Leading Through Uncertain Times

Businesses are starting to reopen and many are returning to work under new requirements and guidelines. Change management is essential now more than ever to help move the workforce successfully forward-facing new unchartered territory. When implementing change management, it is best to consider what other organizations and competitors are doing. Always best to see how other competitors are paving the way to learn from their findings. While most companies are eager to get back to normal, it is best to have a slow and steady approach to manage crises or challenges in the environment as they unfold.

Considering these best practices so your efforts lead to a maximum level of impact:

 

Define what needs to change in your current environment

Identify what’s no longer working in the current state during this pandemic, this might mean rethinking a new health and safety requirement approach, reviewing internal processes and policies, and the technology accessibility collaboration platform enabling employees to continue to perform productively from home longer is needed.

 

Build and gather talented internal teams to co-create solutions

This is not the time to rely only on executives to create or implement change management. Every level of the organization should be involved, creating a project team ensuring representation of all department levels is key to the success and execution of the plan. Identifying leads or change agents who will be ready to implement the strategy will be critical in driving the change throughout the organization

 

Communication plan

create communication plans that help you to communicate often and clear to your workforce. This can be accomplished by conducting virtual town halls, informational webinars, ad-hoc meetings, resources posted on the intranet, or monthly newsletters using collaborative tools to help you deliver your message clearly and timely. Ensure employees understand the new practices and educate them on adapting new behavioral habits and explain what is expected of them.

 

Keep stakeholders in the know

Stakeholders should be involved in the change management process, and communication messages should be aligned with the new strategy and direction across the board. To understand the state of the current crisis and how it will impact employees, vendors, clients, or customers to manage and mitigate the impact by implementing solutions that meet stakeholder needs.

 

 Foster teamwork

There is no place for the status quo to foster a teamwork environment. All department levels must come together cohesively to overcome challenges, brainstorm ideas, and solutions collectively. Remind your teams of the company’s vision, values, and mission. Communicate what the goals are and how the organization plan to get there.

 

Overcome resistance

Understand that a lot has happened in the past several months. Listening with empathy and an open mind to your team to identify issues and challenges they face, whether mentally or physically adapting to the new ways of working allowing them the opportunity to express their emotions and overwhelm might help mitigate some of those fears and a chance to share new strategy and discuss next steps

 

Build organizational resilience

Organizations needed to respond quickly and went into crisis management mode implementing emergency plans, enabled remote work, working out the kinks, and responding to client concerns and needs reacting swiftly to change. When employees notice leadership acting with resilience and courage, it cascades through the organization.  This is the time to stay true to the organization’s culture and values so that the future of work is one of thriving, not just surviving.

 

Measure and monitor

To create a process to identify and track the look of success if all employees adopted the changes—asking for feedback, surveying your workforce to gather key indicators on the perception of the change, acceptance, and adoption. Track progress and continue to solicit feedback critical to the change management process.

 

Learn to pivot

Whether a pandemic situation or not, we live in a world full of uncertainties and unknowns. Remaining agile and ready to receive new information that is available at a quick pace and understanding that changes are fluid should be a priority. This will also bring new opportunities that never were considered otherwise.

 

Celebrate success

It is easy to get caught up in crisis and survival mode. Still, as the pandemic emerged, the shift to thriving mode, implementing changes, and return to work with established business continuity is vital to recognize employees for their role in helping sustain the organization during a crisis. Many have made sacrifices and changes on a personal and professional level for them to cope and manage their new routine and carry out their duties with minimal negative impact. So, celebrate your employees’ resilience and acknowledge their effort in delivery under stressful times.

Lastly, under most hardship times people indeed create stronger bonds and connections. The feeling of “we are all in it together” puts the organization, the leaders, and employees alike under the same status is bound to create a greater bond and increase employee loyalty. Staying true to the company values getting back to basics, leading with empathy and human decency is key to remaining competitive, attracting top talents, and sustain employee morale in the long run.