The workplace is evolving quickly and juggling the increasing demand for labour while navigating barriers to traditional onboarding and training delivery methods can create unique challenges for organizations of every size. With many companies shifting towards a virtual workplace, there are plenty of considerations to be made around how these organizations will recruit and train their new hires, develop their people and pivot in favour of this new change. Recently, one of our clients, Direct Energy, was transitioning to a virtual-only model where training delivery, train the trainer sessions and other learning opportunities needed to be delivered virtually, an area where the company had limited experience in. Organizational changes like these have a lot of moving parts to consider alongside a series of potential roadblocks to overcome. The Harbinger Training and Communications team which included me, Tomas Nilsson, Sr. Training Consultant, and Nicole La Roche, Sr. Communications Consultant, were able to support the design and other elements of this transition with Direct Energy. Together we were able to achieve a smooth transition for the company despite the short timeline. In this blog, I’ll be sharing the steps we took to help enable the process to virtual onboarding, lessons learned, and how we overcame the various roadblocks along the way. Planning While only having a week to prepare for the new onboarding process, it was critical to plan efficiently for what might be required to make the transition as seamless as possible. We chose Zoom as our tool for delivering new-hire training. With functions that were practically made for online learning such as Breakout rooms, Hand-raising, and moderator support, it was a no-brainer. We procured the appropriate licenses and our team of client trainers set out to perfect their use of the tool by participating in practice sessions and learning best practices such as ensuring the mute button is used appropriately or monitoring whether participants are engaged or not. The trainers have all had experiences with virtual training where the days seem to drag on forever! To combat this problem, they reduced the training hours from 8 hours to 5 and augmented the loss of hours with self-practice and “homework”. This proved to be a tremendous success as participants were more engaged during the training sessions and used the self-practice time to get acquainted with and reinforce what they learned that day. With virtual training, less is more, so giving the participants freedom to practice on their own, while simulating their future virtual work environment was very effective. Setup One of the main caveats to a successful or on-time training session is often a user’s inability to connect, install, or operate the chosen delivery tool, in this case, Zoom. To help steer our users on the right path, the trainers found immense success in hosting brief sessions with small groups to ensure that they could not only access their training tools but also understand how to use them effectively on the first day of training. This drastically improved the timeliness of the first sessions, creating an enjoyable and engaging experience for new hires right from the start. While troubleshooting training software issues was seamless for our team, navigating IT matters with computers, log-in access, and VPN connections proved to be a tougher task. As all participants began their role 100% virtually, laptops were mailed out, and all login and related information was emailed. However, many of the participants expressed that they had issues logging in when they received their laptop – Or did not receive their laptop at all! Luckily, the trainers held the preparation sessions and had the time to follow up with IT internally to help diagnose and resolve their issues. Knowing that some users had no laptops – the trainers were still able to come up with creative ways to engage them in the sessions. Planning for distractions is nearly impossible, but the trainers were able to get a glimpse into possible disruptions during their initial setup sessions and were able to mitigate some of the more common issues. Users with excess background noise were reminded to mute themselves or remedy whatever was causing the excess noise, or if participants had children the trainers were able to provide more flexibility and other opportunities for breaks. These changes were happening quickly, and it was crucial to remind our users of expectations in the virtual workspace. While it is always best to have a quiet working space with no other distractions, we also must be mindful that this is not easy for everyone, especially when these changes are happening during a crisis. Many people were unprepared for the overnight virtual changes, so giving our peers some flexibility and understanding during this time was an important part of the transition. Training Tomas Nilsson, Harbinger Sr. Training Consultant, said that “good training is good training regardless of how you do it” when referring to what techniques need to be used when training virtually. Treating a virtual training session like an in-person session and applying all your training experience will provide a great experience for your participants. Just look at this article by ATD – All these virtual training tips (that don’t have to do with technology) are things you would do in person too! Being an engaging trainer is just as relevant virtually as it is in person. The trainers found that they could continue training with the same energy and style they normally do, keeping the participants engaged and learning. Keeping participants engaged manifested itself in a variety of ways through a combination of technology and classic training techniques. Breakout rooms are essential for users to get the most out of virtual training. They allow participants to interact with their new coworkers, trainers and moderators can assist users one-on-one in breakout rooms, and most importantly they can simulate the virtual working experience users will eventually move. One of the most effective uses for the breakout rooms was to create self-practice spaces where students could work by themselves or with one other person to put what they had just learned into practice. If any issues arose with what they just learned they could simply “pop-out” of the room and connect with the lead facilitator or moderator and ask a question! While our training was not always seamless, the trainers did a phenomenal job of making sure the learners got the best experience possible. There were a few instances of which I thought were notable in the way our team handled them: Ensuring users are engaged is one thing in the classroom, but doing it virtually is a much taller task, requiring the use of technology and constant monitoring. Technology like Zoom gives the host insight into whether someone is tuned into the meeting or surfing the web, giving them the ability to rein the participant in. The trainers were also vigilant in getting the participants to contribute; actively monitoring whether they were speaking and redirecting questions to those who were not, in order to get them focused on the training. Unfortunately, some of our participants were last-minute hires and didn’t have access to the corporate network, however, the trainers were able to adapt and found that letting those users drive (remotely work the instructor's screen) was beneficial to not only the driver but the other participants as well in keeping them focused and to help retain knowledge. Lessons Learned While the training team prepared extensively for delivering their in-person training virtually, they ran into numerous obstacles they had not expected, which taught them valuable lessons for future training sessions. One of the major learning takeaways for the trainers was the lack of relationship building that comes across through virtual training, and how necessary that is to establish an engaging and effective training experience. The team also had to adapt and manage the role an IT professional would normally play in the classroom environment. What would normally be a quick message to the onsite IT team, now became the responsibility of the training team to resolve. Moving forward, the trainers will try to mitigate these technological disruptions through collaboration with IT teams, as well as building in extra time to help troubleshoot any ongoing issues. They also felt like they missed certain items about training in-person that made the training great – Developing those crucial relationships, having informal conversations during lunch and breaks, and seeing the faces and emotions of participants when they’re successful. Conclusion Both Trainers and participants walked away from the remote training sessions commenting on how smooth the transition has been from in-person to remote training. Our participants mentioned just how much they enjoyed “learning from the comfort of their home” and how great Zoom as a tool for virtual training was. Here are some observations based on a mid-training comprehension test completed with a virtual class that began last week: Overall class size: 12 Number failing/at risk: 2 Overall termed during training: 2 How it compares to similar classes taught face-to-face: a. Comprehension: No difference based on test results b. Attrition levels: No difference based on the size of class and numbers termed. While the training wasn’t without its hiccups, these observations have shown us that virtual training has been just as effective as in-person training in that users walked away with what they needed to know, and trainers were able to cover all the required topics. As much as you prepare for delivering a virtual training session, no amount of preparation can mitigate technical issues, distractions, or connection issues. As the trainers experienced, there will constantly be issues plaguing the virtual onboarding process, and it’s up to the trainer and participants to adapt in order to make the training a success. With so many new changes happening every day, I’m excited to see what’s in store for us next. Business environments and workplaces will continue to evolve and learning how to deliver training remotely is just the tip. As many have suggested, things are probably not going back to normal when this crisis is over, so having experience in leading a transition to virtual training is something I’m confident I’ll need to leverage again in the future. If you’re looking for help with your virtual workplace transition, visit our resource hub for some helpful tools and tips on managing change through disruption or contact us at hello@harbinger-scr.com. We’re happy to discuss your virtual training needs or any other virtual workplace queries. Author Colin Carmon-Murphy Sr. Financial Analyst / Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

We've had a thought-provoking past few weeks to say the least and a lot has changed in our everyday lives. Some things will revert to their pre-COVID-19 state after a few months and others will stick around for a significant amount of time. This is neither good nor bad, it's just change. To me, change is a sign of development and improvement, so I see our current situation as an opportunity to precisely do that. A few months ago, I was asked: "How do you collect the right information when creating training content for clients?". At the time, I focused my answer on learning about the client and catering the content towards their learning styles so that they can become experts. Now, I don't think this has changed, but I do believe that there are more things to consider when collecting information. For example, how adaptable are the client's business processes, and how could a circumstance, like COVID-19, affect the training material? These are new considerations that I will explore later in this post but for now, I want to dive deeper into my video, where I addressed the question above. If you haven't seen the video yet, you can watch it below or on our new Harbinger Insights YouTube channel. What is an Instructional Designer? Before I begin to discuss how to collect the right information, I’ll explain what it means to be an Instructional Designer. Like I said earlier, change is a sign of development and improvement. Many businesses and industries are in constant evolution and others may experience significant transformations or transitions. Regardless of the case, both possess change, and an Instructional Designer is a cog in the learning process. Purdue University describes Instructional Designers as individuals who "implement theory and research processes to design and implement learning materials that produce greater outcomes for a specific group of people." Type of Change We can categorize change into at least three different types; developmental, transitional, or transformational. To ensure you are collecting the right information, it’s important to know the kind of change your client is dealing with. Each type requires a different training material outcome and a different strategy for collecting information. However, there are some constants, like how will this change impact end-users' current processes, the desired result of the change, and what users are most concerned about. Developmental Change Developmental changes typically revolve around improving or correcting current operations in the business. These include minor system improvements like procedural updates, payroll processes, invoicing procedures, procurement, approval processes, or planning and budgeting. These developmental improvements typically require more straightforward training content. Gathering information for these types of change fixate around what the key benefits of the new developments are and it's a good idea to highlight these incremental benefits due to the simplicity of the improvement. A common misconception of minor changes is that they are unnecessary and learning a new process is a waste of time if the old way worked just fine. I would argue that a small improvement opens the doors for more significant improvements in the future and this better equips businesses for new changes. Transitional Change Like developmental change, transitional changes focus on current business processes and operations. The difference is, rather than improving or correcting an ongoing process; the business is replacing the existing process with a more efficient one. An example of this could be moving from one payroll system to another or replacing a manual production procedure with a completely automated one. This change is a bit more significant than a developmental change and will have a greater impact on users. A common concern with this type of change is job security. There is a great fear that automation and digital transformation is going to result in massive job losses. This is only true in some cases, most of the time transitional changes create new opportunities and make old processes easier. As an Instructional Designer, you want to learn as much as you can about your end user's day to day operations. This ensures your training content highlights the importance of the change in developing the new process. It's important to address major concerns in your training content to remind the users of how significant this change is to the business and why it’s important to their specific roles. Everyone wants to feel important so it’s crucial for users to know what’s in it for them. Transformational Change Unlike the first two, a transformational change is more profound and typically involves the other two types. This change is done over time and affects all areas of the company. It usually leads to a cultural shift, organizational product or services overhaul, or restructuring of business strategies. Due to the severity of this change, the Instructional Designer needs to understand the impacts of each business area. It is unlikely that a change of this magnitude would have just one Instructional Designer and I would recommend assigning them by business area. Instructional Designers need to gather information between each other to ensure consistency of training content throughout each business area. Addressing user concerns would be very similar to my recommendations above, focus on the benefits of the change and how the end-users will be involved in the process. I have summarized the characteristics of these types of changes in the table below: Preparation & The Client Now that you know what type of change is occurring and how it affects users. The next step is to prepare the users. To do that, you need to prepare yourself first. Ask yourself, what are the client's learning preferences, how are they reacting to the change, how much detail do they require? Is it a simple change where minimal detail is needed or is it a complete overhaul that requires in-depth detail? Remember, the goal isn't to hold their hand throughout the entire process. The goal is to coach them to a point where the student becomes the master. Instructional Designers should familiarize themselves with the change and learn the new processes and procedures. If it is a transformational change, learn about the differences in the organizational culture and again leverage the other Instructional Designers on the project to ensure consistency. I cannot stress that last piece enough; many businesses operate the same tasks in very different ways. One Instructional Designer's experience for the same process will be different from another's. The training content among the various business areas must not differentiate from each other in aspects other than the changed procedure or process unique to that business area. When it comes to preparing for the client, you need to ask yourself the same questions for each procedural change that requires training content. Who is affected? What are their learning preferences? What is the optimal length of this training material (whether it is an eLearning course, a Standard Operating Procedure document, or a User Guide)? What are the benefits of the change? What are the key differences the client will experience after the change? Answering these questions will help get you started on creating unique training content for the client. Having a strong understanding of your client and their business will help you ensure the content is right for them. Training content isn't simple enough to be used from one client to another because every business and its people are unique. Find out what the business' competitive advantage is and incorporate that into your training content. For example, when developing training materials for a client who is an industry leader in customer service, emphasize your content on how the change will impact their customer’s experience and how that aspect can be improved. End Goal Each client has a desired result from the change. It can be to improve their billing procedure, cut costs, increase revenue, improve their onboarding process, or any of the other thousands of reasons for the change. The Instructional Designer also has a goal of their own. Well, goals. The primary goal is to ensure the client reaches their objective and has a means of measuring their progress towards it. Second, their goal is to be no longer needed. The sign of a successful project is one where you can leave saying to yourself; the client now knows how to deliver the training material and is an expert on the training content. They should have access to all the materials developed and any other resources that they may need to move forward independently. Unexpected Change in the Business As promised earlier, I wanted to discuss how a global event like COVID-19 can affect collecting the right information for training content development. Many organizations learned the hard way that they weren't ready for a transition to a virtual workplace. So, where does an Instructional Designer fit in all this? Well, although it may be a long time until we experience another global pandemic like this one, it does give us an alternate perspective on preparing your business. New questions I recommend Instructional Designers to ask themselves when developing training content include: How will this content scale over future changes? What procedures have the client put in place in the case of an event like this occurring? Does it affect your training content? Can your training content be delivered virtually? I think it's safe to say that one of the most popular changes businesses will make is the virtual accessibility of their resources and an improved digital presence. If we see the trend of virtual working increasing, you need to ensure your training content can reach those users with the same effectiveness as all the other users. There's a new market for learning and training in the virtual workplace world and Instructional Designers must understand the differences in training development that come with this. It’s a learning experience for all of us, but that's the only way to get the best results in anything. Learning. Transitioning to a virtual workplace is daunting, especially when this change needs to happen quickly. We want to help make this transition smoother and that’s why we’ve put together a resource hub for small and medium-sized businesses where you can find helpful tips and tools for virtual workplace change. Visit our website or send us an email at hello@harbinger-scr.com if you’re looking for further assistance with your virtual workplace transition, we’re happy to help. Final Thoughts In times like these, it’s important to take a moment and appreciate what really matters to us. I know I am incredibly grateful for my health, family, and peers and I hope we can all see a prosperous opportunity for what’s to come. As the future of work evolves, adapting how we collect information and develop training materials will change with it. But for now, collecting the right information when creating training content for clients starts with understanding the type of change they’re experiencing and how to develop your strategy around it. Author Adam Rifai Accounting & Business Analyst / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

There’s no shortage of chatter regarding the coronavirus, so I’ve decided to take a different tone with this blog. Before I do that, I want to throw out one last reminder about the resources we have available for small to medium-sized businesses that are transitioning to a virtual work environment as a result of the current circumstances. You can check them out here. Back to this week’s blog, ‘What every business needs – A crisis communications plan’. Let’s start off by defining what this is. A crisis communications plan is a set of defined guidelines and communications activities that will be used proactively to address unplanned events or circumstances that can negatively impact your business. These can be anything from a sexual harassment lawsuit, weather-related incidents, fires, data breach or fraud. In today’s world, it’s not acceptable to remain quiet or avoid addressing crises when they occur. In fact, doing so can have irreparable damages to your business and reputation. Many state that your business reputation is the single most important aspect of your business. Why? Having a strong reputation not only attracts talent, but it also helps to facilitate growth as it is an indicator of trust from your customers and partners. On the flip side, having a negative reputation can directly impact your bottom line. A great example of this the Sultan of Brunei, who owns many luxury hotels around the world including the Beverly Hills Hotel. News of his decision to introduce Islamic, or Shariah laws, in his country resulted in several celebrities like Elton John and Ellen De Generes boycotting his hotels which cost him millions of dollars. There’s also Lululemon Athletica, whose founder Chip Wilson said in a Bloomberg TV interview that the problems reported from customers regarding their sheer and transparent yoga pants were simply because ‘"Quite frankly, some women's bodies just actually don't work for it," he said. "It's really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there." Their stock immediately dropped 44%, he withdrew from the daily management of the company and became a non-executive chairman. Shortly thereafter he resigned and sold half his stakes to a private equity firm. Most recently there’s the story of the demise of WeWork. I won’t bore you with the details, but I do invite you to read my blog about it here. Needless to say, a businesses’ reputation is incredibly important making it crucial for you to do what you can to protect it. Whether your business is big or small, the development of a comprehensive crisis communications plan can be the difference between survival and failure. Here’s what you need to know to get started. 1. Create a business continuity team that will have representation from areas including human resources, operations and communications. Having a diverse team of individuals working together with specialties in areas like human resources, operations and communications helps to ensure that every part of the business is covered. Collectively this group can develop a plan of activities that are aligned across all areas of the business. During a crisis, it’s important that everyone is aware of what the other groups are planning, that all activities are aligned and that the plan is also taking into consideration the impacts it may have on another part of the business. 2. Collate a list of anticipated crises that can impact your business. This is activity will vary from business to business depending on the types of services and products you provide. Before joining Harbinger, I worked at an insurance company where some of the crisis anticipated were weather-related, fraud, data leaks, and reputational issues like sexual harassment. For consulting firms like ours, some crises that come to mind would be data leaks, a personnel issue where an employee may be involved with something unethical within their personal or work life, or if an associated client or vendor is experiencing a crisis themselves. 3. Develop holding statements and key messages. Once you have collected and agreed to the most likely crises, the communications team or communications representative will then be responsible for developing holding statements and key messages. A holding statement is the first message or announcement that is shared following the incident. It simply states the facts and lets people know that the situation is being monitored and that more details will follow. Please note that the holding statement should be released ideally within 15 minutes of the incident. The key messages are the main points that you want your audiences to know. There will be overarching key messages, as well as, targeted key messages for specific audiences like shareholders, employees, vendors and the public. Once the holding messages and key messages have been developed, they should be reviewed and approved by the business continuity team, legal and some members of the executive team. 4. Select and media train your spokespeople. Your spokesperson or spokespeople will vary depending on the situation, and for the most part, should be a member of the executive or senior leadership team. The public and employees will be looking for them to make the statements and lead the crisis. In some circumstances, the spokesperson will be your most senior communications team member. An ideal spokesperson will elude confidence, show empathy, have strong body language and be personable. They will leverage the key messages but should also be able to relay them in their own words. Finally, all spokespeople should be media trained. This is typically done by a public relations or communications firm. During the media training, the individuals will be completing a scenario where they will have to address questions. The media trainers will evaluate their responses including body language and will let you know whether they recommend using them as a spokesperson or not. 5. Ensure you are covering all your bases and leveraging all communications channels including social media. As soon as a crisis hits, people will go searching for information and it’s important that the information they find is from a credible source – you. At one of my crisis communications training sessions, we completed a scenario where an airplane caught on fire on the tarmac. As you can expect, people within the airport started to post images and commentary on the incident on various social media channels like Twitter. One of these individuals was someone who worked at Google but was not on the plane. This individual shared a tweet that stated it appeared everyone was fine. This was not the case but spread like wildfire because there were no spokespeople available for journalists to contact and no holding statements were released in a timely manner. They naturally shared his updates because he came from a well-known brand. This is not what you want. To avoid this, get your holding statement out as soon as possible on all of your communications channels such as your website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and call centre voicemails. Another thing to consider is to update your branding on your channels to let them know you are in crisis mode. Some companies update their logos or change the backgrounds and banners. 6. Agree to a decision-making process. In a crisis situation, things escalate quickly. This is why it’s helpful to have a clear decision-making process. Decide who will make the final call, who will be the back-up if the primary decision-maker is not available, and clearly define what the process required for decisions is in your plan. 7. Complete annual reviews of your crisis communications plan to ensure it remains relevant and covers all the bases. Things change and businesses need to adapt to these changes making it important to keep your plan up-to-date. Some of the things that you should keep in mind are updating contact lists, your list of potential crises and holding messages. 8. Reporting and analytics. Data is gold. Keep track of all activities taking place during your crisis if you can. Were there communications channels that worked better than others? How did the public react to your spokesperson? How much media coverage was received during the crisis? Were there any trends or themes found in the stories reported or the comments received on your social media channels? All of these insights will help you to understand what’s working, and areas of opportunity for the next iteration of your crisis communications plan. Also, don’t forget to share these insights with the business continuity and executive team. 9. Post crises activities including risk assessments and updates to business processes. Once the crisis is done, there are a number of follow-up activities that need to take place including a risk assessment and updates to business processes. While the crisis communications plan does not include completing a risk assessment or determining what the updates to businesses are, it will include communications activities on how the outputs or changes will be shared with employees and other stakeholders. 10. Debrief. You should follow the same processes as other projects, including holding a lesson’s learned session. Getting everyone involved in a room together to discuss what communications activities should stop, start and continue will be invaluable and helps to better prepare for future crises that may occur. As you can see, there are many factors to consider when developing a crisis communications plan. Creating a comprehensive plan takes a lot of time and effort and should not be rushed! This is an important tool to have in the back pocket for all businesses as there are many things that are out of our control. You can never predict when a crisis will occur. I hope that you have found this information useful, and invite you to download our communications plan template here. This template is primarily used for projects, however, it can easily be adapted for a crisis communications plan. I would also recommend checking out these credible resources and articles for more information on crisis communications management: - International Association of Business Communicators: ‘When a crisis strikes: How to develop a crisis communications plan’ - National: ‘A crisis communications plan: The first aid kit for your reputation.’ - Forbes: ’13 Golden Rules of PR Crisis Management’ And if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at hello@harbinger-scr.com. Author Siri Maldonado Director Marketing & Communications Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Does anyone else feel like they’re living in the Upside Down? Coronavirus has touched every part of the world and has forced many, including government bodies and businesses to make decisions and enforce new processes at an unprecedented pace. At this stage, change has not only become the norm, but the speed in which these changes are taking place is something that the world has never experienced before. Take Ontario, for instance, my home province. Recently, the government announced public school closures until April 5, an additional two weeks following March break, which began on March 14. Since then they have announced all licensed daycare closures, restaurant and bar closures, called for all expats and Canadians travelling abroad to return home, mandated self-isolation for everyone returning from abroad, asked everyone to work from home, enhanced screening measures at the airport, enforced flight restrictions, and most recently closed the border between Canada and the US. All of this and more has been announced in just five days! COVID-19 is relentless and is literally impacting all aspects of our lives. Everyone is scrambling to figure out how to keep things afloat. I for one have a toddler that will be home with my husband and me for at least three weeks. Fortunately, Harbinger is incredibly understanding and has provided me with the flexibility I need to balance work and being a mother. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone. As businesses transition into remote work environments, there’s little time left for leaders to figure out how to effectively manage their people in this new way. More often than not, the abrupt change is not only challenging for leaders but for employees as well.  In a perfect world, the move to working from home would be thoroughly planned to include training, be embedded as part of their culture, include digital collaboration tools, engagement activities, and so forth. But with hours or just days before the transition takes place, leaders are finding they must move faster than they ever have before. On the upside, organizations and leaders around the world are going through the exact same experience or businesses and experts like the ones we have at Harbinger, are coming together on what we are now calling ‘social solidarity’ to provide complementary services and advice. Taking Care of Your Mental Health First and foremost, for leaders to be effective in their roles when there are constant changes and teams that are transitioning to remote working, they need to take care of themselves! We are living in an unprecedented time where self-isolation and social distancing has really impacted our way of life. While leisurely walks or other outdoor activities like running (at a safe distance from others) can still be done, mental health at this time will be more important than ever. Being able to focus on one’s mental health should be a focus for every leader; without it, managing these changes and your people during times of uncertainty will be hard. I’ve included some links below to some of my favourite resources on mental health: The Canadian Mental Health Association has a resource page dedicated to COVID-19. They also have a fantastic corporate program called ‘Not Myself Today’, which can be used both in the office and virtually. I’m a huge fan of Neil Pasricha, the author of the book ‘You are Awesome’, and blog 1000awesomethings.com. I saw him speak at a conference last year, and the story of how he started his blog was so inspiring! I had no idea that simple things like taking a walk so that you can be around trees can help reduce stress and make you happier or writing in a journal. On a recent trip with some friends, I also discovered how beneficial adult colouring books can be to your mental health. Not only does it help to calm the mind, but it also helps increase innovation, be more helpful, and more team-spirited than coworkers who are not regularly engaged in creative hobbies. To learn more about the benefits of adult colouring, read this article 8 Benefits of Adult Colouring. These are just some of the ways leaders can focus on taking care of themselves. There are so many other ways to keep yourself healthy, including cooking, gaming, and more. The important thing here is to make sure you’re doing what you can to take care of your mental health, a key component in ensuring you are an effective leader. Effective Communications My second piece of advice is to work hard on being an effective communicator.  This is definitely not easy, and for many, it’s a life-long process. However, the more digital your team becomes, the more critical it is to keep communications top of mind.  Working from home full-time can be isolating for many. Without constant communication or connection from their leaders, employees can often feel disengaged and unconnected from their company and team. Here are some of my top communications tips: Continue with your regular cadence of meetings and turn on the video if you can.  My husband has two daily huddles. It’s been great seeing him and his team interact online via video. Kids and pets are also really cute additions. Figure out a communications schedule that works for you. For those of you in Canada, you would likely by now become accustomed to the timing and regular scheduling or updates from the government, and our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Prime Minister Trudeau has been providing daily updates at the same time, every day. He has also selected a time that works for everyone across the country, which is key given that Canada has six different time zones. If you’re more comfortable or find that you are a stronger communicator verbally, then I suggest using your strengths as much as possible during this time. However, it’s also important to leverage all the communications channels available to you. Email, for instance, will be used quite a bit right now to share important updates. In this case, make sure you are creating a habit of forwarding and discussing these updates with your teams regularly. It’s not enough to just forward an email. Lastly, as everyone transitions into working digitally, become acquainted or complete training on how to use collaboration tools like Yammer, and Microsoft Teams. Know your audience and take into account what the message is, as well as, what else is happening.  You know your people the best. Consider how well they will individually take the news to have to work remotely full-time for weeks when they’re not used to, or if they have children, how stressful this period will be for them.  This may require you to have 1:1 meetings or check-in conversations. These are incredibly valuable and should happen on a weekly basis at minimum, and do not have to be long or incredibly structured. To learn more about the benefits of check-in conversations, I invite you to watch these two videos from Marcus Buckingham: Check in conversations How check-in conversations drive performance These regular meetings are of course in addition to video conferences, and other touch points. Listen and observe. Communications is not just one way. Listening to your employee’s questions, and taking a close look at their body language and facial expressions even through video, can show you a lot and help to guide you on how to best communicate to them. Becoming an effective communicator takes time and a lot of work. In addition to the tips above, I invite you to check out our Virtual Working resources page here. It includes several valuable items for leaders and employees. Change Management Like most roles, leaders have been tasked to do more, and this includes change management. Having change management capabilities as a leader is invaluable, especially given the current landscape. Understanding how to use the tools, enabling your people to lead, and the different stages of change are helpful during times like this.  Change management, similar to communications, is something that is fluid and must be constantly learned.  Luckily there are several resources available for you to learn more, including: A recent Masterclass we completed on Practical Change Management.  In this session targeted for novice change leaders, Greg Roth, Managing Partner, Harbinger, breaks down the change curve, how leaders can determine where their people are on the path, and what leaders can do to help them through change. For more information including the change curve, check out his presentation here. The Change Leadership, a partner of Harbinger, is another fantastic resource. They provide several resources and regularly hold events to ‘accelerate the preparation of leaders, change agents, professionals and organizations to respond dynamically to the rapid pace of change and innovation taking place around us. I’m also a huge fan of the Harvard Business Review. They regularly publish articles on leadership and change management. Some of my recent favourites include, ‘Communicating Through the Coronavirus Crisis’, ‘The Key to Inclusive Leadership’, and ‘Change Management and Leadership Development have to Mesh.’ If you’re interested in learning more about the evolution of change management to change enablement, please take a read of this article from Krista Schaber-Chan, Managing Partner, Harbinger, ‘Don’t Manage Change, Enable It’ in the February issue of Report on Business Magazine here. I’m confident that focusing on your own well-being and mental health, effective communications, and change management will support you and your people through this trying period. The coronavirus has certainly taken the world for a spin, and while we may all feeling like we are in the Upside Down, it’s been encouraging to see people come together to support one another in times of crisis. I hope that you have found this information useful and am crossing my fingers and toes in hopes that this will all soon be behind us. Siri Author Siri Maldonado Director Marketing & Communications Toronto Email | LinkedIn

As technology both in the home and workplace has become more pervasive, virtual teams are on the rise. Companies are increasingly going virtual for the plethora of benefits. For employees, virtual teams allow more flexibility in their work hours and increase productivity by eliminating time typically wasted by commuting. A recent survey by Deloitte also found that millennials (expected to take up 75 per cent of the workforce by 2028) are more likely to stay in a role for more than five years if they are empowered to determine when and where they complete their work. Companies can see more direct benefits from transitioning to virtual teams. Encouraging employees to work remotely can lower office costs significantly. Furthermore, it opens up a greater availability of talent to draw from by hiring workers based in countries­­—or even continents—other than that of the one single location. Despite these many benefits, virtual teams can quickly become plagued with feelings of disconnect or a general lack of productivity. At Harbinger, we have operated as a tight-knit virtual team for many years to accommodate our frequently travelling consultants and workers in need of flexible schedules. To help with other companies already working remotely or considering transitioning to virtual teams, here are our four principles for ensuring the success of your virtual team. 1. Communication is Key The most important aspect of any virtual team is communication. Without frequent communication, employees can start to feel isolated and disconnected. The solution? Regular and consistent touch points with the team can make sure everyone is on the same page and gives the opportunity to debrief past achievements and plan next steps.  At Harbinger, we are frequent users of Skype and don’t hesitate to connect through a group phone chat. The solution for effective communication must primarily come from the leadership. If employees don’t have trust in the leadership, it will be impossible to foster open and honest dialogue. Leaders can guide their teams along to success by establishing clear, well-articulated goals for the work that needs to be done. Leaders must also be wary of conflict in online communication as people can often become excessively harsh in their criticisms online to others without any face-to-face contact. Miscommunication can also arise when people read written text differently based on their interpretations. It is essential that team leaders strive to resolve these conflicts amicably and ensure employees are comfortable approaching them with any and all concerns. “The biggest mistake you can make when beginning a virtual relationship is to assume that your previously successful face-to-face approach is going to be effective in a virtual setting.” – Lynette Van Steinburg, Virtual Effectiveness Driver 2. Onboard for Success One of the most effective strategies for building a cohesive virtual team is preparing employees even before they join the team. That’s why a well-designed onboarding process is critical for a virtual team’s success. This requires laying out well-defined roles with transparent responsibilities right from the get-go. This also means, perhaps, investing extra time to ensure employees are comfortable and proficient in using the technology required for virtual communications. If employees feel confident in themselves and their team right from the start, any other issues that arise later down the line will be more easily resolved. Lorena Klingel, a Harbinger friend, is an expert in this field.  Check out her blog for onboarding tips and tricks. 3. Keep it Small and Connected One of the biggest concerns about virtual teams is a lack of bonding and cohesion. This, however, can be resolved by focusing on keeping the teams small—or at least within a manageable size. OnPoint Consulting’s research puts the ideal team size at 10 people or less. However, a simpler principle to keep in mind is just that employees should be put into teams where they have the chance for frequent and repeat contact with colleagues. Employees should know, at any time, who to reach out to for help or collaboration while also having open channels to contact their leaders for further direction. Another way to promote team bonding is to hold occasional employee or team events in person. While virtual communication can be effective, almost all of the time for work-related matters, holding quarterly or annual events face to face can help form and strengthen more personal relationships to help your team flourish. 4. Select the Right Tools A final point to keep in mind when it comes to virtual teams is selecting the right tools for your company. Simply adhering to a one-size-fits-all perspective by applying the technology used at another company to your own will almost never work. There is a multitude of different tools out there for a virtual workplace, including instant messaging programs, email, cloud storage services, and video conference call services. Matching the right tools to the people on your team and the types of projects your team deals with is necessary for effective communication. Furthermore, don’t be afraid to integrate multiple forms of technology to customize the ideal solution for your team. So Why Go Virtual? It’s clear that virtual teams provide a wide range of benefits for both employees and their companies. Despite these, companies remain hesitant to make this seemingly daunting leap. However, by following the tips above, companies can feel more confident in transitioning towards the increased flexibility and productivity virtual teams can offer. Interested in learning more about how Harbinger stays connected as a thriving virtual team and how to successfully integrate technology into your workplace? Feel free to get in touch with us or check out our case study with RSA Canada who made the shift to an agile and flexible culture. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Culture Transformations, the Fuel behind Digital Transformations is a two-part series discussing digital culture and change. We explore the importance of culture development and how to achieve a digital culture in today’s workplace for successful transformation and sustainable change. Technology-enabled processes are growing faster than ever in today’s business landscape, organizations are constantly trying to adapt to new trends as best they can. Many businesses still fall behind when it comes to tech integration and digital transformations. As we discussed in Part 1: Culture Transformations, the Fuel Behind Digital Transformations, when businesses are evolving quickly, leaders and their people often experience culture crashes. After understanding why digital cultures are important in driving capabilities for your business, you might be wondering where to start in building a digital culture of your own. Let’s begin by saying that there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for digital cultures, and with any important change, having a detailed plan in place is crucial. If you’ve ever put together a change plan, you’ve likely followed a similar series of steps to the ones I’m going to describe below. That being said, let’s look at what actionable tasks leaders can implement at each stage to get the ball rolling, rather than just reviewing the overall concept. Step 1: Identify the change Identifying the changes you think would best impact your business sounds easy at first, but how can you ensure that the direction you’re going in makes sense? Leaders can identify their ideal digital culture by first analyzing the key players in their industry and market. It’s hard to craft the ideal characteristics of your digital culture out of thin air, so referencing leaders in the tech industry while considering your own businesses goals, strategy and mission, can be extremely helpful during this process. A clearly defined digital culture framework to begin with, helps you pin-point which behaviours you should aim to instill in your team in order to achieve those key characteristics. Looking at real life examples of best practices and trends in your industry or other companies you want to emulate can help you identify the do’s and don’ts early on. This research can also enlighten you on the types of workshops and training practices that worked best for achieving that digital culture. Don’t forget to keep in mind that what worked for one business, may not work for yours, every organization has their unique goals and people. Let the industry leaders and tech-groovy firms act as inspiration for crafting your own change goals. At this point, it also makes sense to assess where your own organization’s culture stands. This will help identify the gaps between your current and target culture. Some of the ways you can do this is by creating a culture committee, conducting surveys, interviews, focus groups, and opening up communication between you and your employees. This is an essential part of this process, understanding the pulse of your organization lets you know if your employees are ready to undergo change and what support they’ll likely need for future changes. Step 2: Focus on employee engagement Employee engagement is always a hot topic, we know that it’s important to have, but achieving it can be a challenge. Digital cultures especially need engaged employees since teams and individuals are to eventually act more autonomously and use their own judgement in decision making. One way to excite your people about the digital shift is to provide incentives such as work from home for the desired behaviour you outlined in the last step. Leaders should also keep in mind that change drivers can go beyond the boardroom all the way to the front line, sometimes the individuals that will make the biggest impact are on not within your leadership group. Creating everyday opportunities for these individuals to serve as informal leaders and role models can inspire others to follow suite and act as communication portals, clarifying any uncertainties or misconceptions about the change. Another common practice in implementing digital change is rotating employees into mentor roles, this can empower a wider community of people in your organization. When people feel that they are needed and have a special role in the change, they’ll be more inclined to take initiative and promote new practices. Developing your training materials at this stage is also a good idea, you’ll have access to input from key influencers by your side as you collaborate and determine which training techniques best suit your diverse group of people. Training individuals on new digital platforms and collaborative spaces will most likely be a long and strenuous process however, the hardest part will be developing the learning culture that reinforces these changes. It’s not just about being able to use new technology in the workplace, digital cultures cultivate a learning mindset that empowers people to capitalize on these tools. A culture of collective intelligence fosters other important skills such as ability to monitor the competitive landscape, problem solving ability, risk management, independence and much more; these are essentially the factors that will drive digital transformation. A blended approach including E-learning and traditional in-class training, is an example of how training can both promote digital cultures and increase employee engagement. Having a solid online platform that requires minimal technical skill to upload user-generated content can encourage employees to take initiative and collaborate with their community. The internal circulation of information gives people the autonomy to contribute to their colleagues learning experiences and ultimately the overall training process. This entrepreneurial mindset can work wonders for shifting people towards a digital culture, if you want your people to be the forward thinking and innovative thinkers that companies with digital cultures have, you might need to step back and let your people discover change ownership. Step 3: Reinforce and align the digital culture Building employee engagement plays a significant role in shifting your organization towards a digital culture, but as soon as implementation begins to get off the ground, reinforcement should take focus. Digital transformations are more than introducing a new tech-savvy product/service or changing the way one department does their work, it’s a full business change that will span every operation. Here you can look at the bigger picture of your organization, are all areas aligned to the new changes? Reviewing the tools your business uses for performance measurement, training and development materials, values and incentives, are all aspects to consider. Some companies that undergo a digital transformation will revamp their vision statement to better reflect the changes they’ve made and to inspire people to take the digital transformation to new heights, beyond the short-term. For example, companies that mention innovation and creativity in their vision, may find it necessary to continue to upgrade technical equipment for their employees, ensuring the best and appropriate tools are leveraged now and in the future. They may also introduce programs where employees have the freedom to work on a creative or digital project of their choice each month, which reinforces both the characteristics of a digital culture and the original transformation as well. Achieving a digital culture is complex but breaking down your steps into smaller components will make it seem less daunting and more practical. These key steps can be used as a framework to help you start thinking about realistic and achievable digital goals for the future of your business. It’s important to remember that digital transformations are about the people. A sustainable culture enables your business to leverage new technology for positive returns and has the power to protect your business from falling behind in today’s fast-paced digital era. Cultural transformations drive digital transformations. Author Rachelle Su Marketing & Communications Coordinator / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Culture Transformations, the Fuel behind Digital Transformations is a two-part series discussing digital culture and change. We explore the importance of culture development and how to achieve a digital culture in today’s workplace for successful transformation and sustainable change. Digital transformations are sweeping the business landscape, leaders are recognizing the power of technology and growing their enterprise accordingly. As businesses evolve and move towards more technology-enabled processes, leaders often run into obstacles. One of the most common barriers are culture crashes. Being a tech-savvy digital organization doesn’t mean that you just offer tech products, services and interactions with customers, it also means that you power your internal operations and people with technology. Digital organizations encourage innovation from the inside out and shape agile behaviour in their employees. Developing a truly digital culture changes the ways employees perform activities and how they interact with others inside and outside the organization. Like any other major shift, success requires instilling a culture that supports the transformation and the businesses overarching goals. Achieving a digital culture takes a clear methodology and a distinct effort, but why does building a digital culture matter to your business? A digital culture acts as a competitive advantage. A strong and cohesive culture provides guidelines and basic values that steer individuals to make appropriate choices that align with the organization’s goals and strategies. By ignoring culture, organizations may not achieve their digital transformation. Culture is your competitive edge in a successful digital transformation, an environment where leaders champion technology is critical in helping the company thrive. A strong culture encourages the use and support of technology to get work done in the most effective way possible. It’s important to recognize that the introduction of technology on its own, doesn’t guarantee the most effective work. Innovative technology must be accompanied by a strongly nurtured digital culture for the new changes to be received smoothly, employees in this culture will feel more inclined to be productive and encouraged to work smarter, not harder. A digital culture empowers people to deliver results. Digital organizations move faster than traditional ones, flatter hierarchies lead to quicker decision making. Linear organizations foster autonomy and a strong digital culture acts as a code of conduct that gives employees the freedom to make their own decisions on the front line. For many digital organizations, their code of conduct is simple, for example, focussing on putting the customer first. Employees understand what values they should demonstrate and use their judgement to make decisions that are favourable towards customers. Change and initiative move through the system faster. A digital culture attracts and cultivates talent. In today’s workplace, people are drawn to digital companies, especially Millennials. The promise of a collaborative, creative and autonomous environment is attractive. People care about their work environment and the opportunity to learn new skills; unsurprisingly a digital culture where innovation and flexibility are strongly rooted, attracts more digital talent. The demand for digital talent is quickly outpacing the supply, larger companies are always looking for new ways to attract the talent they need to support their digital transformation. It’s been well established that employees working in digital cultures feel empowered to do their best work, they have their voices heard, and feel like they’re able to make a real difference. In today’s workplace we have so many different generations working alongside one another, all with the different opinions, perspectives and communications styles at the same table. People want to feel like they’re making a personal impact, titles and paychecks no longer attract the best and brightest talent. Technology helps unlock employee potential and unifies people’s talents, so they feel empowered, teams work better together, and people feel like they’re part of a dynamic community. Digital cultures foster worldwide connection, companies can support the flow of ideas from all over the world, so they have the right information, at the right time, in the right place. Digital cultures future proof your business. Digital cultures nurture the process of innovation, industry environments are constantly changing, and businesses need to follow suit to make sure they don’t fall behind. A culture that encourages people to tap into their individual strengths leaves room for experimentation and discussion, it promotes the exploration of ideas and will provide the most potential for breakthroughs. The industry leaders and trendsetters tend to be the companies that have the most diverse talent, promote the most collaboration and give ample freedom to create. Digital cultures enable the capability for businesses to be as agile as their environment. A healthy culture is a high-performing culture however, there is no universal strategy for a standard digital culture. Some high performing digital cultures are based on companies that encourage more action and less planning; some are focussed on collaboration more than individual effort. These elements vary from industry to industry and company to company, finding the right mix for your people that aligns with the elements of your overarching strategies may not come overnight. It starts with the people; leaders sometimes get lost and preoccupied with the structural and process changes in a digital transformation and overlook the people side of things. Cultural change is a key determinant of a successful digital transformation and shaping a digital culture can secure businesses for a sustainable future. So why does this all matter? New technology implemented in a strong and prepared working environment has the potential for great returns, with employees feeling more committed and invested in the company’s overall strategic direction. Technology is a great tool but it’s the passion and skill of your workforce that fuels its positive or negative impact. Don’t just think of digital transformation as an IT exercise, think about it as a people journey. Digital transformation begins with cultural transformation. Stay tuned for Part 2 of Culture Transformations, the Fuel behind Digital Transformations, where we will be discussing how to build and achieve a sustainable digital culture. Author Rachelle Su Marketing & Communications Coordinator / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

What we can learn about human behaviour from COVID-19 and toilet paper phenomenon. It’s impossible to ignore what is taking place in light of COVID-19, and it’s been incredible to see how this new threat is impacting human behaviours. People around the world have been stocking up on hand sanitizers, major sporting events like soccer have been cancelled, and handshakes have become elbow touches. All the examples above help to prevent the spread of the virus, but what about the latest craze with toilet paper? A fascinating article from CNN, ‘The psychology behind why toilet paper, of all things, is the latest coronavirus panic buy’, was shared with me by a colleague and it got me thinking about the difference of this behaviour to the rest.  As the article states, unlike hand sanitizer, toilet paper doesn’t prevent the spread of the virus and isn’t a staple like water or bread during times of uncertainty.   So why then are grocery stores around the world, sold out of this product? What is the compelling force that is causing people to stock up on toilet paper, and how do these human behaviours relate to the world of change management? In today’s workplace, change is constant and despite all that we do to manage it, we have found there are always interesting (and sometimes unexpected) human behaviours that are revealed when people feel like they don’t have control over the situation. These behaviours are an emotion-based reaction to a perceived threat. You may have seen some of these examples yourself: The development of organic workarounds, especially with enterprise resource planning (ERP) or IT implementations—looking for opportunities to bend the new system back to the legacy ways of work. Claiming ownership of inanimate objects, like filing cabinets, that aren’t really needed or required to do their jobs. Attempting a coup, and resisting to even learn or use new systems so that they can continue to work as they have, despite the old way not working. What we’ve learned is that, similar to the toilet paper phenomenon, it’s natural for individuals to react to change that is outside of their control by latching on to something that they can control, even if it has nothing to do with the change. So, give some thought to the business transformation you are currently navigating. What are the toilet paper behaviours you are seeing in others? What are the behaviours you’re exhibiting yourself as a result of anticipatory anxiety? In such situations, there are many things that can be done to support and enable change successfully. Here are our top five tips: Listen and be careful not to dismiss the behaviour as humorous or trivial. Address their concerns and support them by providing honest information and the opportunity to engage in dialogue, so that you can come up with a resolution together. This can be done on a 1:1 basis, or team meetings and town halls. Kick start training and reinforcement activities to help prevent them from falling back into old habits. Here you’ll want to work closely with your change manager to develop reinforcement activities. It’s important to note that these usually take at least three months to complete after the change has taken place. Ensure your leadership team is engaged and equipped to support these new behaviours. This can be done through regular steering committee meetings or touchpoints, leader focused communications including key messages and continuous feedback. Connect the dots to the bigger picture and promote the common good. For the coronavirus, it’s easy for people to do their part by simply staying home if they are sick and from a business perspective, doing what you can to break down silos and have an inclusive work environment can go a long way. So, once again let’s ask ourselves why toilet paper of all things and not food or water? The lack of toilet paper should be the least of our concerns and while the reaction to this change is illogical, the human behaviour of latching onto something that can be controlled is very natural. We know that human behaviour during times of uncertainty and change varies from individual to individual, and it’s natural for people to go through many different emotions. To learn more about these stages, I invite you to check out Harbinger’s change curve here. And if you have more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly or contact us here.

Some say that the practice of change management was coined in the early 2000s, which grew out of the need to address the impacts change was having on people.  As we look back over the past decade, change continues to evolve. Here’s an overview of some we’ve seen over the last ten years: We now use the internet for far more than school and work, and the largest purchasing platforms and streaming sites are hosted on the web. There’s almost nothing you can’t do online! Customers are in charge! Businesses can thrive or die based on reviews, and how they respond to customer inquiries.  Customers are also increasingly controlling what kind of products we see. A great example is when a female fan of Stephen Curry a professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors, wrote him a letter about not being able to find his signature shoe in girl sizes. Five months later, she helped co-design the Curry6 shoe for #internationalwomensday. The pace of technological advancement is faster than ever.  Personal Assistant Devices like Google Home, and Amazon’s Alexa are extremely common. Climate change is real and we are taking action.  We’re being more conscious about what we consume, the products we buy and corporate social responsibility has become common practice among all businesses.  We’re also seeing a new wave of action taking place with individuals taking a strong stance to lead change like Greta Thunberg and most recently Joaquin Phoenix, who has not shied away from sharing his perspectives about climate change. These are just some of the decade’s highlights, and if the past few years have been indicative of anything, it’s that change is constant. It’s big and it touches just about everyone making it natural for the practice of change management to also evolve. We recently sat down with Greg Roth, Managing Partner, Harbinger SCR, and Yvonne Akpoveta, Founder, The Change Leadership, to learn more about the new face of change and the need for it to be practical to meet increasing demands from people and businesses. In your opinion, how can businesses and people manage change today? GR: There are volumes and volumes of books that strive to answer that very question. If you don’t already know, there is no silver bullet—no guaranteed path to follow. However, a good place to start is by asking the question “how thick is your armour?”. For some, change feels like a constant assault. A process to survive, a thing to protect and insulate yourself from. By being the last person standing you allow yourself to believe you have navigated the change well. It’s not enough to survive though, you need to thrive through change today. Don’t let that armour weigh you down and prevent you from a nimble pivot. Be vulnerable and consider letting go and starting fresh. This is the mindset you need to have to drive that change! Remember, change is often happening because your current processes aren’t working or aren’t competitive anymore. The pace of change is happening much faster than before so there’s no time to waste. YA: In today’s disruptive business environment, change is happening at an accelerated speed that requires us to respond faster and better than ever before. We need to start to see ‘managing change’ as both an essential ‘skill’ and ‘role’, and be equipped to do so. Managing or leading change is fast becoming a critical skill for professionals in today’s ever-changing and disruptive business environment. Now more than ever professionals are required to manage and lead change as part of their day to day jobs or on behalf of their organization, which is where the requirement as a skill comes into play. However, when it comes to managing medium-large sized initiatives or complex business changes, organizations need to also consider having experienced Change Manager roles, who will have both the ‘art’ (expertise) and ‘science’ (methodology) of managing the people side of changes. What are the main drivers for this renewed approach to managing change within businesses today? GR: Business environments are becoming exceptionally complex and the dynamics impacting a change make it nearly impossible to truly manage the change itself. There are simply too many variables to consider. If you’re applying a “control” mindset, it will be a tough row to hoe. Change enablement is the real engine behind the most powerful change programs. Today more than ever, it’s important for employees at all levels to be empowered to contribute and continuously develop. Figure out that equation and you will have the ability to not only grow but to thrive through the change process. YA: The fast pace of disruption, the increasing demands of consumers, and the speed, capability, and accessibility to technology. These and more are all driving the need for us to respond accordingly, or be left behind. When it comes to technology, we are witnessing a drastic shift where digital technologies are moving from being enabling functions, to be at the core of business strategy, and inadvertently bigger impact on the people side of things, and hence the need for change to be managed more effectively. What are some attributes or leader capabilities needed for one to lead their people through change? GR: The most motivational leaders are ones who can use real examples and real stories to bring the case for change to life and most importantly communicate the “what’s in it for me” from the point of view of the individual employee. Leaders gain that knowledge by being in the trenches. They are visible. They listen. They then take that knowledge and motivate one person at a time. Those people, in turn, are your Harbingers, communicating their support for the change themselves; becoming the true agents of change. YA: Leading change is now no longer a skill for a select few, change leadership capabilities have become one of the most critical skills needed in today’s 4th Industrial Revolution by leaders, managers and contributors alike. They need to be empowered and equipped with the leadership capabilities and mindset to enable them nimbly and ably navigate change within their sphere of influence. This includes the ability to lead and influence others, to collaborate with others, to identify and manage barriers to change with a focus on the big picture, to remain focused in the midst of disruption, and to be willing to take risks and be innovative. And this is just to mention a few. We’ve shared some highlights around some of the biggest changes that have happened over the last decade. What are some of the disrupters you foresee impacting people over the next ten years? GR: Those that address our relationship with simplicity. How often do you catch yourself wishing for “the easy button”? We demand it in nearly every aspect of our lives but rarely get it. There are vast populations of people that don’t have the time, interest or capacity for anything other than the easiest of solutions. Our attention spans are measured in seconds not minutes, and they are shrinking year over year. But here’s the challenge and Einstein said it best, “The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.” It will be those that apply genius to the right change initiatives that really serve to disrupt. YA: Some of the biggest disruptors will be driven by technology. The advanced use and adoption of AI, robotics, automation and other emerging technologies will have a big impact on the way we work and the jobs landscape, we will see jobs going away and new jobs emerging. There will be greater advances in the adoption of personal assistants, autonomous vehicles, and the use of service robots in places such as hospitals, restaurants, financial institutions and more. What are some tricks and tips people can use to prepare for changes now and in the future? GR: Contemplate your relationship with pain. Ray Dalio draws attention to a simple equation in his book titled “Principles”. The equation is: pain + reflection = progress. This very formula should launch every change initiative. There’s a business problem to solve or some kind of a pain to address. Regardless, if you are a leader or an individual contributor, start with a list of business impacts including pain points the change will cause, and what pain points the change will address. Identify their severity and likely duration. From there, you can develop real strategies to enable change for yourself and your organization. YA: I feel that everyone and the organization should have a plan. A plan that starts with them being clear on their short and long-term needs, followed by the need to anticipate and monitor the changes and trends that are taking place in their surrounding environment. This then allows them to better understand the impacts and opportunities to their organization or role, and respond as needed. It enables them to be in a position to strategize, position and act as needed, and pivot where necessary. Most importantly, both professionals and organizations need to be proactive. Being proactive is not optional in today’s fast-paced business environment, it is essential. Greg Roth, Managing Partner, Harbinger SCR, possesses more than two decades of change management, consulting and learning experience.  To learn more about Greg or Harbinger, visit www.leadlearnchange.com today! Yvonne is the founder of The Change Leadership, and a Change Strategist and Change Leadership Advocate who has over 20 years of experience helping professionals and organizations to successfully lead and transition through change. To learn more about Yvonne or The Change Leadership, visit www.yvonnerukeakpoveta.com and www.thechangeleadership.com. Author Gregory Roth Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Rachelle Su, Marketing & Communications Coordinator recently sat down with Krista Schaber-Chan, Managing Partner, to discuss the future of work. New workplace trends are constantly being introduced and the way businesses respond to these changes are important. Krista gives us her insights on how to prepare for tomorrow’s workplace, in addition to some key tips on ensuring a smooth transition and effective change strategy in the long-term. What are the key workplace trends businesses should be paying the most attention to? The movement towards a flexible work environment is one of the more prevalent trends I’ve seen in the past couple of years. Employers are providing more opportunities for employees to telecommute, develop flexible schedules, and collaborate differently. The main driver of why flexible work environments has become so popular is because of the cost savings. We can look at real estate as one of the most expensive costs a company can endure; if businesses change the need for employees to physically come into the office or take away their designated working spaces, they’re essentially eliminating a huge portion of their expenses. Providing a flexible environment where employees can work from home or making open layout spaces available in the office really downsizes their spending. They remove the need to allocate space for every employee. Another key trend to prepare for is the presence of artificial intelligence (AI). AI’s presence in today’s workforce is becoming increasingly important. Not only will it change the way we sell our products and services, but it will also play a role in shaping our human resources. AI can be applied to robots or systems that can make processes such as training employees more efficient, and it will quickly automate processes and refine data to enable better decision making. If a business chooses to ignore AI, they’re going to fall behind amongst their competition. It’s going to be a huge part of how businesses operate in the future. As a change management consultant, it’s important for my colleagues and I to know what changes to anticipate and invest in for the long term. AI is definitely one of those things. Managing expenses for any size of business is crucial, are the workplace trends we’re seeing today being driven solely for the sake of cost savings? There are many other reasons flexible workplaces have been up and rising beyond the concern for the bottom line.  While expenses play a huge factor, organizations are making these changes to attract younger talent and a different generation in the workforce, such as Generation Z. Start up cultures and innovation hubs tend to have different business practices. These organizations focus on flexibility through cross-functional roles, promoting work-life balance, working from home or even volunteering during work hours. All these practices are assumed to be tailored best towards Generation Z and Millennials, assuming this is what they’re looking for in the workplace. At the end of the day, we’re still figuring out how important this trend is to our new generation of employees; is innovating the way we work what they’re really looking for? Organizations are making assumptions and changing their workplaces based on those assumptions, hoping to attract younger talent and keeping themselves from falling behind and seeming outdated. Are these trends more prevalent in some industries than others? If so, what industries have you seen the most development in? Areas such as traditional manufacturing, transportation or even banking are less likely to feel the impact of these trends and changes. In these industries, companies have to maintain certain security and safety standards and where automation and AI may come in handy here, they also require intensely secure software. Without protected software in industries such as banking, this can pose a huge amount of risk for firms even though processes have the opportunity to be more efficient. For companies that produce and manufacture goods, we have seen more developments in automation and machinery. But, many of these procedures still require human interference in order to maintain safety and quality standards. There are no particular industries where workforce changes are working better than others. It’s rather more important to look at if these trends are conducive to your specific business, instead of making changes because your industry is too. For example, in creative industries it makes more sense for your business to have open and collaborate work environments or for your employees to telecommute when a significant amount of the work can be done online. Once a business has recognized that they need to make a workplace change, when is the right time to make that change? Well, there really is no right or wrong time to make a change. Of course, it is important to have gathered enough data or information from your employees to ensure you’re not pushing out a decision too fast but, you don’t want to wait too long as well. It’s important to note that it’s never too late to make a change, as long as you’re aware of the pulse of your organization and what your people really want, you can start taking action. You can always try the new change and adjust accordingly based on the reaction or feedback you get from it, just don’t let your business dictate when you make a change. There’s never a good time to make the change, just be prepared to help people adjust when it happens. While there are always going to be certain people who are very resistant to new changes, there are ways to minimize this turbulence during a transition. One of these ways is to really ensure people understand the personal benefit of the change, before making any moves. I would also consider paying the cost of the transition forward. These workplace changes are often saving you money in the long term and so, providing employees with small rewards or tokens of appreciation during the change, can go a long way in making the transition smoother. How has the movement towards these workplace changes impacted the way you operate your own business? One of the goals I hope to achieve for the future of my business is building our own AI infrastructure to better serve our clients. I would like to see AI as a part of our service offerings, where we can help make change and reinforcement of change easier for our clients. By having a bot that can answer questions immediately or walk employees through problems without human interference can provide full 360 support for our clients and will really add value to how we get the job done. Another fun idea would be having a robot attendant in the office! Our robot could help us with processes such as onboarding and training. This could really speed up the process of helping new employees become familiar with the business and helping to answer any questions they may have as well. Interested in learning more about the future of work? Check out our case study with RSA Insurance Canada where Harbinger supported the transition from a traditional office environment, to a new, flexible workplace here. Authors Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn Rachelle Su Marketing & Communications Coordinator / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn #future #tomorrowsworkplace #automation #work #change #flexibility #AI #trending

With the advent of the New Year, many people have already jumped aboard the popular tradition of committing to resolutions. However, as previous years have shown, most people are unable to keep up their ambitious goals and their resolutions quickly fall to the wayside. If you’re one of those people, consider looking to Stephen Covey’s classic bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, for resolutions that are ambitious, timeless, and attainable. Almost 30 years after it was first published, 7 Habits still stands as a remarkable piece of business and self-help literature. What about this book has caused it to resonate with so many people? Covey’s interest in how to be highly effective started when he began studying American success literature written since 1776. He realized that most of the success literature from the past 150 years focused on quick fixes to people’s problems—telling them that they would attain happiness and success if they just adopted a more positive attitude or used tactics to influence those around them or even made themselves appear more powerful. Instead, Covey argues that the root of most people’s problems is how they view them and the attitudes they adapt in response. Covey pushes you to stop having the way society has conditioned you to rule your life and instead have eternal principles of good inform the way you perceive and behave in the world. For the sake of brevity, this article will briefly summarize the most compelling of the habits, habits one and two, that focus on the internal changes you need to make within yourself. Habit 1: Be Proactive The first habit tells you to merely concern yourself with what you can control. Here, Covey upended the popular stimulus-response theory at the time which argued that all of your actions are in response to something else. In Covey’s book, he argues that, in between the stimulus and your response, you actually have the freedom to choose what your response will be. In simpler terms, this means you have the power to decide how you will react to situations. Whether it’s someone putting you down or doing something that bothers you, it is your choice—and your choice alone—whether to be hurt or not. Covey pushes you to only concern yourself with what you have power over, your own reactions and attitudes. As much as you want to change the people around you, you ultimately can’t control how they behave and feel without them wanting to change themselves. Overall, Covey asserts you should feel empowered to be a proactive person who controls how they react to a situation by examining their own behaviors and thoughts instead of being reactive and trying to modify situations that are out of your control. Habit 2: Begin with The End in Mind The second habit tells you to start with a clear understanding of the person you want to become so that you can understand where you are now and where you need to go to achieve that goal. Covey explains how, to everything, there is a first and second creation. He uses the example of building a house. The first creation is your mental plan. You don’t just go into an empty lot and start nailing things together, hoping that a house will suddenly emerge. First, you have your vision and plan—or the first creation. Then, once you have your plan, you carry out the physical creation of the house—or the second creation. Covey says that, with our lives as well, there is both a first and second creation. However, he argues most people use other people’s agendas, their circumstances, and the habits they develop as a result of social conditioning as their first creation. Instead, Covey encourages you to create your own first creation based on eternal and fundamentally good principles. So Why Do These Matter? Habits One and Two remain the two most important habits in Covey’s book. Why? They deal with the most difficult part of change: recognizing and identifying the roots of the problem and developing the right mindset in order to move forward in a productive and positive manner. Covey’s perception of personal change can even be tied to the popular ADKAR model. Only by first working through the internal Habits One and Two can you achieve the Awareness and Desire needed for effective change.

Colin Carmona-Murphy is a financial analyst and associate consultant with Harbinger SCR. Colin works both internally, dealing with the financial aspects of Harbinger, as well as externally, on the consultant side, as a learning and change management consultant. What is your favourite part about being a consultant? I like the constant change that’s always going on. Every day is different. There’s always new situations and problems that pop up. I also like the small tight-knit vibe of Harbinger. What do you find most fulfilling? Just solving problems, really. Especially when supporting end-users adapt to and adopt the new system or processes. What got you into financial analysis? What aspects of financial analysis do you find most fascinating? I like numbers, that’s what I went to school for; I studied Organizational Management with a focus on finance. I like how I can derive an answer from numbers and provide meaning to them. What aspects of instructional design and training delivery do you find most fascinating? Training is interesting work; honestly, it wasn’t something I could have seen myself doing several years ago. I didn’t even know that training and OCM as a field really existed. It is fascinating when clients who are unfamiliar with the software can figure out the problem with my help. It is interesting, in fact, how much work goes on in the background in terms of knowing the processes and what is going on within the system. Being able to compress all that information so that it becomes digestible for the end-user takes a lot of work. Did you work at a bigger organization prior to working with Harbinger? How does working with a smaller consulting firm like Harbinger differ? I did work for a bigger company before. Working with Harbinger is just a lot better because you have access to everyone compared to the major hierarchies at big companies that prevent direct communication.