Five to Thrive 10/7/2019

UMD’s Thriving Workplace Initiative is making the University of Maryland a great place to work by providing tools and support to foster engaged, inclusive and empowered faculty and staff across campus.

Each Monday, its Five to Thrive list offers five strategies crowdsourced from research, experts and our own UMD community to help your workplace thrive.

This week, TWI tackles change. Whether it’s a new system, a merger or a shift in leadership, help your team navigate unfamiliar waters with these helpful strategies:

• Get specific. Share as many details as you can about the timeline, the process for how it will happen, who will be affected and most importantly, the “why.”
• Recognize and manage fear. Listen to your team’s concerns, check in often and discuss what could be adjusted (like workloads) or added (like extra training) to help during the transition period. Recognize that people might not volunteer this information. You may have to ask, “What do you need from me during this time?”
• Find your champions. Recruit a few highly regarded or veteran team members to help communicate, lend an ear and champion what’s coming. That can help boost buy-in and morale during periods of change.
• Reflect on past success. Change can sometimes be perceived as a knock on an old program or strategy, which risks employees feeling unappreciated. Recognize the importance and value of previous work.
• Visualize a brighter future. Talk about what the change will accomplish, what it will look like, and where each individual will play a part. Do this early and often to keep everyone’s sights on the bigger picture.

Save the date for a special Thrive Thursday on Feb. 20, 2020, on “Managing Change in the Workplace,” to learn how to successfully navigate the common reactions and emotions that accompany change. Register at https://go.umd.edu/ttfeb2020.