The best communication tips for organizational change
Organizational change or change management describes the processes and desired outcomes of changing an organization’s methods, procedures, culture, technology, etc. You can adapt to an emerging market, introduce a new software or systems, merge with another company, or swap out your printers for new printers. When it comes to your communication strategy, It doesn’t actually matter how big the change is. While the scale can vary widely, the communication concepts are the same.
If people don’t change, your organization doesn’t change, and one of the main reasons people don’t change is because of poor communication; either communication isn’t clear, it isn’t consistent, it isn’t authentic, it isn’t frequent enough, or all of the above. You can have a massive budget and killer spreadsheets but if you’re not telling a story and changing people, your organizational change will never happen.
So how can we improve our communication strategy, sway hearts and minds, and get changing?
First, clearly define the change
Identify what needs to change—the problem, what needs to happen—the actions, and what success looks like—the goal.
Many times, people will only have an answer for one of these questions before they start trying to implement change. For example, wanting a more diverse workplace only (loosely) defines what success looks like. When you only have a goal in mind (especially an ill-defined goal like “a more diverse workplace”), then the process is scattershot. People start throwing out ideas for actions to take, they choose one that sounds easy or can be done quickly, and you start solving the wrong problems and wasting valuable time and resources.
Another example is “we need more people to speak up in meetings,” which is an action. We want this action to happen, but again, what’s the actual problem and what is the goal or success you’re trying to achieve? During a large change management process, action is the element that might shift and scale the most, and that’s fine, if the actions being added are in line with the problem you’re actually trying to solve for and the goal.
We have the same issue when it comes to what needs to change, or the problem. An email goes out dictating that “this needs to change” or “this is changing” with no thought of the implications, user experience, process, or outcome. Solving a problem without communicating why it was a problem in the first place gets you no buy-in from the people you’re trying to influence.
If you begin your storytelling right from the start, you’ll connect the problem (and actions) to the solution or goal and motivate the recipients of your communication to get on board.
Does this sound too simple? That’s great. It can be simple.
Especially when you’re on a team, using questions like these will ensure that everyone is on the same page. Oftentimes, folks assume that everyone is clear on the problem, actions, and goal. Taking the time to articulate all three answers will make things run a lot smoother.
Create a compelling story about your change
There are tons of technical aspects that go into change management like budget and logistics and timelines but those are all reliant on the story. Say you want to invest in management training for your whole company. If you make that ask alone, even if it’s a great idea, it may get shot down due to budget or time. So you want to tell a story and create a compelling narrative that includes proving why your change is good for business.
A basic story consists of character, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. You already have the main character (you and your coworkers) and the setting (work), so take that and create your bestseller. The most powerful way to persuade people is by uniting an idea with an emotion and the best way to do that is by telling a compelling story.
Obsess about the why
Communicate why this organizational change is happening early and often. People only complain about the abundance of communication when it’s poorly planned, crafted, and delivered and they can’t figure out why it’s in their inbox in the first place.
Believing in the "why" behind a change inspires people to change their behavior. Many transformation leaders falsely assume that the "why" is clear to the broader organization and consequently fail to spend enough time communicating the rationale behind change efforts. When things are in a state of change in the workplace, people get confused and distracted. If you can tie actions and steps in the change management process back to why as often as you can, you’ll be much more successful.
First, a silly example: Your office manager sends out an email that says you’re not stocking Chex Mix in the kitchen anymore. Sorry! Uproar ensues, complaints flow, people post Buzzfeed thinkpieces in Slack about why Chex Mix is the ultimate snack food. Simply adding a why—We’re no longer stocking Chex Mix because we’re focusing on healthier options. And we’re having a fruit challenge next week, so keep an eye on your email!—both eliminates the complaints from people who don’t like to be told what to do without a reason and provides an upfront answer to the question Why are you taking away my favorite snack?
Scale that strategy way up to something like an office move. An email goes out: The sales team is sitting in the northwest corner of the new office and the product team is sitting in the southeast. A mutiny forms. People assume you hate them and don’t want them to be happy because you’re forcing them to sit here and they wanted to sit over there. Again, communicating the why—The sales team and the product team are sitting here and here in the new office because sales will be closer to the elevators and they go out on sales calls so frequently and product needs to be near the board room for its daily standups—will save you a least a few headaches in the long run. Changing something even more complicated? No biggie. Just scale up again.
Change is frustrating to most people, even those who have insider knowledge about why the change is happening. As the communicator, try to empathize and see it from the perspective of the person receiving the info. What questions might your communication raise? Anticipate those questions and answer them up front. Your communication is not about you. It’s about your user.
Use inclusive language in your communication
Think about your language and whether it is inclusive. Even well-intentioned communication can miss the mark. In an effort to create camaraderie, we often throw out assumptions or generalizations. People say things like “Let’s meet when we get back from Christmas break,” or use gendered terms or assume the genders of people’s significant others—all examples of noninclusive language.
To some people, these things sound nitpicky, but again, you’re writing for your user and not yourself. Using inclusive language is a learning process, but using non-inclusive language is the fastest way to alienate the people you are trying so hard to connect with.
Provide communication tools and messaging to other leaders and culture champions
This is an extra step that takes a little bit of time, but it’ll save you and your teams so much time and hassle in the long run. Often, a change is either so large and complicated that the focus is on the process and the communication is an afterthought, or the change-makers assume the change is small enough that the communication is unimportant. Wrong! So wrong. Why would you do all of that work and not seal the deal with great messaging?
It’s like if you ask someone for a letter of recommendation and leave them to write whatever they can struggle to write. It might not be exactly what you wanted. On the flip side, you could give them all of the materials they need to tell a great story about you. It takes you more time, but you’re going to get a much better letter.
Your managers and other leaders are basically writing letters of recommendation on behalf of your change initiatives every time they talk to their teams. So, if you explain to your managers what your messaging is, they can take it and run with it. They can add their voice, put their spin on it, and deliver it in a way they know works for their team if they like. This way, you know the message is clear because you wrote the thesis and your employees buy in more easily because it’s coming from someone close to them. Again, poor communication is how change fails. If things come down the pipeline and facts are missing or the why is muddled, people won’t buy in.
Be an authentic change agent yourself
Change communication often fails because of a lack of authenticity, a tone that doesn’t fit the organizational culture, or recipients don’t trust whoever is delivering the communication. Everyone has read a communication where you’ve gotten to the end of it and just thought, I don’t believe this at all. Then the conversation kind of pops off in Slack or people start grumbling around the water cooler. Maybe you get anonymous but very pointed AMA questions from people who might be angry or confused. These are all things we want to avoid.
Communication isn’t just verbal. People are watching what you’re doing and taking cues from how you act and interact with other people. If your actions don’t match your words, your change management efforts literally will not fail faster. Are you living the change you want to see? If not, why?
But living the change you want to see means even more than just modeling any behaviors you’ve asked for; it also means making a myriad of decisions that support the change. Is this change going against other things you’re doing in the business? Does it contradict previously stated goals? Is it the beginning of a larger transformation? The answer can be yes, but then you have to be sure to communicate the—you guess it—why even more effectively.
Be vulnerable and transparent
Admit that change is hard. Acknowledge stress. Be open about your own shortcomings, mistakes, and your learning process. Vulnerability is not weakness and everybody wants a transparent process.
Say your change is building and switching over to a new content management system and you’re not going to hit your target date, or you did a salary study and you found out that there’s a disparity between what women and men make at your company. Explain the issue clearly and outline what you’re going to do to fix it. Most people assume good intent and when they can come to expect good intent from you, they’re more likely to buy into your change efforts.
Accept feedback with humility
This is another place where a lot of communication strategies fail. Change-makers and leaders don’t build in time or methods for recipients to provide feedback and even when they do, the person receiving the feedback doesn’t take it well.
If you get defensive, lash out, and react negatively to feedback, especially if you’re in a position of power in the workplace, you’re never going to get effective feedback again. You’ve created a psychologically unsafe environment. I’ve seen leaders roll their eyes when talking about a question someone asked or calling someone crazy when they raised a concern. If you’re doing things like that, it’s doubtful you’ll ever receive good feedback. You’ll destroy a sense of trust at your organization and your change efforts will fail.
Continue to communicate and champion the change
Earlier, I said to communicate the why early and often. Keep it at the forefront of what you do and continually tie your actions back to this goal. Change communications is never a one-and-done event; keeping employees informed is something that you will have to do throughout every step of the change process. Studies have found that continual communication is a leading factor in a transformation’s success.
Share progress, bumps, outcomes. If your change has a definitive end date, create a calendar leading up to that end date and celebrate each milestone. Your teams will be more on board with a goal they understand, a story they can identify with, and communication that has their best interest in mind.
If you use these tips and strategies, foster a truly inclusive workplace, and have an effective employee communication strategy, your organizational change initiatives will be much more successful.
Want to learn more about inspiring others to change and other coaching communication techniques?
Register for our next Coaching Culture Roundtable roundtable, a free virtual strategy session for leaders, managers, HR teams, and anyone who wants to integrate coaching tools into their team communication.
Each month, we gather to talk about how your teams can use coaching tools in their everyday conversations so everyone at your organization can adopt a coaching mindset. You’ll walk away with communication techniques you can start using right away so that you can transform your culture into something worth talking about.