This article offers good information regarding the changes that a portable restroom company may go through
following an aquisition. Change is inevitable when management changes at a portable restroom company. As a
manager what can you do to preserve everything the restroom company was built upon?
following an aquisition. Change is inevitable when management changes at a portable restroom company. As a
manager what can you do to preserve everything the restroom company was built upon?
The Sanitation Journal is a monthly trade publication that caters to the portable restroom industry. Each month
thousands of portable restroom operators utilize information from the Journal to aid in business decisions.
Subscribe today and make sure you never miss an issue.
thousands of portable restroom operators utilize information from the Journal to aid in business decisions.
Subscribe today and make sure you never miss an issue.
Can you lead your company through the challenges of change?
Gregg de Long, PolyJohn Southwest Regional Representative and Portable
Sanitation Association Board Member
Everyday your employees must respond to change—such as new customers and new employees, new competitors
and evolving business conditions. When changes are subtle, people tend to adapt easily. But when the changes are
overwhelming, it takes a real leader to help guide an organization through the obstacles ahead.
Two of the most demanding changes in the portable sanitation industry today are the issues of acquisitions and
mergers and the introduction of new services such as sinks and fresh water delivery.
Businesses merge and partner, transform and reorganize, and employees struggle to keep up. When two companies
come together in a merger or acquisition, it is essential to plan for the worst before anticipating the better things
that merger is intended to bring.
A good leader needs a large dose of compassion and a plan of action for handling all of the negative forces that he
or she will encounter while the employees acknowledge and adapt to the new situation. Leaders must manage their
employees’ fear of job loss, personality conflicts, politicking for position, culture clashes, sabotage (intentional or
otherwise), territorial and power struggles without weakening the company.
To lead employees through a major change, managers need to understand and anticipate the feelings their
employees will experience. Employees fear change because they expect it to derail much of what they have worked
to achieve. Employees develop a strong sense of personal identity in a company. They want it to stay unchanged
because that is how they measure their own job security. They want to feel that they are part of a close-knit team
or family. They believe that loyalty and longevity will contribute to their own promotions and perks.
These are all positive emotions that managers should appreciate in normal times. However, employees can quickly
lose their sense of “belonging” when two companies unite. Suddenly perfect strangers invade the team. Loyalty
and longevity seem meaningless as newcomers take leadership roles. Rumors run rampant. Job security is an open
question. And employees are asked to change familiar ways of doing things.
Leaders must focus on helping employees work through their emotions. This requires a soft touch, frequent
reassurance, constant, honest, and open communication, and team-building activities that will help workers get to
know and trust their new teammates.
While middle managers are often left with the task of handling personnel problems, top management must be sure
that they are not leaving the middle managers between “a rock and hard place.” Open communication must be
maintained from top to bottom so that employees know who is making decisions and why, and so that middle
management doesn’t become the scapegoat.
While new services don’t cause quite the upheaval of mergers, the process of implementing change is similar.
When sinks became mandatory in California, employees had to learn new skills. In some instances, routes changed
because service schedules were slowed down to accommodate the time demands of servicing sinks. Service people
had to do more cleaning and learn about the health issues of potable and non-potable water. Salesmen needed to
learn how to sell the new services to recoup the added costs from reluctant customers.
When a company is implementing change, expect the process to take months to work out. Don’t expect employees
to change old beliefs and behaviors overnight. Reward those who meet management half way, don’t be punitive
because they don’t embrace change completely. Expect some employees to dig in their heels and fight change
either openly or behind the scenes. While punitive measures may be necessary for these people eventually, firings
or demotions early in the process will only confirm the fears of the entire workforce, making sweeping changes
more difficult and time consuming. Remember, in overcoming stubbornness, the carrot is more effective than the
stick.
While expecting change to take time, it is important to establish a sense of urgency by setting up a timeline for
change with clear goals. For example, expecting employees to take on new responsibilities immediately may be
unrealistic, but providing them with set goals of one to three months to become skilled at a new role, is realistic and
less threatening.
Another way that managers can encourage employees to embrace change is to focus on describing what needs to
change, and empowering employees to decide how the change can be implemented. This is particularly helpful
when employees can work out issues in a group setting.
In group meetings, management sends the message that it doesn’t have all the answers and is willing to listen to
ideas from the group. By remaining open to ideas and feedback, the company empowers employees to be part of
the solution and shows its flexibility. However, be aware that meetings can quickly turn against management if the
issue is too hot, or if they haven’t adequately addressed employee fears before the meeting takes place.
Here are six rules to remember when instituting change:
Expect employee reluctance
Have a plan and strategy
Set time-specific goals for accomplishing change
Communicate early and often, but not prematurely. Be certain that any information shared with employees is
correct and unlikely to change. Misinformation can destroy management’s greatest asset—credibility.
Don’t put all the burden of employee discontent on the middle managers.
Make employees part of the solution. Ask for, accept, and encourage their ideas and participation in change.
Sell the benefits, but don’t hide the negatives. While change may create new opportunities for some, it may not be
positive or everyone. Management should be as honest as possible about their expectations.
In today’s business climate, change is the only thing that’s guaranteed. Understanding how to manage change
successfully is a skill no company can be without.
Gregg de Long, PolyJohn Southwest Regional Representative and Portable
Sanitation Association Board Member
Everyday your employees must respond to change—such as new customers and new employees, new competitors
and evolving business conditions. When changes are subtle, people tend to adapt easily. But when the changes are
overwhelming, it takes a real leader to help guide an organization through the obstacles ahead.
Two of the most demanding changes in the portable sanitation industry today are the issues of acquisitions and
mergers and the introduction of new services such as sinks and fresh water delivery.
Businesses merge and partner, transform and reorganize, and employees struggle to keep up. When two companies
come together in a merger or acquisition, it is essential to plan for the worst before anticipating the better things
that merger is intended to bring.
A good leader needs a large dose of compassion and a plan of action for handling all of the negative forces that he
or she will encounter while the employees acknowledge and adapt to the new situation. Leaders must manage their
employees’ fear of job loss, personality conflicts, politicking for position, culture clashes, sabotage (intentional or
otherwise), territorial and power struggles without weakening the company.
To lead employees through a major change, managers need to understand and anticipate the feelings their
employees will experience. Employees fear change because they expect it to derail much of what they have worked
to achieve. Employees develop a strong sense of personal identity in a company. They want it to stay unchanged
because that is how they measure their own job security. They want to feel that they are part of a close-knit team
or family. They believe that loyalty and longevity will contribute to their own promotions and perks.
These are all positive emotions that managers should appreciate in normal times. However, employees can quickly
lose their sense of “belonging” when two companies unite. Suddenly perfect strangers invade the team. Loyalty
and longevity seem meaningless as newcomers take leadership roles. Rumors run rampant. Job security is an open
question. And employees are asked to change familiar ways of doing things.
Leaders must focus on helping employees work through their emotions. This requires a soft touch, frequent
reassurance, constant, honest, and open communication, and team-building activities that will help workers get to
know and trust their new teammates.
While middle managers are often left with the task of handling personnel problems, top management must be sure
that they are not leaving the middle managers between “a rock and hard place.” Open communication must be
maintained from top to bottom so that employees know who is making decisions and why, and so that middle
management doesn’t become the scapegoat.
While new services don’t cause quite the upheaval of mergers, the process of implementing change is similar.
When sinks became mandatory in California, employees had to learn new skills. In some instances, routes changed
because service schedules were slowed down to accommodate the time demands of servicing sinks. Service people
had to do more cleaning and learn about the health issues of potable and non-potable water. Salesmen needed to
learn how to sell the new services to recoup the added costs from reluctant customers.
When a company is implementing change, expect the process to take months to work out. Don’t expect employees
to change old beliefs and behaviors overnight. Reward those who meet management half way, don’t be punitive
because they don’t embrace change completely. Expect some employees to dig in their heels and fight change
either openly or behind the scenes. While punitive measures may be necessary for these people eventually, firings
or demotions early in the process will only confirm the fears of the entire workforce, making sweeping changes
more difficult and time consuming. Remember, in overcoming stubbornness, the carrot is more effective than the
stick.
While expecting change to take time, it is important to establish a sense of urgency by setting up a timeline for
change with clear goals. For example, expecting employees to take on new responsibilities immediately may be
unrealistic, but providing them with set goals of one to three months to become skilled at a new role, is realistic and
less threatening.
Another way that managers can encourage employees to embrace change is to focus on describing what needs to
change, and empowering employees to decide how the change can be implemented. This is particularly helpful
when employees can work out issues in a group setting.
In group meetings, management sends the message that it doesn’t have all the answers and is willing to listen to
ideas from the group. By remaining open to ideas and feedback, the company empowers employees to be part of
the solution and shows its flexibility. However, be aware that meetings can quickly turn against management if the
issue is too hot, or if they haven’t adequately addressed employee fears before the meeting takes place.
Here are six rules to remember when instituting change:
Expect employee reluctance
Have a plan and strategy
Set time-specific goals for accomplishing change
Communicate early and often, but not prematurely. Be certain that any information shared with employees is
correct and unlikely to change. Misinformation can destroy management’s greatest asset—credibility.
Don’t put all the burden of employee discontent on the middle managers.
Make employees part of the solution. Ask for, accept, and encourage their ideas and participation in change.
Sell the benefits, but don’t hide the negatives. While change may create new opportunities for some, it may not be
positive or everyone. Management should be as honest as possible about their expectations.
In today’s business climate, change is the only thing that’s guaranteed. Understanding how to manage change
successfully is a skill no company can be without.
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Serving the American Liquid Waste Industry Since 2002