Help! My workplace is going through another “restructure”

Dear Aunty B,

I work for a digital marketing agency as one of the sales managers and last week we were told at a team meeting there will be some “changes” happening in the office.

The business was restructured around 18 months ago and although some of us expected there to be redundancies, this didn’t eventuate. Instead, the agency changed its focus and we now work with different clients.

I’m worried about the latest changes though. Surely going through another restructure so soon after the last one can only mean bad news, right?

How do I keep focusing on my actual work while these changes are taking place?

Ben,

Melbourne

Dear Ben,

In the world of business, “restructure” can be a dirty word. But if you’re working for a small or medium size business, you better get used to it.

I prefer to think of “restructuring” as “improving” the business. At the end of the day, business owners make decisions to change the structure of their business to survive or to keep growing. And in an industry like digital marketing, which is evolving at an ever-increasing pace, you have to keep changing to stay alive.

But any change within an organisation can mean uncertainty and that uncertainty can give rise to heightened anxiety. So you need some strategies to help you and your staff deal with the situation.

Over at wattsnext HR, Steven Ford has four great tips for dealing with workplace changes – and coming out on top.

Ford’s advice is to take action and become a “positive agent for change”. This means focusing on communication, actively participating in the change – “make it known that you are engaged in the change process and committed to making it as effective as possible” – being patient and “keep on keeping on”.

“The reality is that those who respond badly to change in the early stages are often the people who end up being most negatively impacted by it in the long run,” Ford says.

“Change processes will invariably lead to an assessment of the worth of each individual to the business. Put your best foot forward and keep working like any other day.”

Be Smart,

Aunty B