Success yellow arrow on black arrows background. Standing out from the crowd. Lucky business achievements and leadership concept
Whether a business is a startup or fully established, one of the most critical factors in the successful growth of any business is the team. The company’s Human Resources (HR) Department is integral to any growth strategy and pivotal in inevitable transitions. When considering collaborating with other company areas or effectuating the team’s growth, HR provides a strategic, proactive, and agile culture fostering and enabling growth. Change within an organization can take many forms, such as expansion, restructuring, process improvements, technology upgrades, or shifts in company culture. HR is crucial in helping employees adapt to and embrace these changes.
Here’s how HR can effectively manage change in a growing organization:
- Digitizing the onboarding process or outlining new reporting structures.
- Talent Acquisition: Sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding skilled employees who can contribute to the company’s success.
- Employee Development: Facilitates training, coaching, and mentorship programs to ensure employees adapt and thrive in evolving environments.
- Culture and Engagement: Helps foster a culture that aligns with the company’s mission, values and goals.
- Performance Management: Oversees performance evaluation processes that help identify high-performing employees and areas where improvement is needed.
- Compliance and Risk Management: HR professionals ensure that the company remains compliant with legal requirements related to employment, benefits, and workplace safety.
- Succession Planning: Plays a vital role in identifying and developing potential organizational leaders. This ensures that the company has a pipeline of talent to fill critical roles as it expands.
- Adaptability and Change Management: Growth often requires organizational changes, such as restructuring, expansion into new markets, or mergers and acquisitions. HR helps manage these transitions by facilitating communication, managing employee concerns, and ensuring a smooth transition.
- Employee Well-being: Initiatives related to mental health, work-life balance, and employee benefits can boost morale, reduce turnover, and enhance overall productivity.
Change Management Strategy for Human Resources
When HR engages with leadership at all levels in the change process, they can collaborate with the key decision-makers to realize the desired change. Leaders who are visible, actively endorsing and supporting the changes can work with executives and managers to ensure they can lead their teams through the transition. Part of the strategy should include goals, milestones, and key performance indicators to measure progress. Change management strategies are specific to HR and integrated with the significant growth of the company as a whole.
Essential Human Resources Communications
Clear and concise communication is essential during times of change. Human Resources should develop a communication plan that includes regular updates to all employees, explaining the reasons behind the change, its impact on employees, and the expected timeline. Feedback is an integral part of communicating with employees and departments. Consider establishing mechanisms for gathering feedback about the changes through surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one conversations. This can ensure that HR knows how the changes affect different employees and teams. Then HR can analyze this feedback and use it to make informed decisions or necessary adjustments to the change management plan.
Pay Attention to the Individuals and the Teams Affected by the Growth
No growth can happen in a business without its employees. HR can support growth by implementing tactics to support individual employees and teams. From the outset, identify and train growth champions or change agents within the organization. These individuals can help drive the change process by serving as role models, advocates, and sources of information for their colleagues. As growth occurs, employees will find their roles changing. Consider providing training and development opportunities for employees to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to adapt to the changes. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, companies with learning and development initiatives are more than twice as likely to innovate. HR can work with department heads to identify training needs and ensure resources are allocated for employee development.
Lastly, offer support systems for employees struggling with the changes. This can include counseling services, mentorship programs, or employee assistance programs (EAPs) to address emotional or work-related issues that may arise during the transition. When an organization is going through a period of growth, HR’s role in managing change is to minimize disruption, reduce resistance, and ensure that the organization successfully adapts to the new circumstances. By employing these strategies, HR can facilitate a smoother transition and help the organization thrive during periods of change.
If your HR growth strategy includes transitioning paper to digital records or other digital record and project management solutions, Didlake Imaging can << help.
