When employees don’t know the day or hour of their departure and experience emotional turmoil around leaving, it can be hard to keep them productive and focused in their role. So how do you keep your team motivated when they know they are leaving?
Here are four tips to help you engage your transitioning team and protect your employment brand in the process.
1. Keep your team informed
By keeping the lines of communication open, you can significantly reduce some of the angst and insecurity your transitioning team feel and improve their productivity. Frequent ‘town hall’ style meetings and regular communication updates are keys to success here.
While there may be information you are unsure of yet, always be seen to be sharing what you know and keeping your team informed. By doing so, you will maintain the respect of your team and manage the changing culture of your organisation more effectively.
2. Don’t shy away from awkwardness
After restructuring and redundancies have been announced, you will need to prepare for some challenging and awkward moments through the transition period. Though despite this, it is important as a leader to move through any awkwardness to show your transitioning team that they were and still are a valued member of your organisation.
The way you treat your transitioning employees during this time will be the memory they have of you as a leader and your organisation, and it will form part of the story they tell others about your brand.
It can also impact the employees that remain with your organisation and whether they will stay long term. With this in mind, ensure your transitioning team never feel ostracised, or ever doubt that the restructure or their redundancy was purely a business decision.
3. Acknowledge the Effects of Change
Career transition can have a dramatic impact on the way staff view themselves, their future and your organisation. This is why managing their transition well is so important, not only for the future of your employment brand but also for the wellbeing of your employees.
Expect that your transitioning team will go through the grieving process as they come to terms with how this change will impact their lives and families. A loss of employment never affects just one person; it can have far-reaching consequences for many.
Let your transitioning staff know you, and your organisation are available to assist them, and where possible reiterate how valuable they have been as an employee.
4. Build goodwill with outplacement services
By providing your team with the knowledge, skills and resources they need to transition into the next stage of their career or retirement, you demonstrate how you respect, support and look out for the future of your employees even when their future is no longer with your company.
Not only does this help transitioning employees and position you as a good employer, but it can also alleviate ‘survivors guilt’ in remaining employees.
In our experience with clients, outplacement services drastically reduce the risk of unfair dismissal claims, complaints, employer defamation and lawsuits, creating a better sense of goodwill between employers and transitioning employees.
Protect your employment brand by giving transitioning staff the support and edge they need, call us today on (07) 3838 1388.
