5 Effective Change Communications Strategies for Successful Transformation

Do you mind if I kick this off with some of my favorite change quotes? OK, there are so many out there it’s hard to narrow them down, but how about these?

When you’re finished changing, you're finished—Benjamin Franklin

Change before you have to—Jack Welch

In life, change is inevitable. In business, change is vital—Warren G. Bennis

Few things are more important during a change event than communication from leaders who can paint a clear and confidence-inspiring vision of the future—Sarah Clayton

We'll get back to that last quote shortly but first:

What is Change Management Communication and Why is it Important?

David Grossman,founder and CEO of the Grossman Group defines change management communication simply as: “The process of building awareness and support for organizational change. It helps stakeholders understand what’s changing and why, and how it will affect them."

"It delivers timely information and materials, ensures stakeholders receive information about what’s important, and provides ways to share feedback and ask questions.Whether you are changing technology, business practices, leadership, or a combination of things, change management communication is essential to helping people move from where they are today to the desired “future state.”

Variations of Sarah Clayton’s quote about the critical role of crystal-clearcommunication in change projects have been expressed by organization transformation experts for decades.

As far back as 1995, one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership and change, Harvard Professor John P. Kotter said one of the top errors of executives was “under communicating the (change) vision by a factor of 10.”

Today it’s more critical than ever before, with companies facing constant and rapid change along with the challenge of bringing very diverse and geographically dispersed workers with them on their change journey. Why is effective communication the lifeblood of successful change programs? It ensures everyone understands the "why," "what," and "how" of the change, reduces uncertainty, fosters buy-in, and aligns efforts across the organization.

Without it, confusion reigns, resistance grows, and the likelihood of failure skyrockets, making clear, consistent communication non-negotiable for change success.In a recent blog we highlighted growing employee resistance to change because of fatigue from constant change—and we recommended strategies on how to manage that resistance.

The scale of the challenge was outlined last year when Gartner reported: “the average employee experienced 10 planned enterprise changes in the past 12 months alone, and they are getting fatigued. Willingness to support organizational change collapsed from 74% of employees in 2016 to just 43% in 2022.”

According to Gartner: “As the pace of change continues to accelerate, managing employee commitment to organizational change is becoming more difficult. The figures are sobering: 73% of change-affected employees report experiencing moderate to high stress levels, and those suffering from change-related stress perform 5% worse than the average employee. Effective change communications can counter these trends and support business transformation.”

Given the multiple challenges organizations face when attempting successful change, as outlined here, it’s absolutely imperative that they have the best technology at their disposal to enable them reach, connect and engage with their various employee audiences and other stakeholders.

There’s no single silver bullet for workplace comms, given the diversified nature of most companies, so organizations need access to multiple channels to connect with all their people: email newsletters, digital signage, intranets etc, which is exactly what Poppulo provides for an A-list of the world’s most successful organizations.Ifyou’d like to find out more, get in touch with us here.

How Do You Develop a Change Communication Plan?

Sorry, but that’s a trick question—the comms plan should follow the ‘defining the change’ stage—but hang on, we’ll come back to it!

Internal communicators should always be involved in change projects at the very earliest stages of development, as Helen Cunningham, Head of Global Change and Communication at Amadeus, stresses in Getting Change Right During Constant Transformation.

But that’s not always the case. In fact, it’s not unusual for communication professionals to be told, “we’ve got to change this... and we’ve got to do it now....here’show we’re going to do it. So, we need a comms plan ASAP.” It shouldn’t happen like that, but it does.

The problem is that the communication plan doesn’t come first. Here’s the sequence to build the foundation for success:

1. Define the Change: The first step in any change program must be to clearly define the goals, objectives, and scope of the change. This includes understanding the desired outcomes and the steps needed to achieve them—and, crucially, who’s going to be impacted.
2. Develop Strategies: Once the change is defined, strategies can be developed to guide the implementation process and how it’s going to be communicated.
3. Create a Communication Plan: Once the change plan has been clearly defined and the strategies for its implementation developed, now it’s time to create a communication plan to effectively convey the change to stakeholders, address concerns, and build support.The communication plan should align with the overall change strategy and ensure that all stakeholders are informed and engaged throughout the process.

That said, significant changes that inevitably impact employees should be made at the earliest possible opportunity or you risk creating fear and concern—and lessening your chances of getting buy-in and support from the very people you need to make the desired changes. Nobody likes hearing something that’s going to impact them at work second-hand.

As Michelle Haggerty-MacKay, Chief Operating Officer and U.S. President of the change management companyProscimemorably said: “No one says they learned about a change goo early. But many people say they’ve learned about a change too late.”

5 Communication Strategies for Different Types of Change Programs

It should go without saying that at any different time, widely different types of change initiatives will be ongoing or being planned—and each requires a different approach to communication strategy.

By tailoring communication plans to the specific type of change, organizations can ensure that messages are relevant, timely, and effective in driving employee engagement and support.

In general, the main change programs include:

• Incremental Change—process improvements, policy updates
• Strategic Change—mergers, acquisitions, new market entries
• Transformational Change—cultural shifts, organizational restructuring
• Reactive Change—responses to external pressures, crises
• Technological Change—new software implementations, digital transformations

Let’s take a closer look at these categories and how to tailor change comms for them.

Tailoring Change Communication Plans for Different Organizational Change Types

1. Incremental Change

Focus on clarity and simplicity: Provide concise and easily understandable information about the changes.

Utilize internal communication channels: Leverage multiple channels and tailor them for specific target audiences like company newsletters, digital signage, intranets, and team meetings for regular updates.

Encourage feedback and questions: Create open forums for employees to discuss their concerns and provide input.

2. Strategic Change

Highlight the vision and benefits: Clearly articulate the strategic rationale behind the change and the positive outcomes it will bring.

Combine top-down communication from leadership with targeted messaging to specific departments or teams.

Provide ongoing updates: Keep employees informed about the progress of the change and address any concerns or rumors.

3. Transformational Change

Involve employees early:Seek input and feedback from employees throughout the change process.

Create a shared vision:Develop a compelling narrative that inspires and motivates employees.

Provide support and training:Offer resources and training to help employees adapt to the new ways of working.

4. Reactive Change

Communicate quickly and accurately. Provide timely and accurate information to address immediate concerns and prevent misinformation.

Emphasize transparency and honesty. Be open and honest about the situation, even if it's challenging.

Offer support and resources. Provide employees with the necessary resources and support to cope with the change.

5. Technological Change

Highlight the benefits and value: Clearly articulate how the new technology will improve efficiency, productivity, or customer experience.

Provide training and support:Offer comprehensive training programs to help employees learn how to use the new technology effectively.

Address concerns about job security:Reassure employees that their jobs are safe and that the new technology will enhance their capabilities.

Next Step: Creating a Change Communication Plan

In many respects, how to creatine a change communications plan is similar to creating any other comms plan, but a large enterprise-wide change program will be more complex and involve multiple stakeholders. But the essential building blocks are:

1. Define the change: Clearly articulate the goals, objectives, and scope of the change.

2. Identify stakeholders: Determine who will be affected by the change, their potential reactions and the information needed to address these concerns quickly.

3. Set communication objectives: Establish specific goals, such as increasing awareness, addressing concerns, and building support.

4. Identify target audiences: Work with HR to identify specific workplace audiences, including potential influencers to act as change ambassadors, and potential change resistors.Here’s a useful guide on how IC and HR can collaborate to achieve change success.

5. Choose appropriate communication channels: Consider factors like audience preferences and the nature of the change. Never exclude frontline or hard-to-reach workers. With Poppulo, you can reach all your people wherever they are on their preferred comms channel. Remember, in a workplace with multiple generations, like we have today, audience comms preferences can vary greatly. Here’s a useful guide.

6. Develop key messages: Craft clear, concise, and compelling messages that align with the change objectives.

7. Create a timeline: Establish a schedule for delivering messages to ensure timely communication.

8. Identify potential challenges: Anticipate and plan for potential obstacles or resistance to change—and as we said earlier, try to identify influencers, both potentially positve and negative

9. Evaluate and adjust: Monitor the effectiveness of the communication plan and make adjustments as needed. Check out The Ultimate Guide to Measuring Internal Communications.

Creating Employee Feedback Loops, Fostering Open Dialogue and Building Trust

A cornerstone of any successful change management initiative is the creation of feedback loops, a critical enabler for employees to have sense of ownership and involvement in the process, which is essential for success.

They allow for open dialogue, address concerns, and foster a culture of transparency and trust. As we said earlier, employee resistance to change is increasing and making successful change even more difficult than it always has been—and fear of change is one of the main causes of resistance.

According to the change management organization Prosci: “Fear is a significant cause of resistance among employees, especially fears about job loss and lower compensation. Uncertainty about their own future and the future of the organization arises due to past experience with failed changes.

So, addressing concerns is crucial in building a positive organizational climate, a climate where employees feel heard and valued—and who are therefore more likely to be engaged, productive, and supportive of change initiatives.

A culture of open dialogue and encouraging two-way communication—where employees feel as empowered to suggest ideas as well as feeling safe to express worries or concerns—is essential to successful transformation.

By actively seeking feedback, organizations can identify potential issues early on, address them proactively, and prevent them from escalating into larger problems.To encourage employee feedback, organizations should:

• Create a safe and supportive environment: establish clear channels for communication, ensuring confidentiality
• Demonstrate genuine commitment to listening, and respond to employee concerns. Even if you don’t have ready answers, commit to updates as soon as possible.

Conclusion:

It's almost impossible to overstate how critical highly effective, strategically diverse, and tactically adept workplace communication is to achieve successful change—at a time when change is relentlessly constant, causing increased employee resistance because of change fatigue. Smart, open and empathetic communication can go a long way to easing that sense of fatigue as well as smoothing concerns and dialing down resistance for changes that are necessary for both the company and employees to be successful.