![\"rubin_change\"](\"http:\/\/tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/rubin_change.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\nBefore you attempt a big change in your company, whether it\u2019s a brand overhaul or a systems change, make sure all who are affected know what you\u2019re doing and why. Keeping your business running smoothly in a transition means addressing the needs of your employees before, during and after the change. So let\u2019s start at the beginning and work forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Before the Change Takes Place, Open a Dialogue<\/strong><\/p>\n People are creatures of habit and naturally resist changing their routines. Change creates stress, and status quo is comfortable. So setting up the change is important. Give yourself time to announce the change early enough that your employees get used to the idea. Create an open dialogue during which they have the opportunity to ask questions of you, discuss the transition with each other and make suggestions. Let them know that you\u2019ll be helping them each step of the way and that you\u2019ll make yourself available to them to address their concerns.<\/p>\n Your employees look to you for guidance when things get unfamiliar, and they\u2019ll follow your lead. If you\u2019re excited about the transition and looking forward to the end result, that excitement will be communicated. If you\u2019re hesitant or fearful of the change yourself, they\u2019ll pick up that vibe as well. They\u2019re your team! Be positive. Let them know that you value their expertise and skill and that you\u2019re in it together with them.<\/p>\n Make it Safe<\/strong><\/p>\n According to an article from Inc.com,\u00a04 Reasons Your Employees Resist Change<\/em><\/a>, the reasons why employees resist transitions have to do with feeling secure:<\/p>\n Think about this when changing your team\u2019s mission, culture, or work processes. Some thrive on new challenges, while others feel vulnerable. For them, change means learning new skills and giving up the things they\u2019ve become good at.<\/p>\n Understanding why your employees may resist change, where they\u2019re coming from in terms of their comfort level, job security and fear of failure can help you make the transitory environment less threatening.<\/p>\n Keep the Customer Focus<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if you\u2019ve done your homework and have fully prepared your employees for a big shift, there\u2019s lots of competition out there. During times of upheaval or change, focus on the customer\u2019s needs can easily fall by the wayside if you\u2019re not careful. To make sure this doesn\u2019t happen, coach your employees on why customers keep buying from you, and get their input on potential new paths to customer happiness.<\/p>\n Allow them thinking time to look at their customers\u2019 needs through the lens of your transition and give them leeway to bridge gaps in service and come up with their own ideas to enhance experience. Just as your dialogue with them needs to stay open, you should also encourage them to collaborate with each other to find the best way to help customers as team. Employees with a customer focus will naturally be creative and intuitive if they feel safe during the change and you\u2019ve given them elbow room.<\/p>\n Stay in the Trenches with Them<\/strong><\/p>\n The best leaders are those who demonstrate a willingness to roll up sleeves and work side-by-side with their team to accomplish goals. You\u2019ve demonstrated that you\u2019re aware of the problems they may have with transition. You\u2019ve opened a dialogue and have empowered them to think outside the box.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve made the transition environment safe for them and have them focused on the end goal of providing a fantastic customer experience. Now is not the time to just leave your employees to the job and walk away. Show them your support by working through the kinks with them. Help them navigate unexpected hurdles and emergencies. Keep the dialogue going and keep tweaking the system to work out the bottlenecks.<\/p>\n When I was President\/CEO of a publishing business in 2005 we transitioned from an outsourced warehouse and distribution to handling in house. The change was brutal, we were incredibly behind with delivery, and it was \u201call hands on deck.\u201d Imagine the look on everyone\u2019s face, and the boost in morale, when I worked morning until night packing, lifting and delivering hundreds of those 40 pound boxes.<\/p>\n During a transition, you\u2019ve got to wear a lot of different hats in your relationships with employees. Sometimes you\u2019re a cheerleader\u2014sometimes you\u2019re a counselor\u2014and sometimes you\u2019ve got to pick up that wrench and dive in with them to get something done. Your job as a leader is to get your employees ready and comfortable with the changes you\u2019re making. When you do, you\u2019ll see a huge return on those relationships in terms of loyalty and trust, which leads to high performance and job satisfaction.\u00a0#RonR<\/a>\u2026\u00a0#NoLetUp<\/a><\/p>\n Previously posted at TedRubin.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before you attempt a big change in your company, whether it\u2019s a brand overhaul or a systems change, make sure all who are affected know what you\u2019re doing and why. Keeping your business running smoothly in a transition means addressing the needs of your employees before, during and after the change. So let\u2019s start at … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tedrubin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6106,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6105\/revisions\/6106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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