Silence isn't golden during business change
If you’re going through any kind of transition at work, you’ll know how difficult it can be to keep up the momentum of change, while making sure your customers continue to receive their usual high levels of service. Your To-Do list gets longer each day, with every crossed-out task replaced by three or four more, and you find yourself starting work earlier each morning and ending later each night. Eventually, you know something has to give.
So as you scan your diary for appointments to postpone, those 1:1 and team meetings with your staff may appear to be a luxury you can’t afford at the moment.
STOP right there!
During times of change, communication with your team is more important than ever. With their prime position at the front-line of your business, your team are the most useful and cost-effective source of information and feedback available to you. They will know if cracks are starting to appear, whether customers are complaining more often, and they will be very quick to tell you if a change is likely to cause problems elsewhere in the organisation.
They may also be worried about change – wondering if they will be able to cope with new responsibilities or different ways of working. They may be anxious about job security, and considering looking for other roles. Some may be so stressed by the situation that they are becoming unwell.
Regular discussions with your team will help you pick up these issues very quickly, before they damage your business.
1:1s and team meetings are the LAST appointments you should consider cancelling, but you can make these meetings more effective than ever during times of change by:
1) Having a standard agenda so that team members know what you want to talk about and can prepare in advance.
2) Have additional items e-mailed to you 24 hours before the meeting, so you can make time for them on the agenda if you need to.
3) Start and finish meetings on time – don’t allow them to drift on past the allocated time.
4) Be clear when discussion on a topic has finished and a decision has been made. Don’t allow people to go back to a subject already covered.
5) Ask a team member to take action notes of the meeting and circulate them so that everyone is clear which tasks they are responsible for completing before the next meeting.
If you are concerned about your team as your business grows, there are many steps you can take to make the transition easier for them. Call me today to discuss your options.
Tagged as: Better HR, Communication
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