Looking after your management team during a restructure

Restructures can be difficult for everyone involved.  In particular it’s important to keep your management team motivated and resilient throughout the process.  They are your key to a successful transition and it’s important to consider their needs and make sure they are supported.

The management team can have a three-pronged responsibility during a change process.  They can be responsible for the development of the strategic plan, the implementation of the plan and also for the emotional fall out that may happen as a result of the changes throughout the workplace.

Recognise that managers may have heightened emotions themselves about the changes, including uncertainty about their own roles and also about their colleagues.

In addition, managers may be required to deliver the news about the change project to their teams.  In this case they may feel some trepidation about the news that they are delivering, and could benefit from some coaching or a chance to role-play this with another colleague in advance.

Managers are often required to deal with a range of emotions from their team during a change process. Normal reactions to change are varied and sometimes it can be hard to know what to say to a team member who is dealing with difficult emotions.  It’s important that managers understand the range of normal reactions to change and are prepared to deal with these.

Some reactions may include:

• Feeling overwhelmed or withdrawing from others
• Feeling irritable or over-reacting to small things
• Self doubt
• Anger
• Shock and disbelief
• Confusion

These emotions can be directed at either the manager or co-workers.  It’s important to prepare managers about the range of possible emotions they may encounter from team members and also give them advice on ways to handle these conversations.

During a change project the manager will become the source of information about the changes for their team.  Make sure your managers are supported with a good understanding of why the changes are happening, the timeline of changes and also that they know when future updates will come.  Keep your updates to managers regular and consistent, so that they can be seen as a good source of information and knowledge by their teams.

Make sure your managers know about any counseling services you have available.  (We recommend Access EAP.)  This is a great source of help during a change project as it can help to take the pressure off your managers to become counselors to their team, which is not their role.

Encourage your managers to maintain a healthy life balance.  Managers can often bear the brunt of high expectations during a change project.  In addition during times of change, many employees feel uncertain about their own careers.  Your managers may respond to this uncertainty by working longer hours.  Encourage them to stay healthy and balanced during the change process, as this will give them more resilience and ability to manage the process well in the long run.

For more information, read our previous blogs. 
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