MANAGING PEOPLE

Managing People within Accounting Environment

Managing People within Accounting Environment

Element 10.1

Consider the following assemblies of people. In organizations today, getting people to change is still the greatest obstacle to managing organizational change. It is often necessary to move people out of their “comfort zones” before they will even consider changing. Frequently the largest challenge is to get executives to understand that the leaders must change or the whole initiative will fail because it lacks their understanding and support when things get tough. Middle management ranks often face the most difficult dilemma in managing organizational change, because they are caught in the middle between hourly employees who aren't sure why they should change in the first place and top management who thinks it doesn't really need to change if everyone else will. Now that the area of resistance to change is better understood and the forms of resistance recognized, it is time to move on to what to do to manage organizational change:

Develop a vision, mission, strategy, and operating plan that provides the business the greatest potential for success. Involve all organizational grades in the designing method, and communicate the outcomes in varying detail. Allow them to question and to gain equity in the final plan.

Set high anticipations with exact goals and objectives, but not impractical or unachievable ones. Communicate these along with their rationale. Don't apologize for difficulty. Embrace those people who resist, and consider their reasons carefully.

Build trust. Start by being totally honest, fair above reproach (even when painful), and trustworthy. Go more than halfway anytime there is doubt. Regularly assess how it' going with people who are not a part of the normal “inner circle.” Use anonymous surveys to find out if trust is truly building. Without it, not anything else works.

Define each individual' functions and responsibilities relation to the whole business. Keep it easy: What are they anticipated to do, (day-to-day roles), and what are they anticipated to get done? Ask for their help, and remember to say “please.” Put the outcomes in writing, and revise them as needed. Give persons as much leverage as likely over their areas of responsibility.

Establish agreed-on measures so people can track how they (and the business) are doing. Post these openly, and frequently refer to them. Revise them when they change. Identify boundaries and limitations so they are known and understood. Relate the measures to external benefits, and back to the strategic and operating plans.

Provide frequent, balanced feedback, and lots of information about external conditions and “how things are going.” Provide opportunities for people to use their ideas in things not going as hoped/planned. Use collaborative problem solving. Be certain the necessary resources and expertise are available.

Continuously update people on changes in the external situation—customers, markets, competition, and so forth. Involve them in accumulating this data, and sharing it. Repeat the vision, mission, and strategy over and over. Tell the people about important “news” before they read it in the media, or hear it on the ...