Right Management surveyed over 100 senior human resource professionals. The survey asked: Is your workforce able to adapt to change and increase their effectiveness on the job? Results were as follows:
- 31% - No, employee engagement and productivity are a major risk
- 43% - Somewhat, our workforce gets the job done, but morale suffers
- 26% - Yes, our workforce is very agile and responds to new challenges
If we asked the same question today, despite the unprecendented change that has taken place in workforces up and down the country, I'm not convinced that the answers would look that different. The demand for the services and support provided through our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a daily reminder of the repercussions of poorly executed change agendas.
While the impact on the individual is well researched and documented, organisations need to ensure that managers feel to spot the key signs of stress, and react accordingly. But in today's ever changing world, defining what is the most appropriate reaction is often the most difficult part. While policies provide the ideal framework for interventions, they rarely contain the answers to all situations.
Our view: Make it personal. Ensure that any intervention you make has an impact and resonance for both the individual and manager. Use your policies to define expectations and standards, but which enable managers to tailor their use and application. Ensure the concentration of your efforts, and any discretionary spend on management training goes not into the understanding of policies, but into the appropriate application of them. Role play, buddying systems for managers, and a safe, confidential management support can all be extremely useful in the upskilling of managers to handle difficult situations.
Published: 18 June 2010
Posted by: Kevin Friery
