This column is written by Sally Waters, an organizational development expert in UC Davis' newly formed unit of Management Consulting and Organizational Development Services. Faculty and staff members are welcome to submit questions to be answered here.

Q: We are in the process of a lot of changes in the department I manage, and I'm feeling nervous about how we're going about it. We've had some layoffs that really affect morale, productivity and workload. On top of that, we've got a couple new supervisors who are bringing in different expectations and styles. I don't want to micro-manage the supervisors, but staff seem really stressed out. I'm concerned about our people and our success. How do we work smart as well as hard?

A: During change of any kind there are many questions to be asked and answered by management teams and by the entire staff. For instance:

• How will we balance the human needs with the work demands?
• How will we get the work done?
• What will happen to roles and accountabilities?
• How do our operations need to change?
• How do our behaviors need to change?
• What are our expectations -- both new and established -- of one another?
• How do we deal with unexpected events and barriers?

Fortunately, there are several resources within the university that can help you address these types of questions. I'll mention just a few here.

For layoffs, there's a Web site on the Human Resources homepage that describes services to assist laid-off staff members. It's located at http://www.hr.ucdavis.edu/Employee_and_Labor_Relations/ layoff_information. You'll see specific links to a layoff consultant, who can help explore options available to employees. Also, Staff Development and Professional Services offers terrific career-counseling services to help layoff candidates. And Academic and Staff Assistance Program can provide emotional assistance for staff members who are being laid off as well as staff who have "survived" the layoff and are dealing with guilt, loss of friendships and stress associated with increased workloads.

Occasionally, change and stress can lead to increased conflict. When it does, Mediation Services can help people have the difficult conversations that lead to solutions and strengthened relationships. You can also enhance the capacity of the people on your team to provide leadership during the current changes, and future ones, too. Staff Development and Professional Services offers an array of workshops that deal with leading through change, managing technology, facilitation, developing talent in others, and more.

Finally, a new unit on campus, Management Consulting and Organizational Development Services, provides internal consulting at a nominal recharge rate to help departments respond to change. Our consultants use a variety of tools and resources to help departments assess, plan and take action to positively address work-related challenges. To assist in improving organizational efficiency, for instance, MCOD services include process mapping, individual coaching, project management, strategic planning, technology management and gap analysis. And to help build more effective teams, consultants can design and deliver team-building events or special retreats as well as communication and decision-making protocols for work groups.

Submit questions for this column to sewaters@ucdavis.edu. For more information about MCOD, call (530) 297-4632 or (530) 754-5199.