How can you use rapport to help clients through difficult organizational changes?

Rapport smoothens the progress of the project. If good rapport is not built up and kept smoothen, the project may not pick up well, and may derail. It is an essential part of a successful HR consulting project.

Building rapport during difficult organizational changes involves active listening, empathizing with concerns, and providing transparent communication. Drawing on your interpersonal skills and understanding of the corporate environment can foster trust and support among clients navigating these challenges.

Sometimes clients ask us for our inputs while going through organizational changes. Some ways we can help - 1. Realign their hiring plans and directions. 2. Understand their business model that is beckoning the change. 3. Suggest hiring models and restructuring models that can help them grow without incurring additional costs. 4. Do a cost-benefit analysis to create a better workflow. 5. When you have a good rapport with them, suggesting changes will make you stand out and not otherwise. Be ready to cooperate during organizational changes to reduce conflicts and get a full buy-in from the clients.

Rapport is pivotal in aiding clients through tough organizational changes. Establish trust by actively listening, empathizing, and validating their experiences. Engage in open dialogue, offer insights, and highlight potential opportunities within the change. Tailor communication and provide continuous support, showcasing successful transitions to ease anxieties and foster a collaborative approach.

Rapport matters because it is a bridging step. When working collaboratively, we begin by first simply acknowledging the person simply for being present. eg. "Thank you for being here". Rapport is that crucial next step of acknowledging that the other party's *specific contributions* have benefited the task/consideration at hand. eg. "Thank you for being here - what you contributed helped us make progress." When you establish such rapport, you open up the pathways for respect to be established. And that opens everything else up!

Make specific mention of how the other party's *personalised contributions* made impact to the subject matter at hand. For example, you can say something like, "Your views on the matter helped us better prepare to engage the clients - and it really made the difference when we spoke to them!" Specifically acknowledge their personal contributions - that's how you build rapport.

Maintaining rapport is about being conscientious of the entire process of how another party "comes to the table" with their contributions. Do we make it easy for them to offer their views? Do we debrief and constructively improve on how they delivered their contributions? While establishing rapport nudges deeper into the path of linking the personal being to the work at hand, maintaining that rapport requires a holistic view of the person, and how it is they come to, and walk away, from the metaphorical work-table.