What can HR do to make sure organizational change doesn't destroy your employee engagement and morale?
Whether it's mass layoffs, organizational restructuring, or simply a move to a new office building, any sort of change affecting many employees can damage morale, engagement and discretionary effort.
So how can you make sure you're managing people's expectations, while still meeting the company's needs?
Lee Hecht Harrison managing director Bruce Anderson said employers needed to make staff aware of the reasons for the change, when it will be undertaken and what it means for each employee. Uncertainty allows employees to create their own worst-case scenarios, which are often scarier than reality.
Information must be readily available for all employees and updated regularly. He also suggested organizational leaders be visible leading up to and during the change.
Restructuring could be an opportunity to “ consider how employee’s skills can fit into their sales and service network to help transition employees into other areas of the business,” he told HRM, adding that onboarding programs could help employees move into new roles more easily.”
Employers can also lose good employees to competitors if these high potential workers see the organization as unstable or unpredictable.
When undergoing change management, HR must have a clear communication strategy as part of the plan. Anderson highlighted the elements of a clear change management plan as including:
