How to Survive a Management Change

Changes in management affect every division of a company. When changes come, it is important for every employee to understand the aftermath of these changes and how to go about their daily business. If companies follow these five steps, the management transition will be smooth and seamless.

1. Start early. The most important factor in managing change is to initiate the change during the beginning of a project. Allow the new management to start with a fresh assignment and not be concerned with picking up someone else’s role.

2. Apply structure. Owners and upper management need to establish guidelines and expectations for the new manager to abide by. During this time, owners need to be more hands on and involved in their company’s business to make sure the transition is easily put in place.

3. Customize your approach. As a new manager, you have the freedom to create your own management approach. The previous manager’s approach may not have worked, so now it is your opportunity to try something new.

4. Engage your employees. It is important that everyone is aware of the changes and are able to be active participants in this change. This is most important for salespeople because they are the driving force of the company.

Focus on the individual. Because technicians’ responsibilities are independent of others, new managers must maintain communications with technicians. Technicians’ roles require more individual attention and new managers must establish relationships with technicians early on.
 

Mike Moore is the HVAC Training Director at HVAC Learning Solutions, an HVAC industry expert in sales, technical, and business training. Visit Mike’s blog for more insights. Mike can be reached on Twitter @hvaclearning or on Google+ at gplus.to/hvactraining.