Help employees deal with change

Article Type: How to … From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 13, Issue 3

Practical advice for HR professionals

Dealing with change can be difficult. Some changes and life experiences fit with how we view ourselves – how we want life to be. Other changes, however, can completely shatter this view and alter how we thought things would turn out to be. Change happens to all of us so learning and understanding it is key, as are having the skills and strategies to deal with change.

When a major part of someone’s life changes, it is common for them to experience highs or lows. We all go through a cycle of emotions when change hits us, although the speed, timing and how we deal with it varies from person to person. The important thing is to help your employees understand that it is "normal" to experience these feelings.

Why employees find change difficult

Your employees may have seen their job or career heading in a certain direction, or have a fixed idea of how their personal relationships would turn out or what their future would be like. When they do not choose change, it can have an impact on them that makes them want to "deny" the change – to find a way of stopping it happening so they can go back to how they want things to be.

When change is forced on someone, they can cling to what they know rather than something of which they don’t have any experience. People cling to how things used to be or try to create things how they want them to be rather than accepting a change that someone else is forcing on them.

Someone’s behavior and how they react to change emanates from their sense of self and personal values. Behaviors and values are built up and learnt from the experiences that we have had in life – all those things that have happened to us, right from an early age. Our brain never treats anything as a completely new experience; we always go back into our "memory archives" to look for a similar experience. This then informs us how to behave or react in the situation we are currently facing.

So, how can we help people through change?

• With all change it is important to get clarity. To help your employees get clarity, it is important for them to understand what is happening, what the impact on them is and what options they have. They need to weigh up their options – look at the pros and cons of each one and decide the best course of action to take. Then set some goals. Successful people have goals – they give them focus and direction.

• If your employees are finding it difficult to come to terms with a change in their life right now or are experiencing a high level or range of emotions, then let them know that it is a temporary experience. Assure them that they will get through it and start to feel different soon. If a change they are facing wasn’t quite what they had in mind – start looking at how you can help them get through it – look at the options and chose the best course of action.

• Allow them time to visualize a different future and realize how they can make the most of the differences between the reality and their previous goals/vision. Sometimes when we look back at changes in our life that we have resisted, we can see that it was the best thing that could have happened – even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.

• Remind people that they are more than their current circumstances. In the words of artist and poet, Susan Squellati Florence: "Change is a way of growing beyond the person you thought you were into the deeper, stronger person you will become."

Janice Haddon

Janice Haddon is the managing director at Morgan Redwood and founder of Thrive in Life, Windsor, UK

About the author

Janice Haddon is managing director at Morgan Redwood and founder of Thrive in Life. She has over 25 years’ experience in strategic and operational HR and management consultancy. Working across a range of sectors and with start-ups to top 20 companies, Haddon is a qualified coach and has a passion for integrating performance, personal positivity and wellbeing into the work place. A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology, an MA in Psychotherapy and an MBA from Henley Management College, Haddon is also a master practitioner in NLP, a cognitive hypnotherapist and psychotherapy counselor. Janice Haddon can be contacted at: janice@janicehaddon.com