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Establishing a Culture of Change

QWE Practice Guideline: 447 – Obtain feedback from and involve employees with disabilities in work improvements and decision making

Target group: Any organization working on organizational strategy and interested in developing a clear path to measurable outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Practice Summary

Forbes Coaches Council has laid out 14 tips for building a culture of change that organizations can use to help staff acclimate quickly and efficiently to changes in the workplace.

Practice Implementation

  • The 14 tips for building a culture of change are summarized below and you can also view a detailed layout of the 14 tips by the Forbes Coaches Council
    • Clarify why the change is needed and how it will help staff be more successful, then communicate both to staff.
    • Communicate with staff regularly and through a variety of modalities, such as a company newsletter, team meetings, and emails.
    • Regulate how much change you implement at once to ensure staff can keep up effectively
    • Empathize with employee challenges during changes and address concerns as they arise
    • Prepare employees for upcoming changes so they can adapt and see change as a normal part of their work
    • Remove any known mysteries about the upcoming change and be transparent with employees
    • Provide time and opportunities for staff to ask questions
    • Empower staff to make decisions in relation to new changes and act on those decisions
    • Provide staff with a clear direction and support them in prioritizing their new workloads
    • Teach your staff how to adapt to and build skills for working through changes
    • Build break time into staff schedules so they can decompress
    • Utilize the SCARF model for helping staff understand the need for change – SCARF stands for Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness
    • Provide regular guidance and relevant details to staff, keeping them focused on what is changing
    • Utilize storytelling to engage staff and help them retain concepts around implemented changes

Outcomes

  • Organizations supporting employees through work changes create more adaptable employees, a culture of change, employees that are more involved, employees that are resilient, and employees that are engaged.

NPA: Forbes Coaches Council
Date Submitted: 2022
Website: https://councils.forbes.com/forbescoachescouncil

Resources: Quality Work Environment Workbook