Organisations, by nature, are driven to grow. Whether it happens organically, or through a planned effort, there’s a real drive to achieve more – increased services, better quality, bigger profit margins and greater market share. But in the path to growth, preparation is key and ensuring that employees are equipped for change is arguably the most important element.
When businesses are going through transformation, while it can be a time to instil positive changes and growth for the company, it can also be a time that creates uncertainty and even chaos for employees.
By taking a holistic approach, and getting a transformation plan in place, companies can focus on their people and areas of risk to ensure it’s a smooth transition, keeping employee wellbeing at the forefront. This is done by looking at how the change impacts finance, culture and talent across the full deal cycle and thinking not only about the time of change, but the longer term.
Here are 5 steps to follow to ensure positive growth during a transaction:
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Understand the cost of retaining key talent
When companies are going through times of change, they need to select, retain and equip the talent that are critical to achieving the new strategy.
Change sometimes creates great upheaval leading to uncertainty and doubt for colleagues which can result in key talent leaving the business when you need them most.
Developing retention strategies and compensation programmes are key to keeping talent on board, by keeping open and regular communication and rewarding loyalty through times of adaptation.
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Assess Organisational Design, Job Architecture and Workforce Management
When planning for transformation, leaders need to look at the future state of the company – where they want to be and how they can get there.
That entails reviewing the organisational design and establishing opportunities to make relevant changes to support that transformation, particularly if changes are needed to combine two companies. Keeping in mind the company cultures and the best way to merge them.
It’s also necessary to look at future operating and cost models to achieve synergy goals.
Considering where to best invest, and where cutbacks are necessary, not only supports a smoother transition, but also allows for greater transparency, creating a calmer environment for employees.
Equally, it’s important to review job architecture design and establish a structured framework that defines and organises roles to give clarity and consistency around responsibilities and pay across different teams and departments.
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Define the future vision for Total Rewards
During transformation, organisations should define the future vision for their Rewards, Benefits and Retirement offerings, reflecting on the current philosophy and reward structure.
This can be done by identifying current offerings across different regions and taking into account costs and liabilities to inform potential strategies for the future vision. Equally, this is a time to think about any potential integration issues that could occur.
Using employee listening data or accessing surveys like WTW’s Global Benefit Attitudes survey or Benefit Trends survey are relevant tools to evaluate what employees value most in this area.
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Make Employee Experience, culture and change management a priority
The employee experience during a transformation is arguably one of the most important factors to address, as ensuring transparency and consistency where possible can alleviate any anxiety felt during this time of change and upheaval. It’s key to retaining valued talent and how a company handles change often shapes the view around whether employees want to be part of the journey or not.
Employing communication and change management specialists can help minimise disruption and offer support to all stakeholders through using culture assessments to assess leadership team risks, change impact analysis and employee experience.
During this time, organisations should be identifying key cultural differences across the organisations and evaluate any changes that are needed, as well as assessing areas of key talent and potential severance.
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Establish effective project management governance and communications
Establishing effective project management structures and processes is critical to prioritise activities and ensure stuff gets done. The combination of project management with change management will also ensure you identify and manage the impact on people, which can sometimes get lost during a transformation.
Equally, establishing an effective communication plan will be critical to success. If a company fails to communicate effectively during a merger or acquisition, it risks its employees’ loyalty and trust, employee retention, company culture, and long-term success. You’ll want to start your communications planning right from the outset, so that you can develop a compelling and consistent story to tell your employees and stakeholders. Be clear, human, and concise with employees, and address their evolving needs. And don’t forget that if you cannot communicate certain decisions yet, be honest and explain the process.
Growth and change are often the basis for success for many businesses, but without proper planning and continuity of employee wellbeing, these transitions can create more chaos than reward. By looking at the future state of the organisation as a whole, balancing risk and financial impact, utilising HR functions in the most effective way and having a clear, signposted job architecture and reviewing reward and compensation offerings, companies set themselves on the right footing for a successful transition.
And arguably, most importantly, making the employee experience and culture a priority throughout this period and maintaining it beyond that helps to retain key talent and minimises chaos and disruption, when teams need to pull together.
