Rightsizing has been marching through companies. The number of employees decreases while the workload increases. For those who retain their job, the transition period could be filled with anxiety, frustration, and confusion. The reasons for the overwhelmed feelings are:
- Uncertainties on what might transpire—little warning on impending changes
- Lost expertise—leaving people scrambling for ways to get the work done
- Increased workload—need to pick up additional work but no change in compensation
- Uncoordinated changes—creating conflicting directions and messages
This is the time when your employees need the most help from you. They need:
- A sincere acknowledgement of impact—an understanding of how the change impacts them professionally and personally.
- A commitment to make real changes to accommodate the increased workload—they worry about how they could handle the extra work. You need to look for ways to streamline execution so that efficiency offsets the increased workload.
- A trusted person for sharing concerns—there will be hurdles before the transition settles. It helps to ease their mind when your staff know that you are there to support them.
- A frank and open dialog on the corporate agenda—not knowing the reasons for action is most frustrating especially when the change seems illogical. The staff need more substantive information about the transition plan, including decisions about concerns raised in the interim.
As it is not possible to satisfy everyone, there will be uncooperative individuals who resist in every way they could. Work with the ones who are on-board and help them as much as you can so that they could get on with the change. For those who just won’t accept the change, be prepared to part ways quickly. It is better for them personally and for the company as well. In order to avoid prolonging the transition, you need to act quickly and decisively.
© Connie Siu 2013. All rights reserved.
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