Vana,
Although what I write has not been tested with the client yet, I am facing
a similar situation.
Here we discussed with the client (a person in a similar role to yourself)
that they had to engage the 'oldies' Because if they did not get them on
board then they probably had the capability to sabotage the efforts of the
'newies'
I would recommend that you invest a lot of time and effort with the oldies
to help them to 'come on board'
Do things with both together. Get the discussion going about why make the
changes, what the changes mean for both groups, and every individual.
In my experience people can and will change. THey need to be brought into
and engage with the process.
>From your message you used the words 'they have a union mentality' Might
this limit your precetion of the 'oldies'??
I know that it is very frustrating when change takes longer than planned,
desired and does not follow the smooth path we alwasy hope that it will
whilst knowing that this is never likely.
Hang in there. Get as many involved as possible. Get some big groups
together (30-40 people) and facilitate discussion around the need for
change.
Hope this helps
Ian Saunders
Transition Partnerships - Harnessing change for business advantage
tpians@cix.compulink.co.uk
--tpians@cix.compulink.co.uk (Ian Saunders)
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>