Communicating Change

Good communication is crucial when implementing a change. The most common error made by organisations communicating change is that they ‘tell’ people what the change is and how they should go about implementing it.

Effective communication is the central factor in managing change.  Openness and honesty, seeking feedback, recognising people’s contribution, delegation and teamwork are some of the main characteristics of good communication.   Effective communication is essential to build trust, motivate your people and establish confidence, particularly during times of change.

Principles

• Be as open as you can and tell the truth - this is your most powerful tool
• Build a powerful and compelling case by being:

Brief                - Well articulated

Clear               - Qualitative and quantitative

Credible          - Prepared with the facts

Compelling     - Create activities through effective communication channels

• Be creative - you need your audiences’ attention before you get their intention
• Tune in to different stakeholder groups’ needs and preferences
• Focus on the benefits of change

Benefits

Some of the benefits of effective internal communication are:

•  Good communication processes help people to understand where they fit in the big picture, or, in other words, how their job and team contributes towards achieving the organisation’s goals.

• Good leaders are often good communicators - great communication skills and practice helps leaders set direction and maintain morale. They appear credible to their team.

• People who know how their job contributes to the organisation’s goals know what’s important about what they do and can direct their efforts accordingly.  They also feel better motivated to do a good job. Hence they’re more productive.

 

• They have more opportunities to speak up about concerns, as well as ideas and suggestions.  A more trusting relationship can be created with colleagues and managers, given persistence and time.

•  Since your people are the organisation, if they’re well informed and motivated, it stands to reason that the company’s external reputation can only benefit. 

• It also stands to reason that good communication can help you manage the negative impact of change.

• Change is never easy to deal with, but good communication makes it easier for people.  They understand what’s going on, why, and (as far as possible) how it will affect them.  It won’t make them like change, but people will feel more comfortable, and better able to continue with their day job while change happens.

This is a short excerpt from the Trainer Bubble training course materials 'Planning for Change'. You can find out about these and our other training course materials at www.trainerbubble.com