What is the best tactic the team should adopt to ensure a smooth acceptance by employees?

A hybrid multinational consumer goods corporation operates 8 strategic business units which are fully-functional units with their own vision, direction, product/service, location, and target market under the umbrella of the larger business entity. The corporation has a corporate HR department while the SBUs each have autonomous HR departments that are largely independent from corporate HR. The Head of HR of each SBUs has significant authority to operate in a polycentric fashion and only interact with the Head of Corporate HR on a quarterly basis.

Due to a significant reduction in revenue during the pandemic, the organization has made a decision to streamline its HR structure by adopting a more centralized HR structure that can provide HR services to corporate and the SBUs. The proposed centralization of the HR function is expected to result in cost reduction, consistency in HR operations, and increased HR proficiency.

Corporate HR has created a team comprising of HR managers, HR business partners and HR admin personnel to originate and implement the new HR services model. Anna is a HR manager from a strategic business unit in California that has been drafted to join the team. Anna has 8 years of cognate HR experience working with various SBUs in the organization. Anna is the only team member who has worked with an SBU, the rest of the team have only corporate HR experience. The team has been working for over 3 weeks reviewing the feasibility, advantages and disadvantages of several HR structures, with most team members favoring a shared services and center of excellence model.

One of the team members anticipates resistance from employees when the announcement of a change in the organization’s HR structure is made. Anna agrees and states that the change may lead to apprehension and stress among SBU staff.

What is the best tactic the team should adopt to ensure a smooth acceptance by employees?
A . Develop a business case that details the cost-benefit analysis, timeline, risks and justification for adopting the preferred HR structure model.
B . Encourage employees to supply feedback on the pros and cons of the newly implemented HR structure versus the old HR structure.
C . Develop a communication plan outlining the team’s purpose, rationale for change, and a summary of its goals.
D . Proactively communicate to employees on the variety of HR structures and best practice models
adopted in comparative organizations.

View Answer

Answer: C

Explanation:

A communication plan outlines the information the team delivers to employees to help them understand why the change is being made and how it will affect them. These include: communicating what the change will mean for the organization and why it is necessary, and outlining the goals of the change. Option B is wrong because communication should begin before the implementation stage (Note the word "newly implemented"). Note that communication is at the core of all successful change initiatives C but it has to be communication that is relevant to the issue at hand.