Is frequent organisational change affecting employee output? Part 2

Both managers and employees can mitigate the effects of frequent change in the workplace without spending excessively on redesigning and implementing new processes and systems or raising the recruitment budget. 

What can managers do?

Image from Avard Woolaver on Flickr

Explain the ACTUAL role

Managers need to provide awareness of the fluidity of roles by explaining the expected deliverables in 2 parts – the defined outputs required by the organisation AND the non-defined element of the role. It is not enough to tell employees that they need to be flexible and adapt to frequent changes happening around them; managers have a duty to explain the way in which the organisation works and to share the kinds of things that others get involved in as part of the fluid nature of their roles. This provides an element of structure to the less defined part and ensures employees are not left feeling ambiguous about where they should be spending their time and how this will be measured as part of their performance goals.

Managers should also provide an explanation of what to do if the systems and process are not in place to carry out such work: will employees be expected to put such systems in place? Will this then be a measured part of their role or is this classed as extra curricular activity? 

Of course, I realise that it is impossible to foresee the future and therefore there is bound to be a non predictable and fluid element to a role, the trick is to give people some sense of boundary so that they know what is considered measurable and eligible for reward and what is not. Otherwise, the workplace becomes a game of reading minds. 

Communicate with your team

Communication is a hot topic in the business world and has been for some time, mainly because more often than not, it's done badly. In my view there are a few simple rules that need to be applied to give the workplace half a chance of functioning effectively:

Provide regular feedback on progress

This should be in the form of both formal and informal feedback sessions: chat informally with your team about the things they are doing well and not so well. This can be a simple, "that comment you made in yesterday's meeting about X was fantastic, good job." This helps to ensure your employees feel valued and know that their work is contributing to the overall goals of the organisation.

In a formal manner, I believe monthly check-in meetings as well as annual and bi-annual appraisals work well, as feedback doesn't then become a surprise. Others have different views on the frequency at which feedback is needed. Whichever level of frequency feels most comfortable is up to you, but if you are doing your job effectively, employees should not be surprised by the feedback they hear in a formal appraisal process, they should be fully aware of how their performance is fairing throughout the year.

  

Involve your workforce in change as much as possible

People are much more receptive to new ways of working if they feel they have had an input in what is happening to them. Effective communication of changes before they take place is vital. 

What can employees do?

Keep others informed

Communicate with others if you have done/are going to do a specific piece of work and exactly what you have done/will do: that way people are aware of the state of systems and what needs to be done next, plus it prevents duplication of effort.

Keep records

Record what you do and the time effort you put into it: just a sentence or two about your input and the outcome that the company saw from the work. This might seem time consuming but if nothing else, it will be useful in a performance review meeting, giving you bargaining power for that desired raise or bonus.

Understand your own career path

Image from Angela Marie 
Henriette on Flickr

With frequent changes affecting the structure of roles, the opportunity for role shaping is huge. Where would you like to take your career? What do you currently love doing and what do you hate? What would you like to do more of? By considering these questions you can use the fluidity of your position to take your career in any direction that you choose. You're great at writing and research but hate the project management element of your role? Package up those bits you hate and look around for people who can do those bits for you! There won't always be an obvious person to hand this too but take time to understand the roles of people around you, see where their strengths and weaknesses are and work interdependently to shape your role and theirs. This doesn't need to be someone in your immediate team either; think more widely and who knows what solutions you may come up with.  

Of course, don't forget to keep the broader goals of the company in mind; even if you have your own objectives, you are still working forthat monthly paycheck so make sure you meet your targets.

Final Thought

Organisation's need to adapt to the ever changing environment does not have to result in confusion and uncertainty for employees, but it does demand different ways of working. With new ways of thinking about the things that once held us back, the sky is the limit.