Dive Brief:
- Organizational redesign can’t succeed without effective change management, which helps ensure employees will adopt a new way of operating, a Feb. 9 report from global IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group found.
- Although the report is focused on the tech industry, it offers takeaways for HR and business leaders across the board. In particular, the report highlights several critical practices. First, to limit the spread of rumors and loss of key talent, leaders should be intentional and as transparent as possible in their communications about the redesign. Also, to best garner workforce support, they should involve in the planning employees who will be most impacted by the change. Organizations should also let employees ask questions, voice concerns and share suggestions, the report said.
- Total employee support for the redesign isn’t likely, IT Tech’s research found. But if that support isn’t within the 80% to 90% range, organizations should hold off on moving forward until employees indicate they solidly understand the changes, the report noted. Also, organizations should be monitoring and measuring employee support and engagement throughout the transformation, it said.
Dive Insight:
In the wake of rapid workplace changes brought on by the pandemic, employee expectations have also changed; employees repeatedly say they want ongoing interactions with management about practices and policies directly affecting their work, recent research shows.
A report last month from ADP confirmed that workers want employers to listen to their needs, let them provide more feedback and react appropriately. “When issues arise, [people] expect a swift and thorough response,” ADP said in a statement announcing its report.
While the ADP report focused on employee feedback to employer performance, for employees to stay engaged, employers also need to better communicate pay philosophies and plans, a Feb. 2 report from Salary.com warned. Compensation statements that include insight on how pay is set is one way to do this, experts previously told HR Dive. But managers still need to be trained on how to deliver the information, answer employees’ questions and know when to elevate the questions to someone else.
Input from HR professionals is necessary: They can help their organization set up a proper framework for receiving employee feedback so that it’s implemented successfully, experts have said. An effective system ensures that managers have the correct tools and bandwidth to touch base with workers, and it encourages managers to give feedback when it’s needed and not wait until a performance review.
In this age of remote and hybrid work, videoconferencing and messaging platforms are a must for workplace communications. But unless used intentionally, communication platforms can lead to miscommunication and increased costs, studies have found.
Asynchronous communication, such as emails and messaging platforms, can help bridge employees working different hours or in different time zones, a chief operating officer recently told HR Dive. But a flood of messages from multiple channels may overwhelm employees, he said. The problem can be controlled by setting clear guidelines for how the channels are supposed to be used, and managers can schedule messages so they show up during regular working hours, the COO added.
HR professionals can check in regularly with employees about their level of connectedness and communication, which helps employees stay connected no matter where they work, a chief marketing officer said.
