Effective Transitioning Between Old and New Management

It’s happened to all of us at one time or another – we get a new manager. For some, it’s more than just a new manager, it’s a whole new management team. This recently happened to a new client of ours. How they handled the transition is an interesting case study.

This particular client has about 500 employees located in various offices around the United States. They have been in business for a number of years and had developed a very “old-school” management philosophy. When the owners decided to sell the business, new management came in with new ideas, new philosophies and a new energy.

They had many challenges. How would they allay the natural fears that come with any change in management style? How would they create a close-knit team feeling and loyalty among their employees and boost morale at the same time? How would they make sure that the new management philosophy became part of the attitude and customer service efforts of their employees?

First, the management team sat down and devised a new three-part mission statement that more accurately reflected their forward-thinking positive business philosophy. This three-part mission statement translated easily into 3 short memorable messages.

Next, they selected several promotional products to use as gifts for their employees. Each promotional product is imprinted with one of the new branding messages. These products were specifically selected for their usability and thus, visibility on each employee’s desk.

Next, to foster the feeling of belonging to one team (rather than several disjointed groups) they designed imprinted t-shirts and other logod apparel for their employees.

And last, the management team created an incentive program. By reaching certain milestones or simply for doing a great job, employees earn incentive points that allow them to select whatever branded promotional items they want – from leather portfolios to backpacks to laptop cases to pens to coffee mugs to…well, you get the idea. It lets their employees create their own incentive gifts.

Transitioning from old to new is never easy, but with programs like the one described above, a new management team can help make change easier in a cost-effective way.

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