change management
IT’S JUST AS IMPORTANT TO MANAGE A CHANGE
FROM A PEOPLE PERSPECTIVE AS IT IS TO MANAGE
IT FROM A LOGISTICAL PERSPECTIVE.
of view and concerns related to the change. Hosting in-depth employee
surveys on the change allows HR professionals to establish
employees’ feelings about the change and offer the opportunity to
brainstorm potential solutions that make the staff feel more involved
in the change process. Furthermore, focus groups can be
ideal sounding boards to test different approaches to change to
learn what works and what doesn’t.
BRING CREATIVITY INTO CHANGE
COMMUNICATIONS
With this insight into employees’ perspectives in their back pockets,
HR professionals can successfully position the change in the
most relevant way. Flyers, emails and videos, which are tailored to
different stakeholder groups, are invaluable communications tools.
But, although these materials are imperative in times of change,
HR professionals should especially dip into their creative reserves
to come up with playful campaigns to drive engagement around
the change. For instance, are you implementing a new meeting
room management technology? Throw a party and bring in actors
dressed like flight attendants to manage the meeting room booking
process or organize an educational contest that rewards the employees
who fulfill a list with scheduling tasks in the least amount
of time.
ENGAGE CHANGE ADVOCATES
Once all individuals fully grasp how the change will affect their dayto
day experience and what success or failure in adoption means,
they will become more engaged. Change advocates have proven especially
effective at conveying understanding of the change because
people are generally inclined to trust their peers. Whereas 90 per
cent of consumers trust peer reviews of products, a comparably
small percentage trusts advertisements. Likewise, key team leaders
that work closely together with their colleagues on a daily basis will
have a bigger impact throughout the entire office than HR managers,
as they can more easily influence their coworkers’ perspective
on the change. By giving these ambassadors a sneak preview or by
offering them in-depth trainings, companies can target these ambassadors
as early adopters to get them on board with the change.
STIMULATE TRAINING WITH REWARDS
If the change significantly impacts the day-to-day operations of
the staff, necessary training should be available before the change
is launched. Training that is tailored to varying levels of employee
understanding will be the most effective. To speed up adoption
of a new work routine, HR professionals should incentivize their
workforce for the efforts they make. Incentives like gift certificates,
a company paid lunch or social outing or an extra day off will help
build “brand loyalty,” or loyalty to the change.
Finally, it is important to support the change with marketing
efforts on an ongoing basis. By highlighting the value, the
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progress and the direct results of the change throughout the
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year, companies can keep the momentum going until the change
is no longer viewed as a change but as the new standard. n
Operated by Martin Brooker is chief operating offi cer at Condeco Software.
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50 ❚ OCTOBER 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL