Supporting Employees through Life Transitions

Retaining talented employees is one of the biggest goals of a successful business/organization. In order to achieve this goal, it is important to provide workers with support and mentoring even when they are going through non work-related life changes.

These personal transitions can include becoming a parent, changing homes or relocating, dealing with a different family structure and becoming a care provider for elderly parents or sick relatives etc.

When going through these issues, employees are often as worried about being able to give their 100% to their jobs while also catering to family demands and demands of their careers. Providing them with the necessary support during these difficult times and ensuring that they stay engaged at work, is an important part of keeping high quality employees on board.

Dealing With Personal Transitions and Their Impact on Employees

Like everything else, it is important to have a plan in place to address the ‘whats’, ‘whys’ and the ‘hows’ of the process.

The change management process should address:

  • The principles employed in helping team members adjust to the changes
  • The roles and responsibilities
  • The individual capabilities of each person being affected
  • Emotional support  as well as stress management help
  • The consultation process.

When these changes happen, it is important for management to take action to ensure seamless adaptation to change to facilitate the employee.

The Importance of Raising Transition Awareness

Employees as well as managers at all levels must be made aware of the change management process and the policies put in place to facilitate its implementation. This helps better prepare the workplace, by ensuring that everyone has the tools at hand to prepare and deal with changes that occur at work or in their personal lives.

If you want to keep the troops moving and dedicated to the task at hand, give them the support they need to deal with their personal issues more effectively.

The changes lead to uncertainty. But at the same time, you can inspire excitement and optimism by giving your employees a hope for a better future in a workplace that truly understands their needs. As the leader it is your responsibility to ease the transition and lead your employees on to success. But you don’t have to do it alone.