Whether the change is good or bad, by your choice or because of someone else’s decision, change is never easy.
The Accidental HR manager has the (unfortunate) responsibility to make sure morale stays high, even if we’re disappointed in the change. You know, you’ve gotta keep a stiff upper lip and all that good stuff. Management has to make tough decisions: hiring and firing, tightening budgets, eliminating bonuses or only rewarding one when 2 deserve it. The list goes on and on but if you get a bad attitude about it, then there will be no way to lift the mood of the team.
Here’s something to consider! Give your employee(s) a “BMW”. What’s that you might ask? It’s a b*%ch, moan and whine session! This is a term I heard about at a recent Vistage session and I loved it! Give them some time to whine -limited time though- then get down to business. They’re human; they have to react to the change and often times they will initially react negatively.
Be careful not to agree or disagree with their complaints but you can (and should) empathize with them by recognizing the emotions of change. They might feel anger, frustration, depression, envy (of someone’s promotion), etc., but hopefully they will come to terms with the change and maybe even see it as a positive for the team.
Remember: Burn out is not an emotion nor is disengagement – both are behaviors or conditions. You’ll need to learn to recognize them because dropping the bomb that a fellow employee has been terminated or bonuses are being frozen may have worse consequences to an already overworked, exhausted employee, than a short whine time.
As the manager, you’ll face many changes in your career. Being prepared to deal with them appropriately will not only help your employees cope, but will also help to diminish your stress over the change as well!
Tell us about a time that you thought a change would be bad and it turned out to be good on our Facebook page. Stories like these are great to share with your staff when they’re in the BMW phase!!\