By Tony
Deblauwe
An increasing amount of attention is being placed on how organizations perform
business and deliver results. Though
there are still plenty of uncertainties, as organizations transition from pure
survival mode to competitive growth, many have begun evaluating their current
state and how connected and engaged their people are to the organization. After
some time, organizations have begun re-evaluating their business structures and
strategies, and re-aligning their people to adapt to renewed growth in the economy.
As President of Tolero Solutions - Organizational Development & Change
Consulting, Scott Span, MSOD has plenty of experience navigating leaders and organizations
through change in turbulent times to a place of long term sustainability. The
term “tolero” means to endure and sustain, and this philosophy lies at the
heart of Tolero’s strategy. With all the change and buzz about the importance
of employee engagement in the air, Span points to several areas where companies
need to communicate what their doing to employees (and communicate it fast). Span
offers three ways organizations can re-connect and re-engage their workforce:
Communicate & Align Strategic Direction. According
to Span, companies’ have the wait-and-see mode of operation that has plagued
many businesses over the last year, and it’s time to snap out of it. Specifically
they have to become more competitive and prepared for new opportunities. The
trick is – you can’t do that until you’ve defined your strategic direction and reconnected
with your people. If your people have lost touch with what you’re trying to
accomplish, you won’t go very far toward remaining competitive. Span suggests leaders
and managers review what has happened, what’s changed and why, and connect their
people to any new changes, new visions and tactics which arise as a result.
This communication and involvement during any transition will help remind
people what the core needs of the organization are and where they fit in, putting
temporary setbacks in perspective.
Don’t Neglect Individuals: Tied
directly into communicating, a renewed strategic direction is how leaders and managers
reach out and drive a resurgence in team spirit and employee engagement. In particular,
Span notes that if people have kept their heads down just to get by, they may
have started to feel like a cog in the machine – not being noticed for say -
doing the job of the three people who were let go or couldn’t be hired because
budgets were tight. Public recognition for a job well done and non monetary
benefits or spot financial bonuses as revenues increase are useful ways to show
appreciation. Simple recognition is often a quick and easy way to increase
engagement and retention.
Training and Development: Often in
tough times training and education budgets are slashed. Span believes with increased
engagement comes a need to reinvigorate training and development opportunities
and up-level skills. Where possible, offering employees targeted and strategic
decisions on training and education opportunities is vital to sustainability. Providing
employees room to grow competencies either through classroom training or
attending industry leading trend seminars is key to successful realignment.
Span also sees a heightened interest in organizational assessments. As many
organizations are just beginning to reinvigorate and realign, organizational
assessments are a fairly quick and easy way to provide data on current and
future state. This is right in line with the concept of engagement and
realigning priorities and people. Determine where you are before you decide
where you want to be. Span also sees executive coaching increasing. Leaders and
managers are realizing that they may need to change style and approach to
attract, engage, and retain current and new talent. Span also sees an
interesting shift occurring now, as workface demographics are changing, is an
increased focus on generational diversity programs.
Span sees slowed continued growth for the months to come. He believes that organizations that realign and refocus on people now will remain competitive and sustainable; and be able to survive the inevitable bumps in the road that will continue to occur until relative long term stability returns.
For more information about Scott Span, MSOD, - President of Tolero Solutions, an Organizational Development and Change Management consultancy. Tolero Solutions specializes in developing people and organizations to be more responsive, focused and effective to facilitate sustainable growth. Scott successfully delivers organizational improvement solutions to staff teams, individuals and organizations in multiple areas including change management, culture change, leadership development, engagement, retention, performance and sustainability. He is an author on various topics of organizational development including cross generational communication, generational alignment, and Gen Y in the workplace and the creator of the Gen Y Recruitment and Retention Lifecycle ™. His results have not only helped achieve desired goals, but have also increased personal growth and development, leading to a more efficient and effective work environment. He may be reached at scott.span@tolerosolutions.com.
