Communications planning

Development of a communication plan was the most common task for change management teams. When ask about communication practices and the frequency of communications, project teams tended to communicate less frequently than they thought they should have during the project (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 – Communication frequency

Nearly 40% of study participants indicated that weekly communications provided the desired frequency, with about one-third indicating either several times a week or daily.

Communication methods

The table below is a complete list of the methods participants used to communicate.

Table 1 – Communication methods

Participants indicated that face-to-face communications were the most effective. Face-to-face interactions included:

• group and team meetings
• presentations and demonstrations
• one-on-one discussions

Many participants also identified email and intranet websites as effective methods. However, one participant wrote that employees “did not read emails (we all get too many!).”

Several other themes emerged in relation to effective communication. First, communication should be open and “risk free” where employees can ask questions. Second, different types of communication are better depending on the message. One participant wrote that the best methods of communicating were:

“Face to face (for effect); email (for efficiency)”

Who should deliver the message?

Participants were fairly split over who was the ideal sender of change management messages as shown in Figure 15. The top two senders indicated by participants were:

• the employee’s supervisor (to deliver messages that directly impact the employee)
• CEO/president (to deliver messages about the business drivers and business vision)

Figure 2 – Ideal message deliverer

Editor’s note: The top two answers (CEO/President and supervisor) show an interesting dichotomy. The two individuals selected most often are the closest to and farthest away from the front-line employees in the organizational structure. A second implication results from the amount and type of control of these two particular individuals. The supervisor has the most control over the direction of the employee’s daily activities, while the CEO / president has the most control over the direction of the business.

Important messages to communicate

The most important messages to communicate to impacted employees fell into two categories:

1.       Messages about the change

• the current situation and the rationale for the change
• a vision of the organization after the change takes place
• the basics of what is changing, how it will change, and when it will change
• the expectation that change will happen and is not a choice
• status updates on the implementation of the change, including success stories

2.       Messages about how the change will impact the employee

• the impact of the change on the day-to-day activities of the employee (WIIFM – What’s in it for me?)
• implications of the change on job security (Will I have a job?)
• specific behaviors and activities expected from the employee, including support of the change
• procedures for getting help and assistance during the change

What aspects of communication contributed the most to your programs success?

Responses regarding the most successful aspect of communication varied. Participants discussed both the type (how it was delivered) and the specific message and characteristic (what was delivered) of effective communication.

In relation to the delivery of the message, participants overwhelmingly indicated that direct, face-to-face communication was most effective. Direct communications were seen as successful for conveying messages about the need for change, providing details about specific roles and expectations, describing the future state and answering specific questions.

In addition to how the message was delivered, participants provided characteristics of communications that contributed to success. According to participants, successful communications were:

• honest – “Honesty even when the consequences were possibly negative”
• frequent and constant throughout the entire program
• consistent
• open, transparent and safe

Participants also stated that communications, when done properly and delivered by the right source, were direct evidence of the support and commitment to change by executives and sponsors.

What would you do differently with regard to communication?

Participants indicated that the top five changes they would make regarding their communications were:

1.       More communications (more frequent).

2.       Begin communications sooner in the project.

3.       More face-to-face communications – some participants felt that they relied too heavily on email, not recognizing the importance of a personal approach.

4.       More communication from executive sponsors and senior managers.

5.       More about the impact of the change on employees – answering the questions how will this affect me and what is in it for me.

Feedback mechanisms

The following three methods were the most used by participants to collect feedback from employees: (see Figure 3):

• team question and answer sessions
• email
• individual question and answer sessions

Figure 3 – Feedback mechanisms

Communications were viewed as a vital component to the overall change management program to build awareness of the need for change and to create knowledge about the future state. For more information on communication planning, see the Change Management Toolkit.

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Coming next - Part 4 of the Using ADKAR series - The Power of Knowledge