Edinburgh Napier University

  Current research highlights change of the leader as the new normal as organisations respond to austerity measures forced by changes in the global economy, shifting markets, mergers and acquisitions and rapid technological advancement. The Caribbean is not immune from these dynamics as many companies are foreign owned and led and as such, experience similar predicaments. Yet, there is a lack of understanding on how these changes affect employee engagement and more so, how employees should respond to them. Furthermore, there is a dearth of literature in academia that can fully respond to this new phenomenon of leadership change that is occurring at a rapid pace. Thus, the purpose of this study is to augment the lack of literature on the relationship between change of the leader and employee engagement. It highlights a new focus or gap on the employees’ responses to leadership change. The study pays specific attention to leadership change at the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) level.

An initial pilot study using a qualitative questionnaire provided direction for the development of the mixed method approach used in this ii research. Two instruments were developed from the responses in the pilot that guided the implementation of a scale and a focus group aimed at understanding the experiences of leadership change and its impact on employee engagement. A sample of 51 participants were selected from two financial institutions in Barbados. Employee engagement was used as the indicator of a successful leadership change and the conceptual framework demonstrates the co-dependency of human resource driven factors to mitigate the impact of organisational change on employees.

The findings revealed that unmanaged changes can wreak havoc in the organisation and employee engagement can be drastically affected by this occurrence. The type of effect however, is largely dependent on how this change is implemented and managed. Engagement may also be affected by the complexity, potential disruption and fallout experienced by employees. Though in some instances change of the leader may be as a result of attrition and can therefore be planned and well managed, all types of leadership change whether planned or unplanned must be adequately managed. The findings have shown that while change is inevitable, it can be managed by a well thought out communication strategy, bolstered by a trusting environment where there is a culture of transparency and truthfulness. Further, the Human Resources professional as a change agent can be used to help manage this process. Along with other recommendations, this study provides a toolkit to guide organisations through a successful change of the leader at the CEO level.