit to check whether you are communicating as best you can in the situation. Consider the timing, frequency and method of communication you are using and reflect on whether you are aware of each staff member's preferences for communication.

While it is impractical to be able to meet every staff member's communication preferences on every occasion, it is amazing how much more buy-in you can get if, for instance, you spend a little bit of time in face-to-face contact with individuals, or for others, providing a lengthier written outline of changes of expectations.

Put aside time to listen to any complaints or feedback and look for opportunities to see patterns and themes in these remarks and try to have them confirmed by your staff. This, at least, will ensure you have a firm sense of the matters of concern and obviously, then, you can look to ways of responding to these concerns. Asking your staff for their constructive suggestions about how to deal with the issues is useful and empowering.

The same process applies to your own managers to ensure the lines of communication are open further up the organisation. Look for common ground, positive suggestions and acknowledge what is already working or improving. Convey to your staff you are genuinely concerned and take their comments seriously.

However, as John Paul Getty said, "If you haven't got a problem, you haven't got a job" and everyone who is employed is in a job to solve an employer's problem. This is a good reminder that, ultimately, there is work to be done and part of being employed is to sometimes do work in a manner determined by others. That principle may be useful in giving Malcolm a line to draw. Change at work is inevitable and if everyone is reasonable about it, it can minimise the antagonism.