How can HR professionals ensure that change is developed and implemented in a way that benefits employees and keeps internal operations running smoothly?
To help HR professionals manage organizational change, we asked HR leaders and business owners this question for their best insights. From being included in decision making to training change management, there are several ways to ensure that change is developed and implemented in a way that benefits employees and keeps internal operations running smoothly
Here are 13 roles HR plays in managing organizational change:
- Be Included in the Decision Making
- Act as the Fulcrum to Change
- Conducting Surveys to Gain Input and Insights
- Hold 1-on-1s
- Focus On Brand Pillars Above All Else
- Anonymous Surveys With Employees
- Make a Road Map
- Carefully Consider Your Options
- Keep Leads Accountable
- Focus On Employee Wellbeing When Implementing Changes
- Explain the Change and Address Concerns
- Building Relationships at Every Level
- Train Your Managers and Employees to Manage the Change
Be Included in the Decision Making
If you as an HR professional want to ensure organizational change benefits employees and doesn’t disrupt operations you’ll need to be in the room when decisions are made. Being reactive to rash and poor decision-making of your executive team is not going to benefit anyone. It will cause a strain in the trust of the employees with the company not to mention the stress you and the rest of management out for having to deal with the ramifications of bad decisions. To remedy this pain from even happening you need to get yourself involved in the decision-making. Being the voice or reason or simply asking questions to ensure all areas of this change are covered will make everyone’s life within the company much easier.
Mark Smith, University of Advancing Technology
Act as the Fulcrum to Change
No matter whether the change is limited to some internal processes or a company-wide overhaul, in tandem with the senior leadership and department heads, HR professionals can act as the fulcrum that manages it with the least disruption and maximum efficiency. By the nature of their job, HR professionals realize the strengths and weaknesses of the collective workforce in the company and can leverage them effectively during transitions. Whether it is hiring more talent, engaging the workforce, or retaining high-performing employees – HR can play a pivotal role in helping an organization implement change for maximum success.
Joe Flanagan, VelvetJobs
Conducting Surveys to Gain Input and Insights
Job satisfaction surveys can provide HR with employee feedback on how recent changes have affected their jobs. They can also gain insights into how well those changes are working and if any adjustments are necessary. And conducting these surveys at different points during the changeover can provide more actionable feedback. Additionally, as surveys are opportunities for employees to express themselves, they’ll feel part of the process and be more committed to ensuring that these new changes succeed.
Shaunak Amin, SnackMagic
Hold 1-on-1s
Touching on work habits when you are the most productive, talk about any roadblocks you are encountering, and ask any questions you might need answers to. 1:1s are a great way for enabling more continuous conversations between Managers and their teams. They don’t always have to be between a manager and an employee, they can happen between anyone at the company. It’s a great way to dedicate a shared space for helping communication and collaboration with your company as a whole.
Connor MacDonald, The Ridge Wallet
Focus On Brand Pillars Above All Else
In order for HR professionals to ensure that change is developed in a way that benefits employees and keeps internal operations running smoothly, HR representatives should focus on brand pillars.
Indeed, HR must be the leading driver in implementing leading brand pillars in everything that the respective company does. Indeed, the best and brightest talent should be recruited to execute these pillars, while employee benefits and financial performance incentives should be provided if these pillars are upheld. This not only showcases the absolute priorities of the respective company but also reasserts that employees will be taken care of if they continue to incessantly focus on them in their day-to-day work.
Jameson Rodgers, CBDfx
Anonymous Surveys With Employees
Is there anything better than first-hand information? Our employees’ opinions matter to us while implementing any changes, so we want to hear them. To do so, we use weekly anonymous surveys (in our case, it’s the OfficeVibe [https://officevibe.com/]). We start tracking their experience right before the change so that we can track how it affects their experience.
Rafal Mlodzki, passport-photo online
Make a Road Map
Make a road map: Help your employees in understanding where the company is now, where it has been, and where it is headed. What role does the change play in the company’s past, and how will it influence its future? By clearly laying out the thought and strategy behind the change, employees will be able to see how it fits into, or evolves from, the company model they’ve gotten accustomed to. Also, describe how these changes would benefit employees while ensuring that internal procedures run smoothly.
Veronica Miller, VPNOverview
Carefully Consider Your Options
Before you present a suggested change to your team, make sure you have a clear strategy in place that includes, at the very least, when, how, and why the change will occur. Ideally, you’ll have documented the tasks that will bring you where you want to go, described new or changing responsibilities for those who will be affected, creating a fully established timeline, and come up with responses to potential objections. Also, how might these adjustments help employees while maintaining internal operations?”
Steve Scott, Spreadsheet Planet
Keep Leads Accountable
Change comes from the top down, if you keep your team leads accountable for implementing changes, the teams will follow suit. Hold weekly check-ins for leads to see how things are progressing with their employees. See what changes are quickly adapted and which ones are taking longer to implement. The leads are the key to successful change.
Katie Keirnan, NUE.life
Focus On Employee Wellbeing When Implementing Changes
Employees want to know that their company is concerned with their general well-being both personally and professionally. It’s also important that changes are discussed with other members of management so that there are clear and actionable objectives. HR professionals can also ask for employee feedback when it comes to making changes.
Jenn Ohara, Soba Recovery
Explain the Change and Address Concerns
The first step is to ensure that the change is necessary and will benefit the employees and the organization. Once the change is deemed necessary, the HR professionals can work with other departments to develop a plan for implementing the change. The HR professionals will need to be prepared to answer any questions or concerns that the employees may have about the change. The HR professionals should also be prepared to help manage the transition process and ensure that the employees are able to adapt to the change.
Matthew Ramirez, Paraphrasing Tool
Building Relationships at Every Level
Talent leaders need to be flexible, agile, creative – and we also need to be experts on organizational development and change management. I think we need to make sure we are continuously improving the relationship we have with our senior leadership as well as the customers we serve (the employees). Talent leaders are more involved in larger business and executive-level conversations, not just because we’re investing in more technology, but because in the past two years we’ve had to move very quickly. Change starts at the top of any organization, and the relationships we have with leadership and the workforce in general impact how we are able to effect change in any area of the business.
Jessica Miller-Merrell, Workology
Train Your Managers and Employees to Manage the Change
Training is one of the most critical aspects of successful change implementation, as it provides employees with the knowledge and skills required to do their jobs after the changes have been made. Managers must be adequately trained because they will be responsible for coaching employees during the transition. The HR department should work with managers to plan the training needed for effective change implementation. In addition, there should be consistency among managers when implementing changes between departments or locations to prevent confusion among employees and foster a sense of collaboration between different departments.
Marc De Diego Ferrer, MCA Assessors
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