Thought Leadership in Action

Change is inevitable in business, but organizations aren’t always ready to manage it effectively. Senior leaders may implement changes without thinking about the long-term effects on the talent strategy of the organization, for example, leaving it vulnerable when employees aren’t prepared for new responsibilities under the new strategy. Or they may try to implement change without communicating effectively with employees about the new direction, leaving the workforce confused and, ultimately, dissatisfied.

Change is a great time for HR to shine. HR can take a lead role in change management, making it a part of business strategy. “HR’s focus on people means it’s ideally suited to be inclusive and considerate of all change stakeholders: those designing the change, those affected by it and those implementing it,” says Joe Britto of Innate Leaders, a management consultancy. “HR can be a bridge identifying concerns and anticipating setbacks as a result of poor communication or personnel challenges.”

This white paper will examine the three things HR must to do take the lead role in change management: Understand the business, rely on its strengths and serve as a champion for change.

Understand the Business

It’s easy for HR leaders to get lost in the task-oriented weeds of managing human resources: compliance, filings, reporting and so on. Before they can take a lead role in change management at their organization, HR leaders must understand the entire business, not just the HR side. Taking a broader view of the organization — its market, its competitors and its strategy — will prepare HR leaders to manage change more effectively.

“The best-case scenario is HR leaders who fully understand the business itself, not just compliance and administration issues,” says Chere Taylor, CEO and president of Fulcrum HR Consulting. “Ideally a company has HR leadership that not only supports C-suite company changes but also initiates change at times.”

This means digging into business strategy and getting alignment with organizational leaders. “They must understand business drivers, the market and the competition,” Taylor says. “I think it's important that there is an expectation from the C-suite that HR is an integral driver of any change-management initiative and in fact that HR is a member of the C-suite.” When it is, HR can actively and continuously embrace or create concepts and ideas to push the company forward, she says.

That alignment with company leadership is crucial, says Maggie Bliss, director of human resources at Combined Insurance, which provides supplemental insurance. “In order for HR to support change, I believe strong leadership is required to drive the change,” she says. “Without strong change leadership management and support from the top, the change efforts and initiatives can fail.”

Rely on Its Own Strengths

HR’s core competencies are often recognized as assets for day-to-day operations, but it’s important to understand that HR’s strengths can also be applied to change management.  “Organization culture change success is determined by how well all employees are working toward a shared vision of what the new organization will embody,” says Cheryl Procter-Rogers, a public relations and business strategist and executive coach. “HR is uniquely positioned to support an organization’s change efforts as long as the senior management team brings their expertise to the table in the early planning stages.”

HR’s strengths include communication, talent assessment and talent management, all of which can help build an employee population ready for change. Here’s how.

Communication

“If the law of real estate is location, location, location, then the law of successful change management is communicate, communicate, communicate — and that’s a role custom designed for the HR function,” Britto says. HR works hard to establish clear and reliable lines of communication with employees, managers and leaders; a change-management initiative is a perfect time to activate those channels to get everyone on the same page.

Talent Assessment

No matter what kind of change the organization is going through, it’s going to need the right people in the right places to succeed. HR has the ability to assess talent from a more holistic standpoint in terms of the organization as a whole, Bliss says, making it the ideal department to measure current talent levels and provide guidance to company leaders who may have questions about the kind of people the company needs to change.

Talent Management

Change can make employees nervous, but HR leaders know how to keep engagement up, Bliss says. ”HR can recommend employee-recognition programs that can help drive morale and engagement while also playing an important role as facilitators of the change,” she says. Measuring engagement or satisfaction levels before, during and after the change initiative can help identify course corrections managers or leaders should make, or highlight areas where more communication is needed.

In addition, HR’s ability to assess risk from the standpoints of employee relations and workforce planning means it can play a strong role in any change-management effort, Bliss says. As the company moves past the change, HR can help department leaders reassess whether current staffing levels are where they should be, and what kind of development needs they might have.

Finally, HR’s focus on people means it’s ideally suited to be inclusive and considerate of all stakeholders during a change initiative, Britto says. Those designing the change, those affected by it and those implementing it all need to be heard. “HR can be a bridge identifying concerns and anticipating setbacks as a result of poor communication or personnel challenges.”

Serve as a Champion

When HR leaders use the strength of the department to help manage change, their leadership role can make them a beacon for employees during uncertain times. To fill that role, HR needs a strong understanding of the dynamics and emotional impact of change, Britto says. “Support for HR by senior leadership to allow stakeholders to lead the change themselves will also help HR facilitate organizational change.”

Once it has that understanding, there are three ways HR can help serve as a champion for change in the workplace:

Create Buy-In

“The one constant in our work world today is change, and yet businesses and the people within them struggle to adjust,” says Amelia Chan, founder of Higher Options Consulting, a human resources consultancy. “Change management is ultimately about influencing the people in the organization; the success of any change initiative is in direct proportion to the level of participation and buy-in from its employees.”

HR will need to help overcome resistance and engage employees actively in making incremental transitions, Chan says. “People affected by organizational change need to be a part of the shift or they will resist it because it is unfamiliar and scary. The HR team can partner with leadership to champion the cause through training, team-building, organizational redesign and engagement.”

Support Leaders

Change causes uncertainty, and leaders and managers are likely to get some pushback during change. “It’s very important for HR to serve as champions of the change — to overcome resistance, provide comfort and increase buy-in of the change, and support it at all levels,” Bliss says. This means being ready to move quickly if managers give feedback about needing different people in different positions, or providing guidance on what competencies are needed for new roles.

Progressive HR departments can consider moving beyond change management to change readiness, which prepares employees to be ready for change at any time and is much less disruptive to the business, says Cy Wakeman, a speaker and author who has studied the impact of drama in the workplace for years. She recommends encouraging employees to share accountability and find their own solutions to help them understand change is up to them.

Collaborate Across the Organization

The HR role is huge in change efforts as HR leaders collaborate with the senior leadership and hiring managers, Procter-Rogers says. Serving as a clearinghouse for recruiting, hiring and development to best position the company for its new path takes advantage of all of HR’s strengths while giving it a leadership role. As employees react to change, they may try to establish new barriers or “protect their turf,” and HR can take a lead role in ensuring the lines of communication and productivity stay clear.

Conclusion

Change is never easy. Company leaders may even shy away from it because they fear upsetting the organization’s performance, place in the market or an already restive workforce. But an organization that doesn’t change doesn’t grow, and companies that are ready for change can take advantage of opportunities more quickly than their competitors. The HR department is well-suited to take on a lead role in any change initiative, and as company leaders rely on its innate strengths and experiences, it will provide important perspectives and strategies on the organization’s new path.