Change Communication

Transcription

1 a guide to Change Communication by Rebecca Astles A Guide To Change Communication 1

2 Introduction Rebecca Astles Senior Editor and Writer Judicial Appointments Commission It is widely recognised most change programmes fail to realise their objectives. Why is this? As Pfeffer and Sutton (2006) suggest, there has been such a blizzard of change in most workplaces over recent years both managers and employees have struggled to adjust, or change their behaviour before the next wave of change renders their last effort redundant. Communication is often blamed because when it is poor it can contribute to feelings of staff negativity, which in turn may develop into larger organisational problems - such as lack of motivation to assist with embedding the change. Providing clear informing communication messages to build staff understanding is the first step. The communication needs to be mainly face-to-face and separate for staff and supervisors, so everyone has a clear sense of direction on the change. However, to move on from understanding to willingness to help make the change happen, trust in managers is required that can only be developed through engagement. This is about giving line managers and staff some ownership of the change by including them in the decision-making process. To make a change programme successful your communication must achieve more than staff understanding. It must also achieve action and commitment from staff to achieve the initiative s objectives. 2 A Guide To Change Communication A Guide To Change Communication 3

3 Checklist 1. Be aware of changes on the horizon and get invited to the right meetings. Internal communicators are often involved too late in change programmes to have any impact and are told to simply communicate decisions. 2. A variety of face-to-face channels need to be set up at the start of a change programme and maintained throughout to facilitate two-way communication with staff. This can be backed up by written and electronic communication. Some feedback options will need to enable anonymity for staff to be confident to use them. 3. Communication should be continuous to keep rumours in check. If you can t release information yet, say so and provide a timescale when you think you can. If there is nothing new to say, repeat the timescales and communicate what is being worked on and is coming up next. 4. At times of change staff want to hear from senior managers as well as their supervisors, and enter into dialogue with them. Set up a mixture of formal and informal opportunities for this and keep line managers fully briefed To achieve engagement with the change communication, involve staff and supervisors in decisions from the start of the process. This will help them to feel they own the change. Evaluate communication from the start. As change programmes move so quickly, quick polls or focus groups are likely to work better than waiting for the next large scale staff engagement survey. 4 A Guide To Change Communication A Guide To Change Communication 5

4 Literature review Leaders have the most credibility to explain the need for change Every change communication text will tell you face-to-face communication is vital. Quirke says this is because it allows information to be put into context using conversation, and non-verbal cues help transmit emotion. His communication escalator is a useful visual guide to determining appropriate channels for a change communications plan. Quirke and Smith stress the role of managers in change communication. Smith says leaders have the most credibility to explain the need for change and the chosen option. Ruck builds on this, saying leaders need to develop understanding of strategy and build trust, and quotes Quirke as saying to get this trust, leaders must be competent, open, honest, show concern for employees, be reliable and on the same boat. Smith also discusses the role of line managers, who she says are best placed to answer questions on how change will directly impact the team and individuals. An important point stressed by Quirke, is for supervisors to fulfill this role, they must be given a clear understanding themselves of the issues and likely implications for their people. But, to understand why face-to-face communication needs to achieve more than just understanding, it is worthwhile looking at Kotter and Rathgeber s eight steps of successful change management. Kotter and Rathgeber say employees take little notice of corporate messages during change because their focus is on the present and surviving the turbulence. But this limitation in employees outlook can be removed when they are given the opportunity to be involved and discover for themselves their own place in the change process. The term engagement is closely linked to any discussion about involving staff. Smythe, suggests engagement should be seen as a process through which people become personally implicated in the success of a change by contributing to decision making. His engagement model has four stages, the last two of which are the most important: inclusion and co-creation. Inclusion involves giving employees the time and space to apply change to their work and development. Co-creation, is defined as identifying and working with those who will add value if they are included in decision forming and change and strategy development before decisions are made or plans for change are finalised. The key, according to Ruck, is to know which approach is right for which situation. Herrero introduces the idea of change agents working on behalf of managers to help accelerate change. Ruck makes it clear the change agents feed from the wider change communication within an organisation and the internal communications officer must support the network with timely updates. Quirke argues that for leaders to successfully manage change, they need practical workshops to understand their communication styles and behaviours. Smith and Quirke make it clear line managers need similar training. As for evaluation, Smythe (2007: 86-7) suggests the focus should be on regularly measuring the drivers of personal implication, which he states are the: Opportunity to participate in decision making Degree of discretionary effort Readiness to take risk Collaboration beyond work team Ownership of change Desire to stay due to appetite for improvement Quick and regular polls are suggested to be the best method, and in designing your approach, it is wise to refer to Hargie and Tourish. 6 A Guide To Change Communication A Guide To Change Communication 7

5 Reading list Hargie, O. and Tourish, D. (2009) Auditing Organizational Communication, A Handbook of Research, Theory and Practice Routledge Herrero, L. (2008) Viral Change: The alternative to slow, painful and unsuccessful management of change in organisations, 2nd Edition Meetingminds Kotter, J. and Rathgebeger, H. (2006) Our Iceberg is Melting Macmillan Quirke, B. (2008) Making the Connections, 2nd edition, Using Internal Communication to Turn Strategy into Action Gower Ruck, K. (2010) Exploring Internal Communication Pearson Education Limited Smith, L. (2008) Effective Internal Communication, 2nd Edition Kogan Page Smythe, J. (2007) The CEO: Chief Engagement Officer: Turning Hierarchy Upside Down to Drive Performance Gower 8 A Guide To Change Communication A Guide To Change Communication 9

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