MEDIA RELEASE
22nd July 2008
Resilience - the new buzzword in HR - and why it is important
The concept and importance of ‘change resilience’ for employees and organisations is explained by Elissa Faint
from Astor Levin - new RESILE program and workshop series announced.
Resilience - “the capacity to endure stress and bounce back” (Wikipedia)
In business as in life itself change is a constant, but as human beings we generally don’t like change and when an
organisation is going through a period of change - for example during a merger or acquisition or during a period of
rapid expansion or rationalisation - it can be a stressful time for everyone. Many businesses going through change
experience lost work time, productivity dips, more workplace accidents, higher staff turnover, and the impact of
increased conflict and depression on employees.
So those people who have a natural ability to ‘bounce back’ after a period of change are incredibly valuable to an
organisation, and now Brisbane-based HR and Change Management consultants Astor Levin have devised a program
specifically for organisations to help their employees build resilience after a major change.
Called the RESILE program (the verb ‘to resile’ is the scientific description of what for example a rubber ball does after
being stretched or compressed), it focuses on the six facets of building change resilience:
1. Relationships: interpersonal communication and social networks
2. Energy: re-energising during stress and directing energy fruitfully
3. Stress: coping with stress and knowing your limits
4. Information: working effectively with the information available
5. Letting go: allowing yourself to move on to new ways
6. Evaluation: reviewing the event and learning from the experience
As Astor Levin senior consultant Elissa Faint explains, “As well as being targeted at employees, the RESILE program
also shows managers and leaders what sort of issues to expect during periods of change and tips for developing a
culture better able to adapt to change in the future.”
Elissa suggests four ways of building resilience to change within an organisation:
1. Provide feedback to employees and short-term reward opportunities fixed to attainable targets
2. Give emotional support - connect personally and show genuine empathy
3. Involve employees in the development of the post-transition organisation
4. Continue to communicate the benefits of the changes to employees
Astor Levin are holding a series of workshops in Brisbane on change resilience and equipping manager for change, the
(ends)
About Astor Levin
Astor Levin Pty Ltd is a Brisbane based human resource and management consultancy firm that provides services to a range of
private and public sector clients throughout Australia. The team consists of highly qualified consultants with a mixture of human
resource management, business analysis and organisational psychology backgrounds with global experience. Their client base ranges
from small business to ASX200 companies.
For more information please contact David Bateson on 07 3901 1055 / 0402 332287.
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