The CEO called for organizational changes in the company. Now it’s time to deal with the aftermath. HR bears responsibility for communicating why the change happened, and maintaining a positive culture. Savvy change management is key to get employee buy-in after a major organizational switch.
Assume Resistance to Change
Change is scary, especially if your business has always done things the same way. The sales team’s change management plan can be the template for other departments. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when crafting a plan:
- Assume resistance to change and identify major employee objections to organizational changes.
- Focus on mitigating and addressing resistance to change.
- Create a plan emphasizing the benefits of the change.
- Bring clarity to a situation that has a significant amount of unknowns.
- Empathize with employee concerns and engage with them to avoid active resistance.
- Work with leaders to create a positive business culture for leaders and employees.
Leader Buy-in
Effective change management starts at the top. It’s impossible to promote a positive culture if managers doubt the benefits of organizational change. Meet with leaders to explain key points of the change and create transparent communication. The end goal is getting enthusiasm generated throughout the entire organization. Recruit leaders to keep an eye on their teams and identify major issues.
Build Trust in Employees for the Change
Avoid impersonal approaches to announcing major changes in the organization. Employees react with indifference at best and active resistance to the change at worst. Make the time to talk to employees in person.
A few strategies for building employee buy-in and trust includes:
- Emphasizing their leaders are on-board with the changes.
- Explain the direct employee benefits of the change.
- Poll employees with internal surveys to build employee engagement with the change.
- Directly work with employees to work through issues with the change.
- Explain how the change is shaping the future of the business.
- Detail how the change affects the employee’s day to day tasks.
Follow Through
Engagement surveys doesn’t amount to much if you don’t address their concerns. Show you care about employee concerns by adjusting your change management plan.
We know implementing effective change management in your business takes a significant amount of HR resources. We do the hard work of sifting through sales and marketing trends and strategies to bring you the most useful and relevant information. When you have limited time to get the cutting edge information you need, rely on the SBI podcast as your go-to information source.
