STORIES & SOLUTIONS FOR THE MODERN BUSINESS USER

In our previous resilience blog post, we described strategies you can employ for strengthening the resilience muscle and how, positive relationships can bolster personal resilience and are important for supporting others, especially as they navigate setbacks and disruption. As working patterns have shifted significantly to remote networks, employees are left without the personal interactions that they’ve been accustomed to and are crucial for healthy engagement. According to a recent Gartner survey of 800 HR Executives, 88 percent of organizations have encouraged or required employees to work from home related to COVID-19. 

This year has been one for the books. Social distancing, wearing masks, new hand washing routines all against a backdrop of social, economic and political unrest. We have all learned lessons on how adaptable and flexible we are or aren’t as individuals and organizations. 2020 has brought so much change that we are now living in a fatigued state. Gaining some insight into the mechanics of fatigue can help you take a pause to refresh, reset, and focus on the way forward with a different mindset.

The global pandemic required businesses to respond quickly and make changes to how work gets done, but it has also created permanent change for the future. We are in new territory and the structure and complexity of this change is unique and atypical. Leaders are increasingly faced with the challenge of ensuring their people stay focused, engaged, and productive and with the pressure of continued uncertainty, it’s more important than ever that companies invest in strategies to strengthen resilience post-pandemic.

Many organizations often struggle with transformational change and police departments are no different. Unlike other large organizations, police departments usually do not have an internal communications function within their leadership structure. Most will have a Public Information Office (PIO) or media relations specialist, but no role devoted solely to internal communications. The lack of such a role can hinder transformational change, whether it is technology based or organizational in nature. Furthermore, the lack of an internal communications role within any organization often points to a lack of a strategic approach to communications in general.

By Michael Sponhour, Molly Hood, and Leslie Heilman

Don’t get left behind because of budget constraints and miss the opportunity to make innovative changes that set your business apart. Learn why every business needs enterprise change management, even on a small budget, and the three must haves to help you get there.

When shopping for a car, you rely on your budget to help you make the decision on what to purchase. For example, let’s say you are working with a tight budget. Do you go out and buy a Tesla or a Toyota?
Many mid-size organizations face the same predicament when developing their enterprise change management capability. Just like the family that needs a reliable vehicle and wants to get the most for their money, small to mid-size companies need consistent enterprise change management to help them thrive and survive.

Choosing to move your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) operations to the cloud is a transformative experience for your organization. Whether you are making this transition to streamline business processes, prepare for an acquisition, or to simplify operations, your transformation is as much about people, behaviors, and how you work as it is about the technology.

As consultants, we build relationships with business leaders, provide the tools needed for effective change, and conduct ourselves in the most professional manner possible. We lead by example and treat others with respect and patience, building collaborative relationships that foster the trust business leaders need to achieve their objectives. In order to be successful, it is important for our business partners to lead by example and commit to helping us build the collaborative relationships needed for a successful transition.

Organizations that incorporate change agility as a competency in their transformation programs or leadership development have a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The more your people know how they react to change, the faster they can adapt to change, the quicker you can get to market, execute strategies, and realize the return on investment of critical business strategies and initiatives.

Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z are working side-by-side, each bringing unique strengths, experiences, and expectations to the workplace. Along with opportunity, there are also new challenges with four generations working side-by-side. Getting the groups to work together efficiently is a key challenge for many organizations, and as technology advances, employees of all ages will need to be equipped with new and refined skills to stay current – and that requires the ability to manage change.