How to nail your change comms for better organisation design outcomes
It’s hard to overstate the importance of change communications to successful organisation design (OD). So why are they so often treated as an afterthought – and how can you get them right?
Over the past year, we’ve worked alongside many of our clients as they’ve embarked on significant OD programs. That’s no surprise. Blended and mobile working, groundbreaking technologies, Agile methodologies, and cost pressures have all driven the need for organisational reinvention.
But even the most meticulously planned OD program can falter without effective communication. Done well, change communications can inspire your team to embrace change and focus on the critical outcomes for your OD. Done poorly, they can lead to confusion, resistance, and ultimately failure.
To help you succeed, here’s your concise guide to best practice change communications.
Why change communications fail
Change can be a challenging process. According to research from Gartner, 73% of employees affected by change reported experiencing moderate to high stress, and performed worse than other employees as a result.
That’s why change communication is so critical. It’s a vital tool for transforming the potentially negative impacts of change into new opportunities for engagement and motivation. Despite this, it’s often relegated to the final stages of the change management process and is frequently under-resourced, rushed or incomplete. This can lead to confusion, resistance, and a dire lack of employee engagement.
So, why do change communications often fail? Here are five common reasons:
- Lack of clarity: mixed or ambiguous messaging about the reasons for the change, desired outcomes, and the steps to achieve them.
- Lack of frequency: infrequent communication can lead to confusion, derailing momentum, especially when things are changing quickly.
- Lack of empathy: change can evoke a range of emotions in employees, including fear, opposition and disengagement. Acknowledging and addressing those feelings is essential.
- Wrong channels: using inappropriate, ineffective communication methods, or even just using too few channels, can mean your messages don’t reach key audiences.
- Missing leaders: when leaders are not visibly involved as advocates for change or fail to model the change, it can undermine the credibility of the communication and the change initiative itself.
Creating a successful change communications plan
An effective change communications plan starts with a deep understanding of the audiences involved and the potential impacts of the change on them. That means understanding their mindsets, identifying their pain points, recognising their motivations, and acknowledging potential obstacles to change. It’s crucial to define not only what you want them to know and do, but also how you want them to feel. Your plan needs to go beyond the specifics of the change by acknowledging and addressing the emotional responses of your team.
The other critical component of your plan is a compelling vision of the desired OD outcome. This vision should highlight the benefits of the change, providing a motivating and inspiring picture of the future as a touchstone for the entire organisation.
Once you have defined the key messages you want to communicate, the next step is to create a detailed communications calendar. This should include multiple communications for key stakeholders spread over several weeks or months. The most effective communications programs harness multiple channels and media, ranging from leader emails to team meetings, town halls, videos, and digital communications. The more often you reinforce your key messages, the more likely they are to be understood and absorbed.
Finally, the role of leaders in driving change cannot be overstated. Their active involvement, consistent messaging, and living demonstration of the change can significantly influence the acceptance and successful implementation of OD.
5 essentials for better change communications
- Communicate early and regularly to bring people along for the journey
- Be clear about what’s changing and honest about how it will affect people
- Engage different stakeholders as authors to appeal to a range of business areas
- Use a variety of internal communication channels to reach a wide audience
- Make communications interactive, encouraging feedback and questions, then respond promptly and empathetically
