Transitions | Connect to HR | Strategic HR Advisors & Executive Coaching

Archive for Transitions

Keeping Employees Engaged During a Transition

I work with all types of organizations. While my main focus is small to medium sized companies, at least once a year I engage on a project with a larger organization. This enables me to update my knowledge about employee and leadership challenges and best practices in those environments so I can transfer those learnings to my work with smaller organizations.

I recently worked on a project where there was significant change occurring in the organization. Change can be difficult. Especially when those impacted by the change, e.g., employees during an organizational transition, don’t understand the reason for the change or how it will affect them. This lack of knowledge translates into fear: Will I still have a job? Will I have a new boss? How will our way of working change?

That fear often pushes people toward the exit. Better start looking for a new job now. Even those employees who decide to wait it out may be less motivated and engaged in their work as they worry about what’s to come. My main take-away from this recent project as well as my many years of experience helping clients big and small through change is communication and transparency are key!

Below are a few best practices to follow if you know your organization is planning to change, whether it’s at the departmental level or more broadly as part of a large company-wide initiative.

Communication Plan

Most effective organizational change efforts begin with having a solid communication plan. But the quality, delivery, and implementation of that plan can make all the difference in whether employees adapt to the change or not. This is especially true in today’s hybrid environment where it takes effort and intention to deliver the message in multiple ways. Without clear, frequent communication about what’s going on in the organization, employees may fill in the gaps with worst-case scenarios of their own.

Quality

Employees will most likely know something is up even before you announce the change. They’ve observed the closed-door meetings if working in the office. Even in remote working environments, employees will hear rumors from others. As soon as possible, communicate the impending change and the reasons for it. Provide as much information as you can and be honest about what you anticipate the journey to be like and any bumps you might encounter along the way (transparency). Encourage employees to ask questions. You won’t have all the answers but enabling two-way communication is a start in getting them onboard. Explain that you are sharing as much as you can/know at that point in time. Set (and fulfill) the expectation that you will keep them updated as things progress and change. Organizational transitions, especially mergers and acquisitions, can take a long time to complete. Many things can change during that period and employees need to be kept informed.

Delivery

Communication of the change should be delivered from the top down. The CEO or business owner should make the initial announcement to employees. Prior to this meeting all leaders should be briefed on the change and aligned with the messaging. As much as possible meetings regarding the change should be held in person or via virtual town halls, if working in a remote environment. What’s most important is a forum with opportunities for employees to ask questions. After meeting with employees, continue to update them in a variety of ways e.g., Slack, emails, blog posts in your company portal, etc. Make it easy for the employees to learn about the change and what to expect.

Implementation

Communicating change is not a one and done activity. Business conditions/environments can change at any time. The pandemic is a recent example of businesses having to pivot quickly and plans having to be altered. In the current business environment, the outcomes you initially anticipated as business leaders may change. The reduction in force you hoped to avoid may now be unavoidable. Without updates along the transition journey, employees will be relying on what they were initially told. Having those expectations suddenly altered will impair trust, impact engagement, and propel them toward the door. Repeating the message is key! It is more effective to communicate the message in multiple ways/methods and multiple times then to under communicate.

“Data shows that leaders are 9x more likely to be criticized for under-communicating than for over-communicating. Those who say too little come across as unclear and uncaring. When you’re tiring of your message, it’s just starting to land.” – Adam Grant

If you or someone you know is embarking on an organizational transition, I’d love to help. You can reach me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Connect to HR Adds Career Coaching Services

I’m happy to announce that Connect to HR is officially launching a new service focused on helping job seekers successfully navigate the process of landing a new, more fulfilling opportunity.

Although we are definitely in a job seekers market, there is still a lot of competition and the basics of an effective job search still apply – clarity of vision, planning, effective personal marketing tools, preparation, practice, etc.

Too often job seekers are in a rush to post their resume and don’t take the time to think through what it is they want to do next. As a result, they may end up with the same job in a different place and be no more fulfilled than they were before.

This is where a career coach can provide insight and guidance. It’s important to note that career coaching is more than just helping you find a new job. It’s about helping you find the right job, employer, work environment, and potential for you. It’s also about helping you develop job search skills and knowledge that you can continue to use as you navigate your career path.

My career has given me experience working on both sides of the talent equation. I’ve worked in recruiting for large organizations and have consulted with business leaders about effective hiring strategies and processes. I’ve also worked with individuals at all career levels to help them create a results-oriented job search plan and powerful personal marketing tools.

I’m now putting this experience to work in career coaching for people on the move. This is in addition to my HR Advisory Service and Executive Coaching.

Connect to HR has 3 Career Coaching packages to choose from based on your needs.

Our Resume and LinkedIn Starter Package is designed for those who just need help ensuring that they have powerful personal marketing tools. With this package I’ll work with you to co-create a targeted resume that captures the attention of recruiters. I’ll also help you develop a LinkedIn Profile to enhance your online presence. Your resume and LinkedIn profile are often the “first impression” you give to a potential employer, and you want that impression to be a good one!

Our Career Clarity Package is designed for those who are ready for a change and need help getting started. It includes a career strategy session on positioning and marketing in today’s job marketplace and will help you gain clarity on ideal jobs, career direction, desired company, and work environment. It also includes the components of the Starter Package, i.e., a targeted resume and LinkedIn Profile.

Our third package – Landing Your Dream Job – is our most comprehensive package and I’ll talk about that next time.

Are you planning to look for a new opportunity in 2022?

Contact me today and schedule a meeting to learn how my services can help you. https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr. You can also reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Returning to Work after a Career Gap

One of the challenges that many job seekers face is how to get back into the workplace after taking a break from their career. Maybe they stopped working to raise their children, care for an aging parent, or live outside the country for a while. Whatever the reason, taking that initial step to get back to work can be daunting.

But it doesn’t have to be. Especially in a labor market like the one we’re in today.

The key is in knowing what you want, as I talked about in my last blog, and in doing the discovery work around what you have to offer – your skills, experience, competencies and behaviors.

A good example of this is a coaching client I worked with a couple of years ago. She was an executive who had been out of the workforce for several years. She was ready to search for a new opportunity to restart her career but was struggling to achieve that goal while managing several major changes in her personal life. She contacted me for support in focusing her mindset and creating a structured plan to find the right opportunity.

We started our work together by doing an assessment of her experience and skills to identify her unique qualifications and map those to several possible opportunities. Since she’d been out of the workforce for some time, we then worked on creating new personal marketing tools for her – an updated resume and a more professional LinkedIn Profile. I coached her on trends in the recruitment process and changes in the work environment. I helped her think through how she could best combine and leverage her skills and experience from two prior careers to stand out to a potential employer. By encouraging self-reflection and helping her recognize strengths she may have overlooked, I was able to build her confidence level for the job search journey.

We created a tailored approach for each of several target opportunities and the result was that she found a position that she wanted, and that leveraged her experience and skills. She is still there today.

Don’t let a career gap hold you back. Do the work to gain clarity around your skills, experience, achievements, and unique qualities that you bring to the workplace and then map those to potential opportunities.

If you’d like to learn more about transitioning back to the workplace, I’ll be facilitating a panel discussion during the Phase2Careers Forum on November 3, 2021. You can register here.

Want to chat about your career and explore new options? Let’s do this! Contact me today and schedule a meeting https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/45min. You can also reach me directly at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Resource for Professional Women Returning to Work

Professional women who have taken a break from their careers, for example, to start a family or care for an aging parent, often struggle to make the transition back in. Doubts about rusty skills, how to explain the gap on their resume, or how to fit into the current work environment can sap confidence and create barriers to moving the re-entry process forward.

If you’re in this position, I have a wonderful resource for you! Phase 2Careers is hosting a day of information, resources, networking and support for women just like you. Professional Women Returning to Work will be held Friday, March 20, 9:45 am -2:00 pm at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits in Redwood Shores.

I’m thrilled to share that I will be a panelist in the “Preparing for Your Work Transition” session, which will also include other career transition experts.

The keynote address will be: “Using Your Life Experience for a Successful Career Transition.” Other activities include an employer roundtable, the opportunity to meet one-on-one with career coaches, and a resource area with a vast variety of educational and employment resources.

Click here to register. I hope to see you there!

Acting on Your Ideas

This year marks Connect to HR’s 10^th anniversary. As I mentioned in my first blog last month, throughout the year I’ll be sharing tips and lessons learned on my journey as a small business owner.

This month I share how I turned an idea into action.

On a random December day in 2009, an idea to start my own business suddenly popped into my mind. It came out of the blue. I had just wrapped up a second consulting project for Apple. I found myself thinking that it was the right time for me to consider starting my own business. I was enjoying consulting under another group, yet it occurred to me that I could do it on my own (little did I know how much work starting a business would take).

The idea of starting a business stayed with me. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. It kept me up a couple of nights. It was both exciting and terrifying. I didn’t know anything about running a business. I had no idea how to even get started. Could I really make money and contribute to my family income from my business? I had so many reservations about charting my own path. However, the idea wouldn’t go away.

After thinking about starting my own consulting practice for about a month, I decided in January of 2010 to do some research to see if I could turn my idea into something real. I attended a class at SCORE. I spoke to many business owners to learn as much as I could about running a business. I also decided to hire a successful business coach who had made a similar transition from corporate employee to owning her own business. Lastly, I joined the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce where I started to attend a weekly networking group that helped me get my business off the ground.

Looking back, I still don’t know what prompted the idea of starting Connect to HR. It was such a risky step to take, and I typically played it safe when it came to my career moves.

There were two motivations that got me going and have become my “why.” The first was the need for flexibility and work-life balance in my life. My son was 3 at the time and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him while also pursuing my career ambitions. The second was the variety consulting provided. These two motivations have been my guiding principles over the past decade.

My tip for anyone looking to start their own business is to do your research. Make sure you are grounded in your “why.” Also, don’t do it alone! Learn as much as you can from others. If possible, invest in a good business coach who can guide you as you get up and running. A good coach will save you time and money in the long run. They can help you avoid costly mistakes.

You don’t have to do it alone. There are so many great resources for those looking to start a business. Visit your local SBA (Small Business Administration) or SCORE office. Chambers of Commerce are also very helpful and supportive of small businesses.

Lastly, as Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank said, “Don’t let today turn into tomorrow. You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going!”

Connect to HR is Celebrating its 10th Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since I decided to leverage my human resources experience and start my very own business – Connect to HR.

It hasn’t always been easy, as you business owners will know, but it has always been gratifying, educational and inspiring! Having my own business has been like getting an MBA. It’s been the best teacher and has pushed me outside of my comfort zone.

This is the first in a series of blogs about my journey as a small business owner. Along the way I’ll be sharing some tips and lessons learned – how to get off to a good start, how to stay motivated, how to deal with setbacks, how to evolve to meet client needs, and more.

Before Connect to HR

After years of working in senior-level positions for large corporations across a variety of industries, I decided to leave the corporate world in search of work-life balance and a different work environment. Shortly after leaving, I had the opportunity to do some consulting work. One of my consulting engagements was with Apple, who had been around for a while, but still had that “start-up” feel. I was fortunate to do three consulting projects around the time Apple was reinventing itself and launching its first versions of the Apple iPod, iPad and iPhone. In between these projects, I had an opportunity with a nonprofit that was looking for someone to set up their human resources fundamentals. They wanted someone who could work in a small organization, but who had the experience of a larger, more established environment. I went from being part of an HR team to an HR Department of one. It was challenging and exciting and really honed my ability to be resourceful to get things done.

Other consulting opportunities followed, and I realized two things: 1) There was a big need for compliance experience. We were just coming off the downturn, and many companies had neglected that aspect of HR. And 2) I no longer wanted to work through someone else and lose part of the profit from my consulting gigs.

It was time to start my own business. In 2010, Connect to HR was born.

Getting Started

Running your own business requires you to wear many hats – management, marketing/sales, finance, administration, accounting, IT the list is long – in addition to actually doing your core work. SCORE is a great resource for small business owners. They have workshops on a variety of business topics and even offer experienced businesspeople as mentors. I learned a lot from their small business fundamentals workshop, and later had the opportunity to present a workshop on HR fundamentals for small businesses at SCORE for 4 years.

The human resources function is pretty broad, so one of the first steps was for me to decide on my focus area. I had worked in all aspects of HR, but was particularly interested in the legal area. In fact, at one point I had contemplated attending law school. Also, in the consulting work I’d done it was clear that there was a demonstrated need for compliance.

I decided that these three areas: employee relations, compliance and policies and procedures (Employee Handbook) would be my starting point, and I was off to the races!

Tips for getting started: Learn the fundamentals of starting a business. Be clear about your focus.

Tune in next time when I’ll share about acting on inspiration.

Looking for a New Opportunity? Start by Gaining Clarity!

One of the trends I’ve noticed so far this year is that people are on the move. With the unemployment rate still low, more people are feeling that the time is right to search for a new opportunity. And I’ve had a number of calls asking for my advice on how to start the search, as part of my executive coach offerings.

Searching for a new opportunity can be both exciting and overwhelming. To make it more of the former and less of the latter, you need to have clarity, focus, a compelling message and a strategic job search plan.

Start by gaining clarity. What do you want to do next? What are the skills, experience and competencies required in order to achieve that? What kind of work environment do you prefer? Big company? Small company? Structured? Start-up? What are the roles, type of leadership, work culture, and experiences from your career so far that brought you the most satisfaction?

Take inventory. What are the skills, behaviors and competencies that have helped you succeed in the past? Which of those map to what you want to do next? Where are the gaps? What are the beliefs and/or behaviors that may have held you back so far from getting to where you want to be? Do you have skills or knowledge that you haven’t been able to leverage so far in your career but want to?

Create focus by identifying a target. Based on what you want to do next and your inventory, select a couple of target organizations/roles that are a potential match. Focus is incredibly important in your search for a new opportunity. It’s tempting to just throw out a big net in search of “a job” but if you want to have a fulfilling career, focus on the companies/roles/experiences that will propel you toward your personal career “vision.”

Develop your personal marketing campaign. This includes a compelling message about the value you bring to the table, and will include your resume, LinkedIn profile, a personal “elevator pitch,” and a list of people in your network (and in their networks) who might connect you to an opportunity. An important note about resumes. Remember that the purpose of a resume is to pique the interest of a recruiter or hiring manager so they will contact you for an interview. Keep it clean, concise, achievement oriented, forward looking, and error-free. It should not be a job description, but rather an account of what you did that made a difference to your role, your team, the organization.

Design your search plan. Once you’ve developed these components, create the action plan that will put them to work for you. Commit to paper your target, your key message, and your daily activity goals for your search. Keep active. Do something related to your search every day. Small steps every day lead to big results.

And remember, working with a coach can help you create your plan and accelerate results. If you find that your search for a new opportunity is leaning more toward the overwhelming side of the equation, contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Managing Transitions in an Ever-Changing Environment

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw

It sounds simple enough, but if you are a leader attempting to guide your employees through a major change – an acquisition, a reduction-in-force, or new leadership, for example – you know that overcoming resistance to change can be the biggest hurdle to progress.

In his book, Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, William Bridges clarified that a leader’s role is not really about managing change, but rather about leading employees through the transition process as a result of change:

“Change and transition are not the same. Change is the external event or situation that takes place. Transition is the inner psychological process that people go through to adapt to a change. Empathetic leaders recognize that change puts people in crisis.”

Bridges describes transitions as a 3-phase process:

Phase One is an Ending. “Letting go of the old ways and the old identity people had.” Maybe they’re losing a beloved leader, or moving to a different team as the result of a reorganization, or having to adapt to a totally new way of doing their job. In any case, there’s a certain amount of grieving or sense of loss for what they’re leaving behind.

Phase Two is the Neutral Zone. This is an in-between stage when “the old is gone but the new isn’t fully operational.” Here is where the critical “psychological realignments and repatternings” take place. People begin to let go of the past. Although they may still be unsure of what’s ahead, they are beginning to accept the inevitability of the change.

Phase Three is New Beginnings. In this phase people adapt to their new identity, experience renewed energy, and find the sense of purpose that will help make the change work.

As a leader, understanding and accepting that your employees need to go through this process will increase the likelihood that the change will be successful.

Next time we’ll talk about some specific strategies for helping your employees through the process.