org change

Communication Planning for Organizational Change

Rosemarie Rung APR August 14, 2013

Topics • Elements of change • The paradox of the situation • Preparing to communicate • Strategies for success • Special considerations

Rosemarie Rung APR, August 14, 2013

Change is…

• A disruption of expectations • Frequently accompanied by an emotional reaction (anger, fear, sadness) and/or physical reaction

•  Irrevocable; no turning back (as opposed to a crisis)

© 2012 Higher Rung Communications

Change •  Immediate • Event • External • Gains • Starts with the outcome

The Process of Change • Takes Time • Psychological •  Internal • Losses/le@ng go • Starts with the end

Change versus the Change Process

Communica)ng well through the change process is essen)al for ul)mate success.

Audience Reaction to Change

  Resistance is natural, and often inevitable   Resistance can be visible or hidden   Reactions can be positive or negative, this is predisposed by the individual

  Reaction lasts throughout the change process

  Resistance absorbs energy which should be directed to something more productive

  The faster the change process moves forward, the more successful the change will be

The Paradox of the Situation •  Employees will have suspicions

•  Change in business performance •  Visits by outsiders •  Unusual behavior of business leaders •  Requests for business/operational information •  Deferred projects and/or discretionary spending •  Customer/market rumors

•  Employees will not be prepared for the news •  Reactions can vary from shock, anger, sadness


Effective communications must meet both the informational and emotional needs of the employee.

The Paradox of the Communications

•  Empathetic but..

•  Minimal slides but…

•  Employees first to know but…

•  Notification meeting is short but…

•  concise, communicating key points, leaving no doubt that decision is irrevocable

•  details about “what does this mean for me?”

•  employees find out only after all approvals/agreements are in place

•  on-going communications can last for months


70% of change initiatives fail due to “not enough” or “not the right kind” of communications. Thompson, Communication Process Re-engineering

The goal of communications isn’t necessarily to have people happy about the decision, but to have

them understand how the decision was made and what’s

next for them.


Preparing to Communicate


•  Ensure that the Communications focal point is a member of the overall project team

•  Articulate vision and key messages •  Develop communications plan, ensuring

that confidentiality rules and guidelines are in place

•  Provide leadership with training, on-going coaching and counsel

•  Monitor responses and assess progress, report to leadership

Model of Overall Plan


Human Resources

Legal

CommunicaCons

Project Plan

HR/Communications Considerations


Human Resources

CommunicaCons

•  Size of affected groups/roll-out of notification

•  Benefits information •  Local resources •  Union contract

considerations (with legal) •  Employee review boards

(with legal)

Legal/Communications Considerations


Legal CommunicaCons

•  Material disclosure •  WARN Act (federal and

state) •  Works Councils •  Union contract

considerations (with HR) •  Employee review boards

(with HR)

Message • Simple and compelling vision is the context for all messages

• Messages must be repeated and reinforced to overcome emotional obstacles within change curve

• Messages should address short-term, tangible, measurable goals

• Think “roadmap” – use visuals, schedules, directions, vision of the destination

Messenger • Messengers MUST be leaders! • Two required attributes

•  Ownership of the decision •  Trustworthy and credible

•  If one person doesn’t possess both attributes, 2 people will do

• Leaders must support and defend the decision as non-negotiable, irrevocable

• Leaders must commit to on-going communications that may last for months

Media • Face-to-face is the most effective medium, especially in the early stage of process

• Supplement verbal communication with written to overcome cognitive static

• Think of communications as a progress report •  Institute two-way communications vehicles, both informal and formal

•  Brown bag lunches •  Question box •  Team meetings •  Walk abouts

Confidentiality = Respect


•  Supports compliance with laws & regulations •  Protects material value of the company and business

partners •  Respects employees and their families •  Maintains your control of communications plan

How to Work Confidentially •  Adopt a random name for project and use it exclusively among team

•  “White cover” all documents •  Don’t discuss project in public places •  Set up separate e-mail groups, protected file shares, phone lists, etc. for team

•  Don’t raise curiosity by flaunting project name •  Keep all documents secured when not in use •  Train, reinforce and enforce confidentiality practices


Timing • Schedule notifications to the minute – goal is to cascade to stakeholder groups in the shortest amount of time

• Affected employees should know first (along with the market, if announcement is material), but provide a just-in-time heads up to union leaders

• Call key stakeholders while media announcement is sent (local officials, key opinion leaders –those with a generally favorable opinion of company)

• General employee/company announcement • Key customers/business partners


Employee Notification Meeting

•  Face-to-face establishes respect between leader & employees– important in the days to come

•  Eliminates the risk of employees hearing it from others

• Messengers have to be someone with accountability for the decision (e.g., site leader, business leader )

• Have plan to contact those unable to attend


Documents for Employee Meeting •  Slides for visual reinforcement - keep it short (<10 slides)

• One slide to summarize situation then go right into stating the decision concisely in plain language

•  Remainder of the presentation is, “What does this mean for you?”

•  Leave time for Q&A – stick to prepared Q&A to guide answers

•  Provide hand-outs: synopsis of announcement, FAQ, List of resources (e.g., EAP, HR, etc.)


Employee Follow-Up

• Promote 2-way dialogue as soon as possible –implement facts-back process after meeting to collect confidential questions and disseminate accurate answers

• Have EAP resources on-site after the meeting •  If downsizing, have career counselors also available to be introduced along with a schedule of when they will meet with employees

• Having an HR leader on site with experience in these situations is a plus

• LISTEN and address concerns


Playing the Numbers

The Rule of Thirds... • People who Agree • People who are Undecided • People who will ALWAYS Disagree

Work with people who agree, swing those

undecided = 2/3 POSITIVE

MOMENTUM


What Good Communications Looks Like   Visible, enthusiastic, united leaders who actively communicate

  Picture of what the future looks like

 Open access/honest information

  Two-way dialogue (vs. newsletters)

  Responsive feedback systems

End of Presentation


org change

Business

higher rung communications

effective communications

communications empathetic

sadnessrosemarie rung

monthsrosemarie rung

respectrosemarie rung

communicaterosemarie

control of communications