Nudge theory is odd, in that it really is just a theory – there’s no set change management model to be had, but instead a mindset and tactic which can be used to frame your changes in a more attractive and effective manner.

The basic principles you need to follow when nudging changes are:

• Clearly define your changes
• Consider changes from your employees’ point of view
• Use evidence to show the best option
• Present the change as a choice
• Listen to feedback
• Limit obstacles
• Keep momentum up with short-term wins

The method

Clearly define your changes
As with any other model, it’s vital for you to clearly define your changes. Your ultimate goal with this method isn’t just to deploy your changes, but to do so with the full support of your employees, and to do that they need to know exactly what they’re signing up for.

Consider changes from your employees’ point of view
Once you’ve clearly set out what changes you want to make, you need to consider them from the point of view of your employees. Take what you know about their team’s culture and structure, along with their responsibilities and skills in order to gauge their reaction.

More importantly, start to think about how the same changes could be achieved in a way that’s desirable to your workforce. For example, if you want to create a set editing checklist to follow for your marketing team, you could say how such as process would be a great way to make editing easier, quicker, and more consistent.

Use evidence to show the best option
Once you know how present the change to fit with the team’s priorities, you need to gather evidence to prove how useful it is.

I’m not saying that you should cherry pick evidence that supports your theory and ignore anything contrary. Instead, you need to gather information about their current performance and structure, and then compare that with the predicted effects of the change.

When you come to present the change to the team this will both show them why it’s necessary in the first place, and why that particular suggestion is the best course of action.

Present the change as a choice
In keeping with the passive spirit of nudge theory, despite all of the evidence you’ve gathered you can’t just force the change on your team and justify it with your findings. This will breed resentment to both the change and you, since no-one else had a say in the matter.

Instead, the change should be presented in a way that the team will understand and respond well to, with evidence to back it up, and above all else as a choice. If you haven’t missed anything and have argued your case well enough your team should back you on this, and the change will be deployed all the better for it.

If not, make the most of the rejection, and either way…

Listen to feedback
Whether your changes were rejected or not, you need to be open to whatever feedback your team may have. It’s entirely possible that you missed an effect the change may have or an outside factor which will help or hinder progress, and nobody will know more about these hidden factors than the team the change will affect.

Not to mention that by letting your team give feedback you’re showing them that they are valued as people, and their opinion matters. This, in turn, will make them more willing to give your changes a shot.

If you don’t have a set method for gathering feedback, try adapting the feedback template below for your employees.

Limit obstacles
Both before and during your changes’ deployment you should be limiting or removing any obstacles you can. If your team uses your new process and immediately hits a roadblock, their enthusiasm for the whole thing is going to plummet.

Instead, make the transition to the new way of doing things as easy as possible by assessing what might get in the way of the change and tackling that issue as soon as possible. Again, talking to your team to help identify these obstacles is a great way to identify ones you would have otherwise missed.

Keep momentum up with short-term wins
Once some progress has been made on deploying your change you need to make sure that it is maintained. To do this it’s worth planning out some short-term goals and milestones which you can celebrate upon reaching – at the very least this should keep the new practice going until it becomes the normal routine.