Waikato Business News October/November 2022

30 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022
2023 we’re
coming for you!
At this time of the year, many clients start to ask questions
like – what’s coming up in 2023? Do you see the market
changing next year? Will we see more candidates seeking
new roles? Well, I do wish I had a crystal ball as it would make
our lives easier, wouldn’t it? 2022 has been tough for many
businesses and the historic amount of disruption over the last
few years has left us feeling a bit shell shocked.
Recently Gartner
(gartner.com) surveyed
over 800 HR leaders
across 60 countries and all
major industries to identify
their priorities and challenges
for 2023. Data is better than
a crystal ball! First up 60%
of respondents put “leader
and manager effectiveness”
on their list, followed closely
by organisational design
and change management
(53%), employee experience
(47%), recruiting (46%) and
the future of work (42%).
So, what’s driving these
priorities?
Globally organisation’s
face uncertain and confusing
times – rising inflation,
scarce and expensive talent,
and global supply constraints.
• Employee expectations
have changed considerably
– more want flexible
work policies and when not
available, lack of flexibility
affects their decision to stay
with their employer.
• Employees want to
feel like they have a shared
purpose with their employer
– they want to feel connected
to a business that takes
actions on issues they care
about.
• Not surprisingly
well-being is topping the list
for employees and the Gartner
report tells us that 70%
of companies surveyed have
introduced new well-being
benefits or increased the
amount of existing well-being
benefits.
• Lastly, 82% of
employees surveyed said it’s
important for their employer
to see them as a person, and
not just an employee.
2023 and how
to tackle it….
• Work on how to
become a humancentric
leader – be authentic, act
with purpose, be empathetic
– show genuine care and concern
for employee wellbeing,
be adaptive – enable flexibility
and support the unique
needs of team members.
• Involve your
employees in change decisions
– engage your workforce
as active participants in
making and shaping change.
Consider shifting the ownership
of change planning to
your employees. Start early
conversations about change!
• Develop your leadership
skills in a volatile
labour market – consider
building your sourcing capability
to find accessible, not
just available talent. Identify
alternate skills and experiences
that can fill your
vacancies, target potentially
internally first, incentivise
mobility and focus on building
your onboarding and
induction practices. Many
employees leave in the first
three months because reality
versus what they were sold is
drastically different!
• Refresh your thinking
about matching your
business planning to today’s
reality. If the last three years
PEOPLE AND
CULTURE
BY SENGA ALLEN
Managing Director,
Everest – All about people tm
www.everestpeople.co.nz
has taught us anything is that
we need to be more agile,
flexible, and responsive to
what’s happening right now
and how we can keep ahead of
the trends.
For me I think 2023 is
going to be a bumpy ride
with global headwinds at our
door. We can’t keep doing
the same thing year after year
and expect different results.
Spend time now planning for
2023 and how you’ll adjust
your sails.
Handling Staff
Departures with Care
As the end of the year approaches, it’s the time of year
when people start assessing their current job situation
and you’ll start to see a few leave in anticipation of
starting a new position to kick off 2023.
Staffing changes happen
all the time, but when
it’s an integral member
of the team who is in a leadership
position then you
need to handle the departure
announcement carefully to
mitigate potential risks. As
we all know, really important
staff members’ exits have
the potential to create team
unrest, customer unrest and
can even lead to negative
rumours in the industry if
handled poorly.
Because of these potential
risks, it’s worth pausing
and putting your PR hat on.
How are you going to communicate
this announcement
internally, to staff, and externally,
to clients, stakeholders,
the industry and wider
public?
What risks are there – will
staff feel concerned about
the future of the company or
their jobs? Will clients wonder
if their projects or contracts
are at risk? Is there a
perception that the leader
takes a lot of company IP and
reputation with them, and
how do you manage that?
A well-planned communications
strategy can ease a
key staff transition and mitigate
risks to the company’s
reputation or projects.
Here are seven things to
think about when communicating
about leadership
transition at a company or
organisation:
GATHER YOUR
INNER TEAM
You’ll want to get key
members of your team
together immediately to start
planning next steps. Keep
things confidential and limited
to just those who need
to know.
MAKE A PLAN
Alongside your HR and
recruitment plans, develop
a communications strategy.
This is your road map for
communicating about the
leadership change. You need
to decide what to say and
how to say it, and to whom,
and in what priority order.
This is a detailed planning
process, and generally
includes gathering information,
considering audiences,
setting strategic communication
objectives, crafting key
messages, looking at communication
risks and mitigation,
and planning a timeline
for all communications.
DOT THE I’S AND
CROSS THE T’S
It’s important to be thorough
and consider every possible
scenario with your communications
execution and
delivery to do it well.
PREPARE THE
COMMUNICATIONS
Once you have your road
map written, and signed off
on by leadership team, it’s
time to ‘do the doing.’ This
may involve crafting bullet
points for the staff announcement,
with all the key messages
you want to convey.
This is typically followed
up by an email letter that
goes out to all staff, confirming
the contents of a face-toface
staff meeting. Another
letter should then be sent to
PR AND
COMMUNICATIONS
BY HEATHER CLAYCOMB
Managing Director,
Everest – All about people
www.everestpeople.co.nz
other audiences, including
clients and stakeholders.
As part of this preparation,
it’s worth spending time
brainstorming questions you
may get asked so you are
not caught out. In any situation
where there is change,
it can be upsetting, and it’s
best to be prepared and have
responses in place to assure
staff and clients if needed.
Get your email databases
ready in advance, so everything
is drafted, approved
and you are ready to press
send on the day of the
announcement.
STAFF COME FIRST
In any announcement of
this kind, talk to staff first
before clients and other
stakeholders, and do it in
person where you can. If necessary,
if you need to make
the announcement across
multiple office locations,
consider getting staff in a
Zoom call, and ensure the
senior leaders at those locations
have been briefed prior
so they can answer follow-up
questions.
MEDIA/PRESS RELEASE
When a key leader moves
on to another role or even
retires, it can be a great
chance to celebrate their
achievements and contribution
to the industry, region
or community. Write a media
release for an industry publication,
business paper or
local media outlet. There
is often a good story to tell,
especially if it’s a long-serving
team member. A media
story can also help with
recruiting a new person into
the role.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Don’t forget about sharing
the news on your social
media channels as a last
step. A post on your business’s
LinkedIn page may be
appropriate.