Transitioning into significant new roles is never easy for employees; it’s only natural for them to experience frustration and show some resistance.
The business direction of any organisation will be significantly impacted, for better or worse, by the action or inaction of a new leader. Unfortunately, despite the high risks, executives usually need more training and support as they transition into new positions.
As a business leader, granting your employees some degree of control over the transition period can successfully address the concerns of your workforce and lead them through change.
Most organisations experience constant change, which is crucial for growth. However, in today’s disruptive work environment, transitions have become more frequent due to the increasing turnover rate. It, therefore, becomes an uncontrollable challenge for business leaders.
The trend is for employees to provide notice to quit. Then, the organisation swiftly begins to find a replacement to transition their responsibilities to another employee without playing a supportive role or providing additional support.
Although a few organisations leverage outplacement to provide invaluable employee transition support, effective employee transition requires proper or systematic procedures.
How can a business manage staff transition strategically without making too many compromises? How can you manage your hopes and expectations for your new employee’s transition or help them adapt to new processes? This article shares some of the most effective approaches to transitioning a leaving employee’s responsibilities to new personnel or an existing one.
Changing Roles Within the Company
Transition in the workplace comes with uncertainty. It begs multiple questions in the minds of the employee and the management that are all tied to success.
High-potential employees often find themselves in the wrong position due to inadequate research and poor talent management, which can be costly for both the individual and the organisation’s growth.
Despite the belief of talent acquisition experts and recruiters that they always make the best hires, a Manpower Group survey revealed that 1 in 5 employees are in the wrong position. Furthermore, it is said to result in demotivation, disengagement, and a growing term called ‘quiet quitting.’
Hence, it is in the best interests of both the employee and their employers to ensure employees have a smooth transition when they move into a new role within the organisation.
You can reduce the uncertainty that comes with transitioning employees. An HR expert like Workforce Learning offers top-in-class talent management services and solutions adapted to today’s changing business needs that can help you attract, develop and retain the best talent.
Strategies for Managing Employee Transition in the Workplace
Employees who struggle through transition have been identified to exhibit considerably low performance.
Additionally, there is always a cost to pay for poor transitioning. So, for employees to excel or succeed spectacularly in new roles, there are certain fundamental principles that HR must adopt to accelerate the immersion of an employee in a new position or company. Consider taking the following actions to guide your team or an employee through a successful transition:
1. Structure Onboarding
A well-designed onboarding plan can provide adequate support for transitioning smoothly into a new role or responsibility and aid employee retention. To ensure that employees are fully established in their new position, start by setting up an automated onboarding process for new employees; this will help them grasp the needed information comprehensively and without delays.
A structured onboarding plan places work processes and people in context. It also enables rapid procedure and ensures that new team members or employees arrive prepared to begin learning roles crucial to their position.
2. Provide Leaving and Onboarding Checklists
Checklists are essential to transition an employee effectively. Every role requires both an onboarding checklist and a leaving checklist. Ensure that all procedures are followed and well-documented. Doing so makes transitioning to a new role easier and ensures nothing is left out.
3. Implement Position-Specific Processes
Another way to effectively transition an employee’s responsibility is to ensure that you document all tasks and responsibilities and review and revise them quarterly. Again, it helps new team members integrate into the group more quickly. Whether an organisation is cross-training or adding new team members, this strategy has shown to be effective.
4. Cross-Train Employees
Cross-training is another strategy that HR can leverage to transition an employee effectively. It prepares employees to perform duties outside their typical responsibilities or work in multiple roles. Additionally, it offers employees chances for learning and development, thereby improving retention.
5. Start with Low-Risk Leadership Opportunities
Being in charge of others is a daunting responsibility, especially for a newly transitioned employee who has never taken such roles. Because of this, it’s critical to provide employees with entry-level opportunities to exercise leadership without feeling pressured to perform before moving into more senior positions.
6. Transparent and Frequent Communication
Organisations can support transitioning employees and maintain high workforce productivity by taking practical action and sharing knowledge explicitly. Be transparent and share regular information about plans, deadlines, and procedures, which will help create efficiency when uncertainty is present.
By utilising surveys, focus group discussions, and other feedback tools, you can get the rest of the team and stakeholders in talks about how to proceed most effectively, even during the change.
7. Coach and Support
In helping your employees navigate the transition or settle into their new positions, an essential talent management strategy is to designate a coach with whom they can speak. Stakeholder involvement is crucial to those transitioning, so the ideal candidate for this position would be someone who has successfully made this transition and obtained an internal promotion within the same role.
Regular check-ins should be part of coaching over the first few months of transitioning because some problems they may encounter take time to appear. Additionally, better employee outcomes result from the nurturing environment, reducing some of the transition’s stress.
8. Provide Training
Quality training is required to help them adjust to their new roles and fulfil their new functions more effectively.
An employee requires self-assurance, direction, and proficiency. They also need to be equipped with hard and soft skills training, as each skill set is crucial in boosting job performance and ensuring that employees contribute to the firm’s mission.
9. Recognise and Reward Small Achievements in the New Role
To give newly appointed employees the confidence to continue developing in their roles, organisations must acknowledge and recognise even the small accomplishments they make in their new position.
What We Can Do for You
Is your talent management all that it should be?
To preserve the relationship between employees and business and ultimately aid the organisation’s success, you can help employees adjust to a new role by establishing your commitment through Workforce Learning strategic talent management solutions and onboarding plans. Our solutions include training, streamlined onboarding, learning management systems, and performance management designed to help you identify, nurture talent and create a superb employee experience.
Olasunkanmi Adenuga
Director, Workforce Learning