Surviving staff are an instrumental part of building the future of the Organisation and therefore their commitment on all levels is essential.

Transcription

1 Humanising the Restructuring Prcess Lisa Ashurst, Mike Hawes, Helen Best Backgrund All Organisatins frm time t time need t lk at evlving but, change by its very nature causes stress and even witnessing alteratins t clse clleagues wrking and prfessinal lives can trigger a great deal f anxiety fr all staff within a Department/Unit underging a re-structure. The definitin f re-structure is; an rganisatinal change that has effects n the cmpsitin and wrklad f the wrkfrce. In mst cases restructuring implies sme frm f transitin r change n the individual level, ften a transitin t anther jb, within r utside the rganisatin. Fr the best pssible utcme, rerganizatins shuld be undertaken in the mst humanistic manner pssible. Remaining emplyees will lk t hw the Organisatin treated at risk emplyees. Attitude and behaviur twards Management will increase r decrease future trust levels within an effected wrk grup. Much emphasis, pst the annuncement f the upcming prcess, is directed at thse staff deemed at risk and the peple whse rles are nt directly affected are subsequently verlked. This static team f peple may have many questins during this transitin phase e.g. Wh d they reprt t? Is there an expectatin fr an increase f wrklad? Our grup wished t analyse and address hw these emplyees needed t be accmmdated by the University s Management Team in rder t keep mtivatin and lyalty strng. Surviving staff are an instrumental part f building the future f the Organisatin and therefre their cmmitment n all levels is essential. The perid f impending change can be drawn-ut ver many mnths during which a strng theme f ensuring that the prcess is relevant t all emplyees needs t be cnveyed. Cmmunicatin and transparency f prcess is critical. Yu cannt ver-cmmunicate during this time. Peple will be seeking infrmatin, and if it des nt cme frm Management then rumurs will take its place. Change takes time. S University resurces shuld be made fully available t supprt the effrts being made by the Department/Units Managers n a pastral level e.g. Chaplaincy supprt and Occupatinal Health, thrugh this challenging perid. There is a need t be pen t questins and cncerns frm all emplyees. LA-MH-HB Page 1

2 Ideas/Slutins Cmmunicatin During a perid f restructure cmmunicatin is vital frm the Senir Management t keep emplyees infrmed f the prgress. Regular effective cmmunicatin can significantly reduce peple s level f anxiety and uncertainty during times f change. The greatest difficulties encuntered during a prcess f change are thse that arise inside peple s heads. (Pendlebury et al 1998) Cmmunicatin needs t be abut listening nt just abut infrming emplyees f the prgress. This is a way fr Senir Management t cllect feedback n pinins, feelings and ideas that emplyees have. Effective cmmunicatin will als help imprve staff willingness t take part and get invlved with the change prcess. Frm the recent staff survey results it is clear that cmmunicatin between management and staff culd be imprved as 53% feel that this is nt effective. There needs t be a wide variety f channels/methds such as team briefings and weekly newsletters t help keep emplyees infrmed n prgress and the next steps. The briefing sessins can als be used t cllect feedback frm emplyees n hw they feel the change is being implemented and hw the new structure will wrk. The language that is used in the cmmunicatin needs t be cnsidered s it des nt cnfuse everyne. Different peple interpret what is being said in different ways s it needs t be clear what the utcme is t be f each cmmunicatin. The cmmunicatin needs t be pen and hnest s emplyees feel they have nt been misled by management. If this is the case then peple will lse trust in the rganisatin and this will impact n perfrmance and affect the Student Experience. Supprt Supprt needs t be available fr all staff nt just thse at risk. Emplyees that are classed as nt at risk are affected thrugh change as much as thse wh are nt at risk. Pendlebury et al (1998) describes this as Any change unsettles them and challenges them t sme extent, because it affects individuals directly by impacting their view f the wrld, their rle in the envirnment and the way their identity is cnstructed. Supprt Surgery times and appintments with HR and/r managers culd be made available fr staff wh need t talk abut the change and hw it is affecting them. This wuld als help emplyees t understand and embrace the changes as well as seeing the pprtunities that may arise frm this. CV and Interview supprt shuld be made available t all emplyees and nt just made available t thse at risk, nce they knw they are at risk. Emplyees might want t imprve their career at BU but during a perid f change might nt be able t as the at risk staff may receive mre f a chance t change rle r mve departments. With all staff supprted thrughut the change this will help imprve mrale and reduce resistance twards the change. This wuld help emplyees feel part f the rganisatin and be mre adaptable t the change. LA-MH-HB Page 2

3 Structure/Timeframe Keeping the emplyees infrmed f the structure f the changes taking place will help staff t understand the timescales. A structure will als help emplyees be able t lk at the bigger picture and see hw their department will lk nce all the changes have been cmpleted. This will als give staff infrmatin n hw the changes shuld prgress. Staff members wh feel that they have nt had a chance t put their views frward r d nt understand the prpsed changes will be less likely t supprt the changes. They may als lse cnfidence in the rganisatin and may be less cmmitted t helping it achieve its gals. Invlving thers in decisins r explaining why things have been decided will help with staff empwerment. Timeframes need t be set t fr items such as redundancy and interview dates fr new psitins. This helps emplyees t gauge when the changes will start t affect their psitins and if they are t be made redundant they can make a plan fr their wn future within BU r t lk utside the rganisatin. Transitin Staff nt directly at risk can be unsure n wrklad r reprting structure during transitin. Staff can feel islated and nt clear n their rle r when this will change. There can als be cnfusin arund wh is ding which bit f wrk as staff are nt sure when they shuld hand tasks ver t a new team. This can be dealt with thrugh effective cmmunicatin and supprt fr all teams and staff frm management. Staff nt at risk shuld be able t apply fr all the jbs nt just the at risk staff. This culd result in a better candidate being selected fr the rle frm a wider selectin. Staff may nt feel that they have had an equal pprtunity t apply fr a rle and further their career within BU s decide t leave and take their skills t anther cmpany r business. Strng leadership is als required during a transitin perid. Management shuld cmmunicate effectively with staff and be able t answer questins in frums r n a ne-t-ne basis. This wuld help emplyees t adjust t the new wrking style and alleviate the fears f emplyees. Mrale Bst All staff mrale drps nt just thse at risk as peple will be upset abut peple lsing/changing jbs. Peple are wrried abut what the change will mean fr them and hw this will affect their rle. Majr internal transfrmatin rarely happens unless many peple assist. Yet emplyees generally wn t help, r can t help, if they feel relatively pwerless. Ktter (1996) By implementing the abve stages this will help t imprve the mrale f staff ging thrugh an rganisatinal change. Increasing participatin frm emplyees arund the change can help give them sme input int hw BU can wrk in the future. This can be dne thrugh a cnsultatin prcess which wuld enable staff t vice their pinins thrugh a variety f mediums such as frums, s, blgs etc. References Ktter, J., Leading Change. USA: Library f Cngress Catalguing-in-Publicatin Data. LA-MH-HB Page 3

4 Pendlebury, J., Gruard, B., Mestn, F., The Ten Keys t Successful Change Management. Chichester: Jhn Wiley & Sns Ltd. Cnclusins Fr the best pssible utcme, rerganizatins shuld be undertaken in the mst humanistic manner pssible. Remaining emplyees will lk t hw the Organisatin treated at risk emplyees. Attitude and behaviur twards Management will increase r decrease future trust levels within an effected wrk grup. Each member f a Department must be seen in n less than 3 ways; all f which are as imprtant as each ther: 1. Department Member 2. Team Member 3. Individual N tw peple are alike and s cmmunicatin can be enabling fr ne and demralising fr anther. Thrughut any restructure, n ne persn shuld be made t feel like it is persnal - especially thse 'at risk'. The damage that it can d culd be irrevcable fr the persn and the team. Whilst a restructure is determined by the Senir Management f a team r department, its success during and after is dwn t the entire department - if they are nt n bard, then the whle prcess will fail. With slid ideas, gd fundatin fr what and why this is happening, excellent cmmunicatin - verbal and nn-verbal and penness t listen, t discuss and t infrm then a restructure can take place with limited resistance. S hw we achieve this? Excellent Cmmunicatin Newsletters s Central pint fr all infrmatin Team meetings Engagement f the individual Access t yu Prevent the rumur mill frm wrking vertime Infrm wh the key individuals are fr the restructure Timelines Set dates set tasks t be achieved by set a static end date fr the restructure set a static end date fr the pst-restructure wrk Organise gather help - external t the department get help infrmatin fr grup meetings ensure peple knw where t lk fr restructure and additinal infrmatin Visibility Make sure staff see yu manage day t day decisins during the transitin Ensure line managers are visible t all Pst-restructure be there t lead the transitin LA-MH-HB Page 4

5 cntinue cmmunicatins be visible get peple invlved t make them feel part f this prcess - they d have sme gd ideas just because a restructure has ccurred desn't mean team members aren't still feeling the effects Allw peple t apply fr new psitins, where apprpriate. Nt just thse at risk. Clleague Assistance Pack This is an infrmatin pack that can be supplied t all individuals at the start f a restructure during this perid f instability. Hw t cntact... CV Writing Service Graduate Service (BU) Emplyee Assistance Prgramme Chaplaincy Cunselling Service Unin Wh t... cntact within HR fr assistance cntact within the Department/Schl Management Any team is as strng as its weakest link - s supprt them all. All great changes are preceded by chas. -Deepak Chpra LA-MH-HB Page 5