Alys O’Neill, director of consulting at United Culture, explores how managers can help their teams navigate change without eroding company culture.

Ask any manager what their people are looking for right now, and most will tell you that they are craving financial stability and reliability from work. But change is inevitable, and managers need to make sure that they’re continuing to motivate their teams, protecting company culture through disruption and sustaining high performance. All while ensuring the business doesn’t stagnate as changes bed in. But where to start?

Recasting employees’ perception of change can make an immediate difference. For businesses looking to grow and succeed, reinvention should feel like a natural part of how they operate and those who position change as an important part of the strategy are more likely to encourage a culture of creativity and entrepreneurship. Connecting change to a business’ vision for the future and purpose is an easy win.

Managers and leaders need to ensure that they clearly and consistently convey why change is happening too, speaking plainly and giving people context and a timeline will help them to understand and digest what’s happening. You don’t want to spook the horses or jump the gun, but transparency matters more than ever. Anticipating challenges and questions can help to stop the rumour mill and stabilise the business while calming stakeholders and potentially stopping a mass exodus of talent. It can also help leaders to regain trust.

It's also important that managers have the space and time to implement change successfully and steer their teams through any transformation efforts. As managers become increasingly stretched, change initiatives often become transactional and just another distraction on an overwhelming to do list. It’s the human aspect that often falls by the wayside. Change, particularly restructuring programmes, can be brutal, so supporting and equipping managers with the tools they need to really engage and steady teams, above and beyond robotic talking notes, PowerPoints and dry change manuals, will make a big difference to the way people experience and adapt to change.

Consistently creating room for debate and challenge while encouraging people to speak up can also help to safeguard culture amidst any disruption. Wanting to be seen, heard and understood are basic human needs, and leaders and managers who listen, show they care and act on what they’ve heard will be rewarded with teams who are more resilient, engaged and willing to go the extra mile.