PEOPLE PUZZLES

 JoLyn Enterprises

 

 

 

Facing the Reality of Restructuring

What happens when an organization faces the reality of restructuring? It may be due to a take-over, amalgamation or merger, but the reality of the loss and change experienced by staff is the same. As the organization faces the loss of its identity, so too do the staff. One of the greatest challenges faced by any Human Resource manager is to retain staff and maintain morale during this type of transition. Without attention to the staff reaction to loss, the integrity of the organization may be jeopardized.

This session reviews a case study of how an organization, with extensive type experience, used type knowledge to help its staff through a difficult restructuring period. The organizational "type" was ISFJ. This session looks at the impact of the triggering event and notes how an understanding of the change process and type, helped to formulate a strategy to support the staff through the transition.

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Symptoms of an "Ailing" Organization

Just as people experience change in different ways and may be "caught in the grip of the inferior function", organizations can have a similar experience. This may be expressed tangibly as the organization and staff go through the grief experience – ie: anger, denial, withdrawal etc. For the Human Resource professional this means finding interventions to deal with low morale, apathy, us/them relationships. Productivity may be decreased due to illness and attendance problems, increased conflict and lack of co-operation.

Knowledge of type and how people react under stress, helped to formulate interventions to support staff and decrease the tension caused by restructuring uncertainties. The need for an organization to consider the human impact and needs during this "grief" period is essential to maintain the integrity of service and quality to the clients that they serve.

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Living in Limbo

Once the initial shock is over and the transition period has begun, there may be an extended period of uncertainty. This intermediate time between the triggering event and the move towards the final structure is a period that offers both crisis and challenge. There is a need to support staff through the turmoil and respect the differences of how different personality types experience this period. However there is also the opportunity during this phase for growth that allows individuals to revisit their career and life goals and re-examine their personal values. If supported by the organization, this can result in a period of creativity and used effectively to help staff "survive" the restructuring in a beneficial way.

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Supporting Staff in Their Transition

By using an understanding of type and the adult learning model of development, the organization found ways to assist staff on their journey through the transition period. This knowledge allows you to meet people where they are, respond to their current needs and re-enforce their steps when they are ready to move forward to the next stage of development. When possible, concrete applications help to re-enforce the benefits of personal growth and development.

Jung stated that you cannot individuate alone on a mountain top. People need the support and insights from the perspectives of others. Examples will be provided of strategies and resources that can be used to allow people to move forward, when they are ready, and tap into the support that they need at different stages.

Change requires us to learn more about ourselves and grow from the experience. It is an opportunity to help us on the journey towards reaching our fullest potential. This process occurs in individuals over the course of a lifetime. As we work through change, we move through these 4 main stages in this process: dependence, independence, interdependence and integration.

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Lessons Learned

Based on the experience within the example organization, the MBTI offered many insights that may be helpful to other organizations faced with this experience. Some key elements included:

  • The importance of strategies to help staff to remain "connected" during the transition
  • The importance of maintaining a healthy organizational culture despite the anxiety created by the transition
  • The importance of respecting and responding to the different needs of staff as they move through the various stages of the transition
  • The importance of continually monitoring the process and maintaining open communication with staff throughout the change period.
  • The need to develop a holistic approach to effectively address the needs of both the individuals and the organization

The impact of focusing on change as an opportunity for personal growth and supporting this as an organizational intervention to survive restructuring in a positive and productive way.

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Reference Reading

  1. Barger, Nancy, Kirby, Linda, The Challenge of Change in Organizations, Davies-Black Publishing, Palo Alto, California, 1995.
  2. Bridges, William, Making Sense of Life’s Changes, Addison-Wesley Publishing, Don Mills, Ontario, 1980.
  3. Bridges, William, The Character of Organizations, Consulting Psychologists Press, California, 1992.
  4. Caplan, G., Teese, M., Survivors : How to Keep Your Best People on Board After Downsizing, Psychometrics, 1998.
  5. Maslach, C., Leiter, M. P., The Truth About Burnout :How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and What to Do About It, Psychometrics, 1998.
  6. Pearson, Carol, Awakening the Heroes Within, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1991.
  7. Tagliaferre, Lewis, Harbaugh, Gary, Recovery from Loss, Health Communications Inc., Deerfield Beach, Florida, 1990.
  8. Von Franz, Marie Louise, Hillman, James, Jung’s Typology, Spring Publications Inc., Dallas, Texas, 1971.
  9. Zweig, Connie, Abrams, Jeremiah, Meeting the Shadow in Everyday Life, Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc., Los Angeles, CA, 1991.