How To Manage Your Team Through Change In The Workplace

On any given day, a manager must react to and respond to each of these categories of change

Written by Chelsea C. Williams, Founder & CEO, Reimagine Talent Co.

“Change” is already a hot topic in 2024. Two questions I often hear when providing career development training to people managers are: How can I be a more effective manager throughout periods of change? What can I do better to support my team through work and personal changes?

First, let’s talk about the idea of “change.” It just might be the one constant in your daily routine. Change comes at managers from seemingly every direction – organizationally, culturally, generationally, and personally.

On any given day, you as a manager must react to and respond to each of these categories of change:

1. Organizational change:

These changes are specific to your workplace and could include leadership change, expanding a product or service line, downsizing teams, adding cross-cultural departments, or acquiring a new company.

2. Cultural change:

These worldwide events and circumstances affect the entire human population, including global war and conflict, economic factors, technology integration, climate and environmental issues, and headlines about news, politics, and social causes.

3. Generational change:

There are five different generations of workers in our workplaces. Each generation has unique experiences, training, expectations, and needs. Generational changes include emphasizing well-being and mental health, remote work and hybrid work models, addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and employee expectations about purpose, autonomy, and opportunities for career growth.

4. Personal change:

Every single day, you and the people you manage are dealing with the highs and lows of their lives, including relationships, births, deaths, childcare, pet care, stress, celebrations, and hundreds of other feelings, events, and circumstances that create change in their lives.

It’s a lot for people managers to process and navigate. Plus, employees have high expectations around change and what they expect from their employers to handle it.

According to a Gartner survey, in 2016, 74% of employees were willing to support organizational change. By 2022, after the massive changes that occurred with COVID-19, only 38% of employees supported organizational change.

In addition, Gartner reported that the decrease in support also correlated with a lower intent to stay with the organization. Just 43% of employees who experienced above-average change fatigue intended to stay with their organization, compared with 74% of employees with low levels of change fatigue.

As a manager, there are a few steps you can take to help your team better manage change.

Change the Conversation

For starters, let’s change the conversation around change! Help your team understand and accept that change is a constant part of business, organizations, life, people, and leadership.

Next, demystify change as a bad thing. Like the notion that feedback is often viewed negatively, change can bring many positive outcomes. Help employees see change differently. Talk about change as a necessary part of your business efforts to help innovate, drive productivity, and build connection and belonging. Turn the conversation about change into a positive opportunity.

Increase Your Communication

During times of change, your communication should skyrocket. As a founder & CEO of a fully remote company, I hold weekly “home team” meetings with my core team to discuss the most critical business opportunities and address any elephants in the room.

We use our virtual face time to discuss what’s happening around the globe, in our industry, and within our organization. As a leader, I forecast future changes impacting our work. As a manager, it’s my job to share those changes with my team. People value transparency. I send biweekly CEO letters to my entire team to communicate about change initiatives. Hence, regardless of role or seniority, everyone understands what’s coming, what it means, and what it will look like.

Another easy communication touchpoint is picking up the phone and calling your team. Check in on them. Ask about their lives. When possible, schedule in-person meetings or gatherings. I’m making a point of meeting with all my employees in 2024 at conferences or meetings just to spend time with them. One-on-one time builds trust and connection.

Utilize Systems to Support Change

Finally, as a manager, you must find and use systems to help support change. During organizational change, project management tools like Asana and team communication tools like Slack become critically important, especially when working with hybrid and remote employees. These tools help track and report the work, dedication, and collaboration accomplished at the end of a month, quarter, and year.

As a manager, asking your organization for a budget to help employees navigate changes is fair. Provide mental health and wellness services, like a library of resources or workshops on stress management. Advocate for flexible work schedules to help employees better manage their work-life balance. Create and support Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to encourage community and bonding.

Talk to your employees and find out where their stress stems from. If organizational changes have them worried about the future, pay for opportunities for employees to improve their skills. Invest in skills training and certifications so people feel confident that they’re ready for the change.

While I cannot predict the future, I know 2024 will be full of change. As a people manager, you can work on these practices to prepare yourself and your employees for what’s ahead.

Manage Change in the workplace — Chelsea C. Williams | Courtesy of Reimagine Talent Co.

Chelsea C. Williams, an Entrepreneur, Workplace Educator, and Mentor, is the Founder & CEO of Reimagine Talent Co., a national talent development firm based in Raleigh, NC. Her national team empowers employers, educational institutions, and nonprofits with high-impact HR & Career Development solutions that support employee engagement, development, and retention. Chelsea is a trusted contributor to CNBC, Fast Company, Investment News, Insider, and Forbes, focusing on leading multi-generational teams and developing Generation Z. She’s a 2021 Forbes Next 1000 Award recipient, 2022 Tory Burch Entrepreneurial Fellow, and 2023 Entrepreneurial Impact Awardee by J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Bank and Women Presidents Organization (WPO). She is passionate about redefining workplaces through innovation and inclusivity.

Chelsea is based in Raleigh, NC.