Overcoming Employee Fatigue in Times of Change
As organizations increasingly adopt agile business models to stay competitive, quick and seamless transitions become critical. This often requires managers to fluidly move throughout the organization to address shifting needs. However, there is a very real risk that such adaptive management practices may leave individual employees in the rearview mirror.
Employee Fatigue: Causes and Risk
A strong manager-employee relationship is at the heart of productivity, employee satisfaction, and ongoing development. Trust, open communication, mutual respect, and shared purpose are foundational to achieving the full potential of people and teams.
As they adjust to new assignments, however, managers often prioritize near-term business goals over understanding the unique needs of each employee. They may lack a common framework to understand and build on their employees’ aspirations, challenges, and needs. Employees feel like they are “starting from scratch” in getting their direct supervisor to advocate for their success and development – they want more than anything to be seen and understood. This weakens critical relationships at an important inflection point when employees need the most support, guidance, and validation to productively respond to rapidly changing business conditions.
If unaddressed, this breakdown produces employee fatigue and feelings of not being valued, resulting in disengagement, lower productivity, and at worst, higher turnover. Ultimately, employee fatigue becomes a significant impediment to organizational agility – productivity drops, valuable knowledge and skills leave the organization; recruiting and onboarding expenses skyrocket.
How tru® Can Help
The tru® platform offers a unique solution for helping organizations adapt through organizational change. By providing deep insights into the strengths, needs, and aspirations of everyone, tru® provides a solid foundation to build on in times of stability or heightened organizational change. Because tru helps forge strong manager-employee bonds, the platform can strengthen front-line relationships and facilitate seamless manager transitions. Here’s how tru® addresses these challenges:
- A Common framework for building trust: tru® reveals each employee’s unique strengths, needs and values, enabling managers to engage in meaningful conversations that build trust quickly. Employees feel seen and understood, fostering a stronger manager-employee relationship quickly, thereby reducing potential fatigue and allowing the individual to thrive.
- Role clarity and team alignment: Managers can use tru® insights to align roles with employee strengths, ensuring contributors remain energized and productive as their responsibilities evolve. Further, by aligning tru® insights with team goals, managers ensure employees are working in their strengths, leading to more effective collaboration and better team results.
- Growth and development continuity: The My Path Forward module empowers employees to set and track personal development goals, providing a sense of control over their development even during organizational transition. Newly assigned managers are fully equipped to follow through on previous commitments.
Conclusion: Managing Change and Fatigue with tru®
Employee fatigue is often a high-risk challenge during any organizational change. By creating a common framework for mutual understanding and continued development, tru® helps accelerate and strengthen manager-employee relationships, reduces productivity loss during transitions, and allows employees to thrive in a fluid work environment. This ultimately provides a solid foundation for a winning culture that will attract and retain top talent.
