Sample Transition Plan
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Announcement of intent: An employee who is planning a Real Life Test as part of her or his journey through the WPATH Standards of Care will likely inform at least two months prior to beginning the Test. Longer than three months’ notice is somewhat difficult because an individual her-or himself will probably not know much before this time frame when s/he will be ready and able to begin the Test. Shorter is atypical due to the fact that certain presentation changes (due to dress, hairstyle or due to hormonal therapy) make the thought of putting off communication about one’s situation rather impractical. It is logical to presume that an employee will approach either his or her direct manager or his or her HR representative first with the intent to transition at work. should ensure that all managerial and HR personnel are aware that such a thing could occur and they should be advised as to whom to notify if it does. It would be appropriate to suggest that the Division Manager of HR be the primary gate-keeper for all that transpires.
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Notification of principals: As soon as the employee has made her/his transition plan known to at least one member of management, that person (if s/he is not the HR Division Manager) should notify the HR Division Manager so that other principals can be alerted. If the HR Division Manager is the first one to be told by the employee, then s/he should contact the individual’s immediate supervisor first so that those two people can determine what the appropriate notification line and method should be. It appears that this will be any manager for whom the employee has solid or dotted line accountability; the Director(s) and the VP of the appropriate area. The Division HR manager will also want to inform his or her management too. It is recommended that these initial conversations be face-to-face where possible or by phone where logistics make that impossible. Email should be used only as a last resort.
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Formation of Transition Team: A transition team should be formed as soon as possible. The members of the team should include the Division HR Manager, the employee’s HR generalist (if there is such a person), a member of the Diversity & Inclusion Team from corporate HR, a member of the legal staff (or a liaison relationship between legal and HR), the
employee’s immediate supervisor, other managerial/director-level personnel as are determined appropriate as part of the notification process, and the employee him or herself. The employee’s exact involvement in the Transition Plan will be determined early on in the Transition Team’s meetings. This will be different in all circumstances depending on the employee’s situation and her/his preferences. Whether a member of the Team going forward or not however, the employee should be kept in the loop on all matters related to the Transition Plan and it is appropriate for the HR Division Manager and/or that person’s HR generalist to fulfill that liaison role. This will be necessary too as the employee will require a single point of content in HR to inform of documentation changes that will be warranted once the Life Test begins and/or any reasonable accommodations s/he may request as part of his/her transition. Assuming that there has been an 8 week notice of the intent to begin the Real Life Test, a first meeting of the Transition Team should occur in this first week with about 7.5 weeks to go or, if that’s not possible, in the T – 7th week. 4. Determination of Transition Strategy & Timing – 1. Determine if the Transition Team members themselves require education about gender identity (dysphoria). If so, convene a meeting/class asap. 2. Have the employee in question meet with the Team to answer any questions they might have pertinent to that individual’s situation: i. To what extent does s/he want to be involved in the Transition Plan? 1. education involvement 2. communication to any one or number of people in particular? ii. Are there any special requests s/he has for the Team? iii. Can s/he tell the team exactly what his/her schedule for Real Life Test is and when such things as documentation changes might be expected by the company? iv. To what extent is s/he willing to compromise on the use of restrooms/locker-room facilities
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v. To what extent is s/he willing to coordinate involvement with customers/clients of the Company (in the case of customerfacing personnel) Determine the personnel, exactly, who need be informed about the employee’s pending transition. Determine administrative functions and who is responsible: i. Notifying security ii. Making personnel records’ changes when appropriate iii. New office signage, voicemail/listing, email alias’, determination of interface with switchboard (if appropriate) iv. Coordination with adjunct staff such as janitorial or cafeteria Determine scope and timing of education for affected employees: i. Identify group(s) to be trained 1. Determine if outside agencies/clients will be included ii. Determine number of sessions to be offered and approximate locations iii. Determine schedule iv. Determine resource(s) to do the training 1. All live? / some by remote or DVD? Determine communications tools i. Any printed/written comms? ii. Announcement of classes? iii. Anything related to legal or PR? iv. Determine chain of accountability to let people know who to contact with any questions or concerns from anywhere in the world Have outline sketch for additional education after the Real Life Test begins should same be warranted.
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Implementation of Strategy 1. Make sure that the Transition Plan has support of any senior management who needs to sign off on it 2. Make sure that all action items have a point of accountability 3. If using an outside resource for education, make sure the person has a point of accountability and access to the individual who is transitioning
4. Make sure a member of the Transition Team is present at every and any class or event that concerns the employee’s transition. They don’t need to say or do anything; they just need to be there. 5. Have a gatekeeper (probably the Division HR Manager) who is kept informed as to the content and the outcome of any event or class that concerns the employee’s transition. This will begin to build a very strong intellectual capital reserve and (probably) FAQ resource for . 6. Schedule intermittent, perhaps once every 10 days, conference calls with all members of the Transition Team to keep everyone informed and up to date on any questions, concerns, changes to the Plan. 7. Make sure to keep in touch with the employee in question. 6. Activities around Beginning of Real Life Test 1. Assuming all education has been completed, the appropriate HR Division Manager and/or manager of the employee’s most affected Team should check in with all members of that team to make sure that any last minute concerns/questions are asked and answered. 2. Of specific interest will be how co-workers are doing with the question of rest-room use. Depending on feedback about this, the agreed upon reasonable accommodations must be put in place and there should be some understanding of how long those reasonable accommodations will be in force. Other employees must understand that they have a responsibility to seek assistance in working out any issues they may still have with this aspect of the transition 3. Some employees might want to do something nice/welcoming for the transitioning employee on his/her first Real Life Test day. This should be encouraged of course, but some prior planning is warranted as to the scope and nature of the acknowledgement 4. There needs to be in place an instantaneous response system for anything that may be said to, done to, or given to (anonymously or not) to the transitioning employee that is of less than a welcoming or supportive nature and which is clearly in violation of the nondiscrimination/harassment policies attested to by . 5. The transitioning employee should check in with management and with the HR Division Manager regularly (perhaps every other day at least) for the first two weeks of transition just to make sure everyone’s requirements are being seen to. 6. S/he should ensure that s/he has taken care of any paperwork or other documentation requirements relative to personnel records, medical/pension benefits, etc.
7. Any inquiries for public statements should be funneled to the appropriate PR or HR personnel.