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MANAGING

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

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ORGANIZATIONAL-

CHANGE) June 24, 2019 (/career-life-blog/2019/6/24/managing-organizational-change) ·

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Organizational change is inevitable, and we all need to deal with it occasionally. But when

you are a manager, you’re responsible not only for yourself, but also for helping your team

navigate the changes. Everyone knows change creates stress, but did you know that

organizational change is one of the top workplace stressors? The good news is there are

lots of things you can do to ease the way for your team.

Announcing change

We’ll talk about two types of organizational change in this article: reorganizations and

process change. Regardless of the type of change going on, it’s important for you to share

changes as soon as you can to avoid rumor and anxiety. Whenever you are announcing

change, you should focus on why the change is happening, the impact to the organization

and finally, the impact to your direct team. Some changes will create more emotional

response than others. If the change is emotionally charged for you, work on managing your

emotion by focusing on the facts and the ways you can help.

When you are describing change to your team, you should focus on opportunities created

by the change. Of course, there may be threats and down sides to the situation. Be realistic

and honest about the level of difficulty in the change. But even if you don’t agree with the

changes taking place, you need to let the team know that your job is to put them in place.

So, you can, and should, discuss the “elephants” in the room – but you should shift the

focus to what is going to happen going forward instead of dwelling on the downside.

Reorganizations

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Reorganizations create a lot of stress. Rumors can fly for weeks, even months sometimes,

when major reorganizations are in the works and people can have a lot of time to

speculate. Managers don’t always have a lot of time before public announcements. But

whenever possible, you should communicate role changes privately before any public

announcements. Then, of course, talk to the team about the change and impact to the

team. If everyone is not aware of the impact for themselves personally, don’t give details

about individuals. Let the team know when you’ll be communicating the new organigram for

the team.

Get time with each of your team members to discuss personal impact. If you have new team

members joining the team, you’ll want to spend a bit more time with them. Have a

discussion about their experience and skills. Share your management style and principles

with them and let them know how the team works together. In situations where employees

have been moved around a lot due to reorganizations, you’ll want to reassure them as best

you can. Often, just taking the time to have such a discussion can go a long way towards

reassuring anxious team members. Formally introduce them to the team. Ask everyone to

share their roles and something about themselves.

A discussion with the previous manager of team members moving into your team is an

important step. Get an update on their perspective, the team member’s salary and

performance. For team members moving to other teams, you’ll want to debrief their new

managers in a similar fashion.

Finally, if your own manager changes, prepare a clear view of the team, key projects, known

issues and your management system. Enquire about their management system and start

getting to know their communication and leadership style. Help them get to know you as

well by sharing your career trajectory and key skills – both those used in your current role

and any untapped skills you aren’t being called on to use currently.

Don’t just assume that once the change is introduced, everything will work fluidly. Keep an

eye on how things evolve. Some people adapt quickly and easily to change, others need

more time and encouragement.

Process change

Digital transformation is disrupting legacy work processes and how things get done. New

processes are meant to be more efficient and effective. The reality is, process change can

have the opposite effect for some time before it is understood and becomes deeply

rooted. As a manager, you play a key role in easing this transition for your team.

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When you are communicating the change, it’s helpful to name a focal point who will share

new information, become the “team expert”, and collect questions and issues. That could

be you or it could be a member of your team. You can also assign specific topics to

individual team members and have them share back what they learned with the rest of the

team.

Make sure you are sharing the training documents for the new process. If there are multiple

things under transformation in parallel, you may want to provide recommendations for your

team for prioritization. Help the team understand where they should focus first, and the best

way to get started. That can take the form of a structured training plan or a less formal set of

recommendations.

Keep a pulse on what’s working and what isn’t. If there is a company focal point for the

change, keep them informed of the major issues and barriers to progress.  Keep the team

informed – either through direct participation in updates or by recapping for them. Identify

the experts on the new process and help your team to connect with them when

appropriate.

In the era of Agile, process change often comes in increments and new processes may be

rolled out before they are completely ready for prime time. Frustrations will run high when

process change interrupts and hinders daily business needs. Help your team to level-set on

what is possible and what is not. Identify the impact and make sure your management is

aware. Encourage the team to focus on what they can do and help them troubleshoot

overcoming new obstacles.

Finally, talk to your peers and other managers who are managing the transformation. Share

the experience your team is having. Learn how other teams are overcoming the obstacles.

It’s empowering to know that you aren’t alone, and your team members should understand

the level of difficulty being experienced across the organization. It’s not about whining

about how hard it is – it’s about realizing that the issues are understood, and that the

situation will evolve.

Change is hard. But as a manager, you can make it easier for your team by the way you

handle it. Communicate. Stay involved. Keep the team focused. Step by step, change

becomes routine again.

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