The Absence of Debate can Lead to an Absence of Engagement.

Technology; whether we like it or not , is changing every aspect of how we live and work. The main outcome of this constantly advancing technology is consistent and often rapid changes within the workplace.  

With the increase of technological reliance throughout the workplace, the role of the Human Resource and Leaderships teams is more critical than ever. Both teams play a pivotal role in shaping the organisations attitude and approach to the implementation of workplace transformations.  

It is a common assumption that implementation of new technology or undertaking organisational transformation requires culture changes to sustain the process. However, what many organisations fail to articulate is what culture change their workplace needs, if any, to undertake in order to support the proposed transformation.  

Managers often assume that the absence of resistance when undertaking organisational transformation is a sign of a healthy culture. However, an environment where employees are unwilling to voice their thoughts or opinions may indicate underlying issues within the team. Healthy debate should be viewed as part of a healthy decision-making process that reduces bias and group-think mentality.  While there may be some attraction for HR and Leadership teams to take the least resistive path, rather than making decisions that are less popular, easier decisions do not always result in the best strategic outcomes for the future of the organisation.  

Choosing not to engage external or broad expertise when implementing significant organisational transformation can result in HR and Leadership teams failing to comprehend the full scope of challenges associated with the process. This can result in significant issues throughout implementation that could potentially lead to an unsuccessful transformation rather than a successful one.  

Obtaining input and consensus from all employees is never straight forward, no matter how involved they are throughout the transformation process. Rather than ignore the noise, encouraging and embracing the employee’s uncertainty allows HR and Leadership teams to explore new ideas raised by their teams. 

The HR team play a critical role throughout the transformation process as they are able to support the Senior Leadership team explore new ideas raised by employees within the organisation. Establishing an organisational environment that is supportive of employee’s opinions, creates a culture where teams are encouraged to engage in healthy debate and conversations rather than adhering to the group decision mentality that does not benefit the workplace. Healthily debate and spirited conversations are said to create energy, spark new ideas and open the room to different perspectives.