When you’re a manager or HR person, one of the most difficult aspects of your job is often leading your flock through a stormy time. Turnover, new hires, new reporting systems — anything that shakes up the status quo adds to your workload and often results in disgruntled employees. Make transitions easier for your staff — and yourself — by easing them into big changes. From the time you notify them until after the change has happened, anything you do to make things easier for employees will make your workplace a happier one.

Create Timelines

Whether you’re addressing a staffing shortage or implementing a new time reporting system, the uncertainty of when changes are expected is often what makes employees nervous. Make creating timelines for your staff an integral part of planning for change. Just knowing the steps in a transition, or understanding that hiring new staff takes a certain amount of time can help employees adjust more rapidly than they would if completely clueless about the length of time an uncomfortable transition will last.

Tell Them Early and Often

Management sometimes delays notifying staff of potential or expected changes for fear of unduly alarming employees, or to be more honest, because they want to put it off as long as possible. That’s always a bad plan. The earlier you inform employees of changes to come, the longer they have to prepare mentally and emotionally, and the more opportunity they have to help you make the transition easier on them.

Ask For Their Input

Oftentimes managers get so bogged down in the details of an upcoming change they overlook the big picture. Your team members have totally different perspectives and may have great ideas about how to improve workflow during transitions or suggestions about ways processes can change for the better. Include them in your planning, and give yourself ample time to hear employee concerns and suggestions and implement them whenever possible. You’d be surprised how much giving staff ownership over change can improve the transition.

Make Staffing Changes the Least of Your Worries

Staffing shortages are without a doubt the transition that management and staff alike feel the most. Cut down on the staffing headaches by outsourcing your hiring. Staffing Partners’ staffing professionals can streamline your hiring by providing you with the best temporary and temp-to-hire candidates in your field. Contact them today and make staffing one less transition you have to worry about!