Facing redundancy is daunting.
It’s the fear of losing your job.
It’s the fear of finding another job.
It’s the fear of the unknown.
How can you support employees if the business is going through changes and their future is uncertain? One of the most effective ways is through coaching. Coaching is an intervention method that allows an individual to develop using their existing resources. It’s about helping them to look at their present situation and projecting it forward. It also provides a period of reflection during transitions and can help people make sense of the world around them when, on the face of it, it doesn’t make much sense.
Coaching is inherently future-focused, and it’s been proven that employees who are coached at work are more motivated and committed. It, therefore, makes sense that incorporating it into your support for employees during a restructure will help them to stay more engaged during uncertain times.
Here are five tips for how to successfully implement a coaching programme into your outplacement process:
Stay impartial
For coaching to be effective, there must be impartiality. The individual needs to feel like they can be honest without repercussion. This doesn’t mean that you can’t coach your staff or people you know, but you need to suspend any judgment or opinion in a coaching environment. A lot of businesses outsource their coaches, especially during periods of redundancy to ensure complete impartiality.
Promote participation
Don’t force coaching onto your employees. For it to be effective, people must enter into the process willingly. Periods of change sometimes create feelings of mistrust and disengagement for staff. Providing a coaching framework and explaining that it’s there to support them can help during this difficult time.
Set goals
Expectations should be managed from the start and goals or objectives laid out by the person being coached at an early stage of the process. Coaching is a time for reflection, but it should also assist the individual in moving forward and help them to feel like they are in control of their career.
Follow up
Successful coaching is a journey and should make the recipient feel like they are moving towards something. By providing your staff with a series of sessions, you can facilitate regular feedback, adjust the goals they are working towards, and promote self-reflection.
Trust your coaches
If you are not conducting the coaching yourself, you must trust the coaches you are enlisting. Trust goes a long way in ensuring the coaching will be successful and keep the person-centred throughout. Additionally, it will free up your time to deal with other issues that typically arise during a restructure.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget about supporting employees when things are changing in the wider business. Omni Outplacement Support can help by providing the tools you and your employees need to make these transitions as smooth and informative as possible. Please click here for more information or contact Suzanne.Browne@omnirms.com for more information.
