HR tips: managing staff through uncertainty

CEO Steven Pink sat down with Karen Richardson, who brings exceptional experience as both a global HR director in the legal sector and a qualified psychotherapist and executive coach. Their conversation dived deep into how business leaders and HR professionals can effectively support their teams through periods of uncertainty. "Nearly half (43%) of employees agreed their business is not prepared to effectively manage change," Steven noted at the beginning of the podcast, highlighting the significant gap between organisational aspirations and employee experiences.  This disconnect is costly. Poor mental wellbeing related to workplace change costs UK employers between £42-45 billion annually through reduced productivity, sickness absence, and staff turnover. With the UK's sickness absence rate reaching its highest point in almost 20 years (2.6% in 2022, up from 2.2% pre-pandemic), organisations simply cannot afford to mismanage periods of transition.  Karen observed that when change is handled poorly, "It can be short-sighted because we shouldn't ignore the people that are remaining, even though they're not directly impacted." This highlights a crucial truth: change management isn't just about those directly affected; it impacts everyone.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.