Effectiveness of participation in reducing employees’ resistance to change in the anglican church of kenya, diocese of Nyahururu, Nyandarua county, Kenya

Employees’ resistance to change in an organization is one of the main causes for failure of change initiative. The purpose of this study was to research theinfluence of participation on employees’ resistance to change in Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) with a specific focus on the Diocese of Nyahururu. The target population comprised 353 registered workers of ACK Nyahururu Diocese from which 78 respondents were selected using the stratified random sampling technique. Data wascollected using questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive as well as inferential statistics facilitated by the Statistical Packages for Social Science.Finding revealed that there is notable participation of employees in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of change initiative (mean=3.75). Greater participation was also positively associated with reduction in employees resistance to change (r=.631, p<.05; β=.346, p<.05). This showed a clear indication that the employees believe that participation is a factor that shapes the employee resistance and can minimize it.The study recommends that to streamline the implementation of change initiatives at the church, leaders should increase the participation of employees in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of these initiatives.