Building Staff Morale Post Redundancies

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. Part of membership involves members taking their issues to the table and discussing them with their peers.

At a recent meeting, one of the CEO members raised an issue regarding building motivation of remaining staff post redundancies.

Advice came from those who had made people redundant or had been made redundant in the past:

1. Announce and complete as quickly as possible
2. Cut deep rather than repeatedly
3. Seek legal advice to minimise risk of reprisal
4. Communicate openly and honestly the reasons and basis for redundancy to everyone
5. Confidently and positively share a compelling picture of the future and strategy / tactics to rebuild

For confidentiality reasons we cannot divulge all of the advice provided by our members – however, we do hold open meetings where guests are able to attend and experience for themselves the real power of ‘The Board You Could Never Afford®’. To find out how you can take advantage of advice like this every month, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

Overcoming Resistance to Change

Academy Groups 5 and 32 had the benefit of a really powerful workshop with Anne Riches (pictured right) who travelled from Australia to speak to the groups this month. Anne worked with us on her “Almond Effect” concepts – designed to help organisations and individuals overcome barriers and resistance to change.

The main obstacles are the inbuilt patterns that we all have, formed by our early conditioning and habit. These resistances are multiplied by the affect of the amygdala, a part of the brain which responds to threats and dangers.

Anne offered us the ADKAR systems to help make change less threatening to the recipients and increase the likelihood of effective change:

A = Awareness (of the need for change)

D = Desire (build and reinforce Desire for the change)

K = Knowledge (knowledge and skills needed to implement the change)

A = Ability (demonstrated ability to implement and change and achieve the desired performance level)

R = Reinforcement (actions to reinforce and support the change process

When engaging in a major change project within an organisation or team, Anne recommended the creation of a ‘change team’ who together could brainstorm (or use similar creative processes) to explore each of the elements of ADKAR to build a better picture of all the issues involved, and to increase engagement.

Anne was keen to point out that we should explore all issues surrounding “Awareness” – for example

- How does what I do fit into the bigger picture?

- What change is needed and What’s in it for Me?

- Whats’s NOT going to change?

- What change in my behaviour is needed?

All in all, a very useful workshop for both organisational change projects and for personal change/goals. Lots of take-away value – recommended.

Peter Pritchett,
Chairman, Academy Groups 5 and 32

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.