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How to Coach Your Finance and Accounting Team Through Organizational Change
Change happens in every organization. It’s usually necessary, often exciting, and always challenging. And the challenges are not confined to supervisors and managers. It can be a difficult situation for employees as well. One of the most crucial decisions that you will make as a leader is to involve your employees in the change process. Along with ongoing coaching and mentoring, guiding them through the process could mitigate much of the angst that your workers might be feeling.
Providing the opportunity for employees to be involved in the change process allows for engagement and ownership. They are fully vested in the process, and they work together as one team. Here are a few suggestions for making your company’s changes smooth and efficient:
Identify all areas for change
If you have a long list of potential changes, you’ll need to narrow it down. Include changes that deliver the best return. Finding changes that save time and reduce frustration will be welcomed by all stakeholders and will be accepted quickly.
Recognize the challenges
What needs to be solved? When we ask clients what problem needs solving they will usually identify what they see only through their lens. Who else and what stakeholder groups should also be consulted? Make sure you have clearly articulated the problem before you begin to focus on the change needed.
Communicate properly
Some business leaders will announce corporate changes to a group of employees and then close the conversation when they have finished. Workers are left with a host of questions: What’s the logic behind the change? How will it affect my job and those of my co-workers? When no answers are provided up front, speculation and anxiety will follow. Explain all the reasons for the change immediately and your employees are more likely to embrace it and less likely to worry about it.
Listen closely
As you plan to announce the organization’s changes, leave enough time in the schedule to allow employees to ask questions. Listen closely as the express their concerns. Deal with their fears and focus on the benefits that the change can offer. When you listen attentively to your workers, they are much more likely to support your changes.
Create goals that are aligned with the changes
Every member of your team should be moving in the same direction. That’s the importance of setting a common goal. It helps everyone to understand the role and responsibility that each of them has in reaching the goal. Take whatever time is needed to identify the key responsibilities and goals of each team member so that the change will be executed successfully.
Create a metric dashboard and use it to manage your changes
What do you need to measure to ensure you are succeeding in the change effort? What are the leading and lagging metrics that paint the picture of success? In team and one on one meetings, put up the top areas for change and discuss the metrics.
For more management tips or ideas on instituting change in your organization, contact Halcyon Finance & Accounting Recruitment today. We can help you to develop your team and grow your business.
How can we help? Please let us know how we can support you or your business?
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