Ask an Expert: The Leader's Essential Role in HR/P
Karen Copp, Organizational Change Management Specialist, HR/Payroll Modernization
As the HR/P go-live date draws closer, how should I start preparing myself and my team?
Managers can be either a great contributor or a formidable obstacle to successful change. Because you're close to the action, your ability to lead employees through change is often the deciding factor in how quickly and fully a change is adopted. Your attitude and actions inevitably show up in your employees—whether your position is one of support or of opposition—and that will be true in your approach to the HR/Payroll Modernization project. How you position HR/P will greatly affect how your employees respond and how smoothly the transition goes for them.
Ready Yourself
Let's remember that managers are employees first and managers second. In short, you need to reconcile yourself with a change before you can effectively guide your employees—a crucial step that is sometimes overlooked. To prepare yourself:
- Evaluate the changes underway that impact you and your team, as well as your personal level of buy-in. Pinpoint where you are struggling with the change and develop action plans for addressing your own resistance.
- Be supportive of the change. You must first embrace the change that is affecting you and your staff before you can effectively lead them through change. This is the manager's challenge and is an important crossroad in the manager's change journey.
- Build capabilities for leading change with your employees. Continue developing your skills as a change manager; understanding the foundational concepts of change will help you lead change with your employees.
Set Your Employees on the Right Path
Only after you've prepared yourself for the change can you lead employees through change. Doing so will require wearing several different hats: communicator, advocate, coach, liaison, and resistance manager.
Communicator: Employees prefer to hear messages from the person they report to about how a change directly impacts them and their team. With HR/P, this will mean staying on top of communications that you receive from the project and attending any meetings as required. While it's fine to forward information on to your employees, remember that HR/P is communicating information to a widespread audience. Your strength as a change manager is being able to talk in your employees' language and speak to their specific needs and concerns.
Advocate: If managers oppose a change, chances are that their employees will as well; in many cases, the opposite is also true. With HR/P, when you introduce and discuss the change with your employees, make sure to address the business reasons for the change and share your excitement about the opportunities and improvements that Workday will bring.
Coach: Helping employees through their own personal transitions is the essence of change-coaching. You know and understand the people who report to you, as well as whose day-to-day work will be affected on a large or small scale. Reflect on how the change will impact your employees as individuals and be prepared to shepherd each person through any impacts or concerns.
Liaison: Some managers have a unique position of interacting with the project team and providing information from the team to their employees, as well as providing feedback from their employees to the project team. You may or may not have a direct connection with the HR/P team, but you can communicate with your unit's main point of contact or with the HR/P project liaison for your unit. Accessing these resources will better equip you to liaise with your own team.
Resistance manager: Managers are best positioned to identify what resistance looks like, where it is coming from, and the source of that resistance; they're also best suited to address and mitigate that resistance. You've probably already started sharing information about HR/P in team meetings or similar venues, and you may have had opportunities to discuss the project with individual employees as well, so it's likely that you're already aware of employees who are concerned or reluctant. To prevent resistance from snowballing, address it promptly and constructively.
Go-live!
As the go-live date of December 20 draws closer, the HR/P team will continue communicating about unit readiness and about specific changes affecting managers and employees, particularly those with timekeeping and payroll-related roles. In the meantime, you can help pave the way for a smooth transition by wearing the hats as described above.
Once changes are implemented, you can continue advocating for the new system by reinforcing the value and importance of the changes and celebrating successes. In addition, recognize and acknowledge employees who are thriving during the change, who have been key supporters of the change, and who have made significant contributions to the change effort.
Remember that managers are critical in times of change because of their proximity to employees. You know how your employees and their work will be affected by HR/P and are in a unique position to understand the source of their concerns and address them. Embrace the change for yourself first, and then help your employees through the transition by being a communicator, advocate, coach, liaison, and, as needed, resistance manager.
