Like many internal communications, you may find that communicating change is a very demanding part of your role. In today’s environment, change is a fact of life. Companies, resistant to change, risk losing their competitive edge.
The process of change is complex. As human beings we often feel threatened by change. But the irony is that without change we might still all be living in caves. We have to admit that change can be exciting as well as challenging as it stimulates innovation and creativity. Good for business and good for us. The question is, “Is it possible to assist in managing change without all the drama?”
Before engaging in communicating change, it is important to understand the psychology of change and your role in the change process. Change needs to be effectively managed and communicated so that it is embraced rather than rejected.
One of the more sensitive areas to manage is your senior management team. They may be driving the change initiative, but may not be so good at communicating ideas in a way that is accessible to all staff. They may not even have a framework for managing the change process. Part of your job is likely to be supporting your key stakeholders and making it easy for them to communicate effectively to staff at all levels.
I have broken this down to an 11 part series – you know, smaller bites, easier digestion.
Let’s get onto the first one shall we
How can I communicate change and minimize negative aspects of the change process?
There are change management methodologies, which have proven to be successful when implementing changes. These provide a framework for managing the change and change communications process. Select processes that suit you and your company’s culture and that are appropriate to the type of change you wish to implement.
When researching change management, it doesn’t take long to learn about trust. It takes time to win employee trust, which is the foundation of an employee’s commitment to the business. It takes time to build it but only moments to destroy it. Signs that trust has been eroded include lower productivity, poor morale, resistance to change, a strong rumor mill and good staff leaving. A good change management process with effective, honest internal communications can avoid all this and make implementing changes an exciting and rewarding challenge.
This is part 1 in the 11 part Series: Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff
This series is based on an article by Communications specialist Sarah Perry. Sarah is a Director of Snap Communications, http://www.snapcomms.com, a company which provides specialist Internal Communications tools and Employee Communications Solutions.
