What do employees fear the most in this new “hybrid world?” As a change management speaker and change management consultant, I am witness to the deepest fears of those in my audiences. It’s not what you may think.
In my role as a change management keynote speaker, I would caution organizations who believe the biggest fear is based on “catching Covid” or having to commute to the office twice a week. It is something far more basic.
Of ERPs and Knowledge-based Management
Change has, of course, swept the corporate and association landscape. No one should be surprised. Even before Covid, these changes were taking root. “Hybrid” is not the basis for fears. First off, we have fully started to function in a world of ERP or “Enterprise Resource Planning.” ERP can include any type of data management from Payroll to HR to Accounting or most any data function and tracking system. ERP is a data management platform.
Gee “Wow,” you might say, “that is truly impressive.” Yes, it is, and no, it isn’t. There’s a human side, a deeply human side, that often gets swept aside. Where this platform leads is called “Knowledge-based Management,” an impressive enough sounding concept. And, theoretically, it allows the CEO or CFO or anyone in the C-Suite to get a real time image of where the organization may be at, in a moment in time. Some may call it a dashboard, and others may see it as a one-button click that reveals the organization’s health.
Obviously, other functions may be built into the platform as well to lend digital and financial support to the knowledge base.
Now imagine you are in finance or HR or even marketing. Perhaps you work from home three or four days out of five. Though everyone seemingly extolls the virtues of remote, it is still not beyond human nature (and this is what many audience attendees privately tell me) to feel somewhat isolated and paranoid.Where this will invariably lead is to fear, the fear of incompetence.
Fear is real
An employee working hybrid, who understands that ERP and knowledge-based platforms and decision-making scenarios are in place, may feel threatened and unsure. This type of fear is real – and it’s serious. The human factor needs to explain performance and mitigating factors, to be heard, to be understood, and most of all, to have a sense of communication and connection.
While many organizations may feel the hybrid workplace is the greatest thing since sliced bread, as a change management speaker and change management consultant, I can assure you there are a lot of caveats and asterisks attached to such corporate optimism.
Without communication (as frequently as the CEO may press the ERP button) and without connection (not just an idle boast about knowledge-based management), what is gained is more fear than ever.
While the world may never again get back to pre-Covid workplaces, it must recognize that organizations still run on people and not data. To think otherwise, is to celebrate fear and to resist change.
To contact Mike Hourigan, Change Management Keynote Speaker please call Mike today at (704) 875-3030 or fill out the form below.
