Managing Change or Not...

Whether the company is going through a re-organization, a downsizing or a merger, change management is key but most organizations do not do it effectively. Usually there is minimum communications and considerable miscommunications - let's face it people talk and they spread what they think they know - right or wrong.

If you're re-organizing you should have:

• a clear understanding of what people do; jobs change over time so job descriptions need to be up-to-date
• a skills assessment of staff; they may have taken on tasks or further education or they may be struggling with duties they can't manage
• an impact assessment - if you're going to let people go what duties need to be redistributed and how can that be done with the least disruption; what are the implications if they manage several email addresses or committees; are there processes that they manage or have a  role in; - its not just the what its also the who - who needs to be informed and involved
• a communication strategy; if you are re-organizing and people will have different reporting structures have follow-up meetings for the new teams so they have the opportunity to ask questions. It's far better to get everything in the open right away rather than let people disperse to ask questions of people who don't know the answers or to complain to each other that they don't know what is  going on; people have a right to be concerned and worried and the best way to alleviate that is to communicate and get them in a productive environment as soon as possible
• a talent management strategy; if people suddenly become people managers they need to have the maturity, skills and resources to fulfill the duties required of them; and if they go from managing one or two staff to a dozen additional skills may need to be learned including conflict management, communications, and time management; otherwise the Peter Principal comes into play and no one is happy

It's equally important to know what you shouldn't do:

• don't lie; people figure things out sooner or later and they talk with each other; lies destroy trust and credibility and you will never achieve employee engagement or loyalty
• don't hide; people don't want to feel like they've been involved in a hit and run, they will have questions so be prepared and address them, otherwise you will lose respect and trust
• don't do a re-organization on a day when there is a social event or other company activity and if possible try to avoid any significant dates for the participants - like birthdays, no one should be let go on their birthday if you can avoid it

Essentially, managing change is respecting people by being considerate and communicating effectively. People will adjust and it takes as much effort to manage change effectively as it does to clean up messes when mis-managed. And if you truly want engaged and productive employees, giving them respect, communicating with them and allowing questions and providing answers while giving them the resources they need to cope, will keep them as happy employees.