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Current Conditions:

Some companies are having trouble finding skilled workers to fill their positions

We have become a turnstile society of employees where it is totally acceptable to be at a company for two to three years before moving on – we no longer consider these people as job-hoppers

The generation entering the workforce today needs and expects to feel connected – just look at the number of gadgets and communication tools they have at their disposal

People are moving into supervisory positions with minimal supervisor training – gone are the days of grooming and mentoring an employee to move up the ranks when the “boss” retires

Companies want to constantly grow and “reinvent” themselves in order to remain competitive

Employees want and expect to be part of the decision-making process

Forecast:

For the forecast, over the next 10 years, of the 164 million workers, 30 million people will retire and there will be only 30 million Gen Zers to replace them.

Finding qualified people to fill positions will become increasingly more difficult

The turnstile will only move faster if employees are dissatisfied with their job or employer

Companies will need to maintain high employee satisfaction, if they want to retain their most valuable assets – their employees

Managers will need to become better leaders so that employees don’t use the manager as the reason for leaving the company  (Which, by the way, is one of the most common reasons cited in exit interviews as to why an employee is leaving the company.)

Predictions:

And if could be so bold as to make some predictions:

Companies will have permanent openings and those on staff will have to carry more weight

People will easily “move on” if they are not satisfied with their situation

“Work smarter, not harder” will challenge us more than ever

Managers will need to become great leaders if they want to keep their followers

The true test will not be how to create change.  The true test will be how to weather and manage change.  For not learning how to effectively manage change in the near future may place an organization in the heart of the “perfect storm.”

Weathering the Storm

Managing change is not magic, a mystery, or a secret, nor does it need to be overwhelming.  It can be boiled down into a simple formula.  It is also logical and realistic, but it requires planning and follow-up.

There are six elements to consider when managing a change initiative, namely:

• Vision / Direction
• Processes / Procedures
• People / Resources
• Skills / Training
• Motivation
• Action Plans

Vision / Direction

When establishing vision and direction, make sure that the vision is broad, it is inspiring, it instills a sense of purpose, it is positive, and it provides energy and attitude control.

Processes / Procedures

When considering what processes and procedures need to be created or modified, consider any and all of the following:

• Team / Department
  • Administrative
  • Communication
  • Process Analysis
  • Process Improvements
  • Legal

People / Resources

When evaluating an upcoming change, make sure you have enough people, you define clear roles and responsibilities, you select the best person for the tasks, and that you communicate details to the people.

Equally important is the need to have adequate resources, which can include equipment, proper tools, financial support, knowledge, historical information, and you know if resources are to be in-house or outsourced.

Skills / Training

Skills that should be honed for effective change management are as follows:

• Overcoming barriers to change
  • Creating and managing effective teams
  • Effective leadership
  • Communication
  • Skills assessment
  • Listening
  • Being proactive

Motivation

Effective motivation is more than a simple e-mail from time-to-time.  Motivation should be an interlocking strategy that uses multiple tools (i.e., reward, recognition, responsibility, delegation, and levels of freedom).  You may need to look up, down, and sideways in the organization when designing a recognition and motivation plan.   The key word is design.  Invest time into developing a plan that fits together with other plans in the organization.

Action Plans

Creating action plans is critical.  They are the road maps to success.  Your plans should be clear, measurable, realistic, anchored with a timetable, open to the team, and written down.

What if there are missing elements?  When pieces of the change formula are missing, the outcomes and emotions are quite predictable.  For example, when everything is in place except for the proper skills and training, people start doing things only to find themselves coming to a stopping point where they can’t continue without the proper skills or training.  I call this the “False Start.”

Change is Inevitable…Growth is Optional

As Michael Dell stated in his book, Direct from Dell, “Change is opportunity.  It is also constant, direct, and temporary, for once things change, you can bet they are going to change again.  Learning to thrive on constant change is the next frontier.”

Charles Darwin gave us the following insight: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

So, has the storm already come to your company?  Is the “Perfect Storm” coming for you?  I don’t know.  If it does come your way, you may not be able to control the storm’s direction, strength, or timing.  However, you can control your organization’s readiness and ability to weather the storm’s resulting changes.

A couple ways to create a more inviting work culture are the following: 

1. Build or strengthen a proactive, situation handling culture in your organization.  Watch this video for information on that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5C5k55gSHA&t=8s
2. Rethink and reconstruct your onboarding process to be as welcoming as possible for new employees.  Watch this video for information on a 9-session course that your organization can go through to reinvent your onboarding process: [link]

How to prepare for the employee shortage storm that has been brewing and will continue for the next decade:

• Build leadership skills in your people so employees will want to follow them
• Develop top-notch proactive, situation management skills across the organization so you can adapt to the employee shortage, should it hit your organization, moving away from reactive, problem solving management
• Focus on the creating efficient processes and continually refine them as the workforce dynamics change
• Find ways to break the employee turnstile movement in your company, especially with recent or upcoming hires by using ONBOARDING as a course to get in front of the storm
• Involve all levels of employees in the decision-making process as much as possible
• Work smarter, not harder at everything you do

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Processes are the backbone of organizations and these three frameworks have you covered from beginning to end and everywhere in between when it comes to keeping your processes as optimal as possible.

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HATS – Task Management Activity is the Conversation Framework to answer all those questions. This bedrock activity opens the door to one of the three core focuses of our frameworks – People. A must-have for keeping track of who is doing what now and being able to quickly adjust workloads as people come and go in departments.

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In another post I talked about How to Change People (7 Tips on How to Get People to Change).  In that post, I mentioned that the first thing to do when trying to change people is to let them change themselves.  The second bit of advice I gave was to focus on the processes so that people would truly understand what an upcoming change means to them and their daily workflow.

As managers, leaders, and agents of change, we possess the power to kindle willingness rather than compel change. Our role is to inspire individuals to embrace new mindsets and actions, fostering a path towards the promised rewards of improvement.  What we can do is inspire the people to want to adapt their mindset and actions to reach the goals and promises that come from an improvement.  We can provide a safe, open, communication-friendly, no-blame culture where people are encouraged to ask any and all questions they have about a change or improvement.

Most people react to change with very simple questions about how their work will be affected and how their world will be impacted.  While they don’t use these exact words, they really are most interested in knowing if their workspace is going to turn upside down, or not.  I view these types of questions as positive.  I would even go so far as to say that employees have a right to pose questions like this before they are expected to jump on the support bandwagon for a change.  Even those who have been burned again and again by poor change implementation are not mean-spirited.  They are simply very skeptical and need more convincing and information to counter their previous experiences.

There is a small percentage of people who will try to sabotage efforts and resist change efforts in a negative fashion.  Find these people and make sure they do not influence others in the department or company.  However, I caution you not to be too quick to judge people as negative unless you have ample information to come to this conclusion.

When I’ve come across change initiatives that have stagnated, I like to bring in the people responsible for effecting the change and have an open dialog with them.  I first review the current state of the situation.  Sometimes I’ll go back to a previous state and show the group how they have grown/changed to get to the current state.  I then flesh out the desired future state with the group.  Once I get everybody to agree on the benefits of the future state, understanding how their jobs will change, I then probe into the obstacles that are keeping them from reaching the future state.

Once the obstacles are identified, I ask the people to provide solutions for removing the obstacles.  Getting their ideas on how an obstacle is “removed” from their perspective and yours may be totally different.  Don’t assume your way is their way.  Embrace diverse perspectives.

Now I can tell you that if a future state involves downsizing people and those people are present, don’t expect them to jump on the bandwagon.  While you may not be able to change what will happen to them down the road, you can always coach them for the future and ask them if they want to be part of the change process, knowing their future state.

And if the proposed change will indeed make their life chaotic, unstable, and frustrating, then why would they support the initiative?  Your responsibility at that point is to work through the chaos, instability, and frustration to help them find a calm, stable, pleasing environment.  This may need to be done one-on-one.

So, let’s put this into perspective with a very simple example.  Let’s say you wanted to reorganize your office layout, and started that project three months ago.  Not a huge, life-shattering event to you, but the project has stagnated, and nobody has taken the initiative to start the shifting around process.  What could come out of a simple group barrier analysis session is that one key person in the chain of dominoes moving around is unhappy with his/her new location but wasn’t asked for input before the plans were finalized.  While in group session, if that person does not bring up his/her discontent with the new location, then shame on him/her.  If he/she does, then find out what the solution is and see how the request can be accommodated.

The answer should not be to let the project stagnate.  Define the problems, generate solutions, and implement the solutions.

Yes, this was probably a simple example for you.  However, simple changes like this can get very emotional and personal for some people.  What’s a non-issue to you may be a huge issue to someone else.  Dig in, explore the reasons, and get people aligned to the goal as quickly as possible.

Benefits of running Barrier Analysis Sessions

1. Lower costs by accomplishing projects as quickly as possible with as few distractions and resistance as possible

2. Increase productivity by taking a stagnated initiative and breathing new life into it

3. Improve morale by opening communication lines to learn the real concerns people have about a change initiative

4. Develop management by giving them a vehicle for creating a culture where people can voice their concerns in a constructive manner

5. Proactively handle the situation early and avoid reactively solving the problem later

Best Practices

1. Conduct a barrier analysis session when initiatives become stagnated or derailed

2. Make sure that the project champion or department manager participates in the session

3. Use a facilitator from outside the department to bring fresh perspectives and unbiased suggestions to the group

4. If you don’t have a framework or structured way to run the barrier analysis session, consider using the Conversation Framework HURDLES, by Innovative Management Tools.  A collaborative activity that leverages the power of a specifically designed Miro interactive whiteboard on this topic.

Until next time!

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