Get Results In A Period of Change

In the workplace, change is the new constant. With the increase in access to information, successful organizations must always be adapting, changing, learning and growing. This can wear your employees out.

So how do you help your team thrive and learn to welcome change? How do you build their confidence, energy and engagement when many of them feel like they are “running on empty?” I’ll share four ways in a moment, but see if you and your employees can relate to this situation.

You come from a meeting and are overwhelmed by new initiatives, new directions or added work (numbers of employees are reduced as workplaces must get more done with less). You look at the page or pages of notes, not sure where to start, or what is most important. Though you know the change is important, you can’t get your head around all that you need to do. This directly impacts your attitude, effort and ultimately your success.

Here are four ways to help your employees stay confident and productive in a workplace of exponential change:

1. Provide absolute clarity of direction, expectations and results.
2. Divide responsibilities into smaller, scalable components; focus on the critical things, not everything.
3. Build in success momentum; find ways for to achieve small immediate successes to activate energy and confidence.
4. Be (more) available for support, training, coaching and applause.

Just presenting a new project or informing your employees of the need to change does not guarantee that change will happen efficiently or effectively. Guiding and coaching employees through change is critical to improve their success rate and to help them learn new habits in how to handle challenging situations.

Change is the new normal. Great organizations don’t get distracted or upset by change – they know it is part of business. Instead, they train their employees how to use it to find opportunities, make improvements and stay ahead of the competition.

> More about employee training and retention on the Mindflash blog.

Jay Forte is a nationally ranked thought leader and President of Humanetrics. Jay guides organizations – their leaders and managers – in how to attract, hire and retain today’s best talent. He is the author of “Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition” and “The Greatness Zone – Know Yourself, Find Your Fit, Transform The World.” Jay is a member of SHRM, ASTD, the National Speakers Association and the Florida Speakers Association. follow him on Twitter.

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