Well Done and Goodbye!
A couple of events recently have reminded me of the importance of rituals and ceremonies, whether it is saying goodbye or celebrating success.
We are currently planning a graduation ceremony for a small group of our learners who have recently completed their CMI Level 3 Diploma in First Line Management. It has been really important for us to get the details right and we have involved the learners and their employers in ‘designing’ the event. We have carefully chosen the venue, organised a photographer, the learners have asked our CMI External Verifier to present the certificates and we have encouraged them to bring several guests to ‘witness’ their graduation. We feel that it is really important to acknowledge the hard work that has gone into passing the qualification over the last year and mark the ‘ending’ of the programme.
A similar occasion was held at my son’s primary school at the end of the summer term. It was on his last day at Primary School, as a Year 6 pupil it was the Leavers Assembly. It turned out to be a very emotional occasion, for the children, for the teachers and for the parents and this is a good thing! After seven years attendance for many of the children it was very important to mark the end of that stage in their lives and start to prepare for the next stage. The Year 6 children then ‘hung around’ school at the end of the last day crying and hugging and taking photographs and just hanging around – they really didn’t want to leave!
The work of William Bridges on dealing with change likens it to the bereavement process, his model has three phases that as managers we need to help people work through:
(1) Ending, Losing, Letting Go - helping people deal with their tangible and intangible losses and mentally prepare to move on
(2) The Neutral Zone - critical psychological realignments and repatterning takes place. This is all about helping get people through it, and capitalising on all the confusion by encouraging them to be innovators
(3) The New Beginning - helping people develop the new identity, experience the new energy, and discover the new sense of purpose that make the change begin to work.
Perhaps we encourage people to focus too much on the New Beginning and how it will be in the future without attending to the needs of the Ending and Neutral stages. What rituals do you observe to help manage transitions?
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Comments
Obviously dealing with redundancies falls into this category and is especially relevant at the moment. I don't suppose however that many companies treat departing employees with a great deal of compassion.
So true Nicola,
I have heard so many stories of people leaving through redundancy in such a sudden and final way - with no opportunity to say goodbye or have their contribution to the organisation acknowledged in any way. Indeed, some people have been 'marched' out by security with no chance to pack personal belongings. It then takes so long to recover and move on after such badly handled 'endings'.
An interesting discussion. Retirement very much falls in to this. I have seen people leaving with 30 and 40+ years service retiring with varying ideas / thoughts on how they are going to deal with life outside work. In relation to the future we fortunately have pre retirement training and advice which I can only assume helps based on nothing being said to the contrary. With the length of service it also allows for the occasional visits and telephone calls which do help everyone.
I agree it can feel like a bereavement process, fortunately in most cases getting to retirement is more party time. Having said that I have found that people don't want to retire "period" they just see an opportunity to do something that bit different.
So true Nicola,
I have heard so many stories of people leaving through redundancy in such a sudden and final way - with no opportunity to say goodbye or have their contribution to the organisation acknowledged in any way. Indeed, some people have been 'marched' out by security with no chance to pack personal belongings. It then takes so long to recover and move on after such badly handled 'endings'.
It's daft really when companies spend so long working on their brand and getting positive word of mouth that they'll happily send someone out into the world with such a bad view of them to rubbish the company to all and sundry.
Quick update - last night was our Level 3 Diploma group's graduation celebration and it was a great occasion. The graduates (mature) looked amazing in their gowns and caps, the families were cheering and most importantly their bosses gave glowing reports of the impact of the training on their participating managers and their organisations! The photographer was busy taking photographs of the event in all possible combinations of learners, families, tutors, bosses etc. It was such a warm and uplifting occasion and for us at Centre for People Development was a great reminder of what it's all about. So glad to be there for this particular ritual!