I sent the below email to a client recently who is at the beginning of a major change initiative in her organization. I thought it might be helpful to those of you going through change yourselves. It’s especially relevant for leaders who sometimes lose sight of where their employees are on the change journey. Here’s what I wrote.
Effective communication is essential at all times and particularly so during times of transformation and change. Employees need to understand what's changing, why, when and how it affects them directly. The most effective communication also gives employees an opportunity for questions and input. Being heard allows them to participate in the change. Feeling heard leads to stronger buy-in. Effectively communicating to and hearing from employees is best accomplished with a plan. The plan should include:
Communication goals
Content/messages
Audiences
Channels (where you will communicate)
Timing (when you will communicate)
Who the communicators will be
How to measure success
And communication continues to be essential once the change is occurring. Employees need to be reminded of the goals and informed of progress. Feedback mechanisms allow change leaders to accurately monitor attitudes and progress.
A common mistake leaders make is that they assume once they've communicated to employees initially, their job is done and they can move to the next phase of their change initiative. Leaders tend to forget that they have been working on the project for months or longer. Employees too need time to comprehend, think about and discuss what's changing and what it means to them. There's an old saying that people need to hear things seven times in seven different ways for the information to sink in. It's not a scientific formula but it does capture a key element of effective communication.
In this same spirit, leaders must remember that they are thinking and planning anywhere from 6-24 months down the road. That's their job. Employees, on the other hand, are learning about the change initiative for the first time and don't have the same background and context. It will take time to get them educated and taking action.