How to Keep Your HR Team Energised During Large-Scale Change
HR Change Insights Series
When a major organisational change lands — whether it’s a restructure, merger, acquisition, or large-scale redundancy — the strain that an HR department feels should not be underestimated.
The HR team is expected to be the steady hand that guides the business through turbulence…
…while also being in the eye of the storm themselves.
They’re handling sensitive conversations, dealing with heightened employee emotions, managing the legal and procedural complexity — and doing it all under intense time pressure. It’s also very likely that they are dealing with this change, in addition to their normal workload.
Now, HR professionals are hugely resilient. We’re used to dealing with challenging situations, carry a huge amount of responsibility and not being the most popular function in a business. However, even the most capable, resilient HR professionals have limits. And when the pace is relentless, those limits can be reached surprisingly quickly.
So how do you, as an HR leader, keep your team energised and effective during periods of intense organisational change?
Here’s what we’ve seen work — and what can make all the difference.
Contents
- 1. Recognise the Emotional Load
- 2. Set Clear, Realistic Boundaries
- 3. Streamline the Workload
- 4. Invest in Targeted Support
- 5. Keep Communication Crisp and Consistent
- 6. Celebrate the Wins (Even Small Ones)
- 7. Watch for the Early Warning Signs of Burnout
- 8. Protect Your Own Energy
- Final Thought
- About Restructure Partners
1. Recognise the Emotional Load
Let’s start with the human reality.
Large-scale change isn’t just a task list — it’s an emotionally charged process. Your HR team are often the ones delivering difficult news, facing employees’ raw reactions, and acting as the buffer between leadership and the wider workforce.
Over time, this takes a toll.
What you can do:
- Acknowledge the emotional strain openly — don’t gloss over it.
- Encourage regular “decompression” moments — short, informal check-ins where team members can speak honestly about what they’re experiencing.
- Rotate responsibilities where possible to avoid any one person carrying the heaviest emotional burden throughout.
2. Set Clear, Realistic Boundaries
One of the fastest routes to burnout is the blurring of work-life boundaries during intense projects. It’s not unusual to see HR professionals taking calls at 9pm, answering emails on Sundays, and skipping lunch “just to get through the day”.
While there will always be moments when flexibility is required, letting this become the norm is dangerous.
What you can do:
- Define “core hours” for the team and protect them fiercely.
- Be explicit about when it’s okay to step away from email or Teams outside of emergencies.
- Lead by example: if you want to work late to manage your own workload, make sure you scheduled emails to be sent the following morning rather than have your team receiving emails at 11pm.
3. Streamline the Workload
In large-scale change, there’s always more to do than time to do it. The risk? Your team ends up spending energy on lower-value work simply because it’s there.
This is where process clarity is your ally.
What you can do:
- Strip back unnecessary approvals, admin, and meetings, even temporarily.
- Introduce “single source of truth” trackers so no one wastes time hunting for updates.
- Assign clear ownership for each workstream so there’s no duplication.
We’ve seen projects transform when HRDs make the deliberate choice to protect their team from unnecessary operational noise.
4. Invest in Targeted Support
Sometimes, the only way to keep your HR team energised is to take some of the load off their shoulders entirely.
That might mean:
- Bringing in experienced external consultants to handle specific workstreams.
- Using project administrators to manage logistics, scheduling, and documentation.
- Leveraging specialists for high-risk elements (e.g., TUPE, redundancy calculations).
This isn’t about replacing your team; it’s about protecting their capacity for the work that only they can do.
5. Keep Communication Crisp and Consistent
When change is moving fast, unclear communication is exhausting. Your HR team shouldn’t be second-guessing what’s happening, chasing down updates, or finding out critical information late.
What you can do:
- Establish short, regular briefings (daily or weekly) with the whole HR project team.
- Use the same communication format every time so information is easy to digest.
- Maintain a visible project timeline so everyone knows exactly where you are in the process.
- Be careful with Teams/instant message channels. We’ve seen projects with many, many different channels in operation and keeping up with them can be exhausting. Whilst these channels can lead to quick communication, they can also be a big distraction. Step into a meeting for an hour and come back and spend the next hour catching up on multiple Teams chats, many of which have resolved an issue by the time you get to the end meaning you read it all for no reason at all! Try and limit this type of communication. When a Teams chat resolves, add a close message along the lines of “MATTER SOLVED” so people know they don’t need to worry about reading the entire conversation.
6. Celebrate the Wins (Even Small Ones)
Large-scale change can feel like a marathon with no finish line and it can go on for many, many months.
If you wait until the very end to acknowledge your team’s effort, motivation will naturally dip along the way.
What you can do:
- Call out successes publicly. Even small milestones like “All manager training completed” or “All letters issued on schedule”.
- Share positive feedback from stakeholders or employees directly with the team.
- Mark key stages with small gestures; a coffee run, a lunch together, or even a heartfelt “thank you” message.
7. Watch for the Early Warning Signs of Burnout
By the time burnout is visible, it’s often too late to reverse in the short term.
The real skill lies in spotting the signs early.
Look out for:
- Increased irritability or withdrawal.
- Drop in attention to detail.
- Higher-than-usual sickness absence.
- Reluctance to take on new tasks.
What you can do:
- Have one-to-one check-ins that go beyond project updates; ask how people are really feeling.
- Be prepared to reallocate work before performance drops.
8. Protect Your Own Energy
As the HR Director, your energy sets the tone.
If you’re visibly drained, stressed, or short-tempered, the whole team will feel it.
What you can do:
- Set your own boundaries and stick to them.
- Delegate with confidence. Your job is to lead, not to micromanage every moving part.
- Seek your own sounding board, whether that’s a mentor, peer group, or trusted advisor.
The Payoff of an Energised Team
When your HR team feels supported, protected, and recognised, the difference is tangible:
- Better quality of delivery: fewer errors, smoother execution.
- Higher morale: even during tough conversations.
- Greater trust from leadership, because HR is visibly in control.
And perhaps most importantly, you retain your best people. Large-scale change is temporary and many of your team will thoroughly enjoy learning new skills and developing their HR capabilities. However, you want to make sure they want to stay with you when the project ends!
Final Thought
Major organisational change will always be demanding for HR.
But “demanding” doesn’t have to mean “draining”.
With the right boundaries, smart workload management, and targeted support, you can guide your team through even the most complex restructure without leaving them depleted at the other side.
And when your HR team is energised, resilient, and in control, the whole organisation feels the benefit.
Keep your HR team focused, supported, and ready for what’s next
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