Maintaining Productivity During Change

Following these principles can help your employees make the transition successfully.

Maintaining productivity during periods of change is difficult and frustrating for virtually every company. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that organizations can lose as much as 60 percent of their productivity during periods of significant change.

Change is extremely personal. Everyone in an organization might think, feel, or do something different. Leaders must therefore win their followers one by one to keep the organization moving forward even as significant change takes place

The following communication principles can help leaders ensure successful change management and maintain an engaged workforce:

• Commit to ongoing conversation from the beginning. The organization is put in jeopardy when those leading the change put off communicating with the rest of the associates. The information void is filled with rumors and speculation, which are typically much more negative than—and are sometimes completely unrelated to—what’s really going on. Those who were expected to implement the change are denied the chance to participate or buy in and end up feeling estranged and undervalued. As a consequence, the intended changes don’t produce the expected result. What’s worse is that many employees will completely disengage from any effort to make the company the successful.
• Everything managers say—or don’t say—sends a message. Leaders who are not visible champions for the change lose credibility. Too many leaders assume communications is a staff function that should be left to human resources or public relations. Effective communication starts at the top and is funneled down and reinforced through managers at every level of the company.
• Messages must be clear, consistent, and endlessly repeated. As a rule of thumb, when leaders are sick and tired of talking about the change, the message is finally beginning to get through. Associates need to hear the message over and over to believe it and come to terms with the change. Ensure all employees have the information they need to make appropriate decisions and correct actions.
• Realize you can’t legislate feelings. Believing that feelings have no place at work is a big mistake. Managers stifle new perspectives, ideas, and solutions when they deny the validity of their own or their employees’ emotions or permit only positive emotions. Managing people means managing emotions. It’s OK for leaders to show emotion. Likewise, it’s OK for employees to show emotions. Doing so may help employees feel a stronger connection.
• Trust is essential. Trust is the foundation of any team success. Trust happens when leaders demonstrate predictability and capability. Leaders can help employees understand what to expect by clarifying the company’s intentions, its general goals, and how it makes decisions. Trust also builds when both managers and their reports understand and align the needs, capabilities, and objectives for making the change happen.
• Walk the talk. Employees are highly observant. Inconsistencies in message, activities, policies, and behaviors will undermine trust and credibility. When employees observe congruence in what their supervisors say and do, they have greater confidence in the future and can more easily align their own behaviors with the company’s goals.