ESR Hosts Workshop for People Managers
In times of change, it makes sense for employees to look first to their management for information, support, and advice.
What happens, though, if a manager isn’t prepared to guide their staff through change related to a new program or their work processes? The project or program faces significant risk of resistance and failure of acceptance.
To help combat failure, about 400 people managers from across campus recently attended a workshop focused on their roles in facilitating staff transition through changes that will be brought on by the Enterprise Systems Renewal program. Class topics covered the case for change management, the psychology of change and the manager’s role in the change process.
The workshop was facilitated by Bernadette Han, ESR’s director of strategic organizational change management and director at Staff Education and Development. "Managers are highly influential and their employees seek to trust them,” explains Han. “Employees typically look to managers first for mitigating resistance and trustworthy information. For their part, managers serve as translators of the change and provide support as employees process change.”
During the workshop, attendees learned techniques they can apply within their units. The live, interactive session enhanced the experience as attendees participated in role-playing exercises with their peers.
“Holding live sessions is key from a strategic and tactical perspective,” says Han. “We’re providing managers various ways to interact with each other and the ESR program. That is enhanced by real-time feedback during the exercises and follow-up questions.”
Han says that she's also working on an online version of people manager training that managers can take as follow up or for the first time, if they missed the live sessions.
ESR Q&A Panel
The workshop was followed by a live Q&A session with a panel of change lead and change practitioner representatives from ESR projects.
Pearl Trinidad, change lead for the UCPath project, took audience questions and commented, “I enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to answer the questions that people had on their minds. It really provided a window to the issues and matters that concern them the most. Having this done in partnership with colleagues involved in other ESR projects was not only a great way for everyone to network, but also a way to leverage competencies across organizations. I am excited about where UC San Diego is going and continue to be impressed by the innovation and dedication of UC San Diego employees.”
Stay tuned to the ESR website and Staff Education announcements as similar workshop opportunities become available later in 2019, both in-person and online.