change management FAQ's with a difference ... 

Beyond FAQ's

Unlike many FAQ sections, this one is intended to be an interactive knowledge exchange.  The questions below are real-time queries that have been submitted to us, within the context of our project work, our newsletter, or our websites.  If you have a question or an experience that would interest other readers about any aspect of team building, please feel free to email it to:

crg@cogeco.ca

Check back frequently for new information. While we can't promise every submission will be published here or in the newsletter, we do promise a speedy response by email if you request it.

Q. Why do you suggest that positive change needs a team building strategy? If it's good thing, people should be happy.

A. Always remember: all and any change disrupts the status quo. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security just because it's a good thing. Positive change in organizations often means growth. Growth means that job functions must change to accommodate that expansion. Newer workers will be charging ahead, wanting to find their "piece of the ground floor." More experienced workers will be scrambling to catch up with the new requirements. Left unmanaged, this is second only to downsizing for employee stress levels. Our Managing Careers™ program provides team building solutions to all aspects of this puzzling career paradox. It shows employees how to be more in charge of their own careers during this, and any kind of change.

Q. How can we hang on to key people during a very bad corporate scandal with far too much negative media coverage?

A. At the risk of sounding glib, we actually have some "magic bullets" for this team building challenge. While these kinds of organizational events are excruciatingly uncomfortable, there are pragmatic solutions that you can rely on, every step of the way. You'll need an out-of-the-box communications strategy, absolute clarity about your critical priorities, a program for cementing employee commitment, and a plan for how to do all this at warp speed. Our P*U*S*H for Change™ program gives leaders a team building guide for all of these strategies. Plus, they get a logical, methodical approach to dealing with all the "squishy" stuff that always creates havoc with morale and employee commitment.

Q. Our company has a turnover rate of over 40% for new campus recruits in the first three years of their employment. I'm told "new blood" is good for the business and not to be concerned. What do you think?

A. Don't believe it for a second! In today's world, the corporate memory is an endangered species. With the kind of turnover you're talking about, who's going to be the depository for the intellectual assets of your company? Research says you have only about 3 years to figure this out.

Boomers are already heading out to the beach or the cottage in droves. Generation X hasn't exactly gotten a great welcome from your older, wiser workers ... anyway, they have always been committed to a transact ional career - quid pro quo all the way. As those new hires are "voting with their feet," your competitive advantage is becoming as endangered as your corporate memory. Studies prove that GenX and GenY can be as loyal to your organization as any group. Our Cross-Generational Teams™ program gives your team leaders the team building toolsto understand how to value these new workers ― differently ― and stop the brain drain. Plus, your leaders get team building ideas for bridging the generation gap between all of the unprecedented FOUR generations in today's workplace.

Q. What do you mean by "Quit-&-Stay"?

A. This is CRG's new definition of talent loss during change: 1) employees who Quit-&-Leave ™ and 2) employees who Quit-&-Stay.™ [By the way, this is true of executives as well.] Quit-&-Stayers ™ hunker down into "Survivor" mode and wait for the storm to blow over. Unfortunately, the dust will never settle, because this is it … the new reality. The best they can do now is to look for ways to make some of the turmoil work for them. Find the opportunities that always come with change. Otherwise, their Survivor mindset will cause a meltdown in team productivity and morale that will take years of recovery, which you do not have in these days of rapid-fire change. To further magnify the damage, Quit-&-Stayers  eventually progress onward to Quit-&-Leave .™ Our Managing Change™ program gives both leaders and team members the team building tools and processes to move beyond merely surviving, to actually thriving during change. This is a team building skill set that lasts a lifetime, for both professional and personal applications.

The Amazing Race

The Apprentice

Survivor

Millionaire

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Deal or No Deal

The Idol