The last series of articles has talked about Change Management and how important it is to have employees on board with your businesses plan. Unfortunately, that can sometimes not be the case and how you implement your change management through the use of your leadership team’s abilities and the vision of the future state of your business are critical keys to the success of your change management. There is one more aspect to successful change management that is important to having success and also to ensure that you and your business follow appropriate work steps in order to discipline or remove workers who will not comply- that aspect is Coaching.
Coaching is HOW your leadership gets applied to your workforce; it’s the TALENT and the SKILL used to implement and instill the vision you crafted for your business’ future.
Coaching is the positive positioning of the new procedure or task; it’s not ‘ramming’ the new policy into place. It’s introducing the new procedure/policy, giving an explanation why it is needed, and how it will benefit not only the company but the workers too (even if it’s job security). If when you position your case for change this way you still have push back, then you try to deal with it in a positive way.
You take it to the next level of coaching to listen to the employee(s) to find out why they do not agree, won’t follow the procedure, or simply just won’t get on board with the vision. Listen to their issues. Address them the best that you can while emphasizing that whatever is left over needs to be set aside so that the business of the company can go forward. Forward for the team is always a good approach to use.
If there is still push back or refusal to comply then you, as stated in an earlier article, can finally implement corrective actions onto the employee. These need to be spelled out in advance of the first time they are levied, from the discipline being used then to what the end result will be for non-compliance. Make sure that the infraction is spelled out exactly and it is supported by the employee policy manual. If not, you run the risk of being exposed to a wrongful discharge suit.
Keep the proceedings firmly in your control but don’t be a dictator as dictating will only keep the person against the organization and change. And while you may think losing one employee who will not comply is ok, the larger picture is that you, as the employer or management team, have to appear fair and level handed to all who work for you.
Want to discuss coaching skills further? Feel that there is a lot to know so that you and your organization can get control of and improve your change management? Contact Holt Marketing & Management Services for a consultation and advisement meeting.
