At today’s Melcrum Change Communication Conference, we ran
an interactive session asking all attendees to consider the challenges and
solutions we face in keeping employees engaged through the change process.
We talked about the change curve, and the stages employees
typically move through during organisational change. They are: shock, reaction,
acceptance, action and commitment.
Small groups convened to discuss the challenges and
solutions (ideas) for communicating through these stages in order to support
employees and move them through the curve as quickly as possible.
The verbatim outputs from each group is available below. In
summary, some of the key themes to come out of the discussion were:
Shock to reaction
Challenge: the complexity of messages, what information is
available to be shared and when, and how to keep things as simple and clear as
possible while employees are still absorbing the news
Solutions: having a plan, engaging early, being authentic
and being honest and frank
Reaction to acceptance
Challenges: getting people to listen, getting consensus,
leadership doing what you need them to do, acknowledging emotions
Solutions: providing avenues for listening and feedback,
communicating quick wins, holding venting sessions (saying goodbye to the past),
constant reinforcement of the why and WIIFM
Acceptance to action
Challenges: developing and maintaining a common
understanding of the future state, bringing everyone along for the journey,
demystifying and adding more detail/facts
Solutions: providing and articulating a clear roadmap,
ensuring people have a role in the change, focus on the symbols, structures,
systems and routines
Action to commitment
Challenges: keeping up momentum, moving from talk to action,
continuing to see the possibilities, ensuring a long-term vision throughout the
organisation, managing the danger of unrealistic expectations if things don’t
happen as quickly as expected
Solutions: celebrate success, share stories, make it fun and
energetic, focus on the long-term vision
We had a very enjoyable time facilitating the session and
hope everyone has a great final day of conference!
Cheers,
Adrian and Melissa
Shock to Reaction
- telling phase: why, how, overview of future
- denial, blocking, anger
Challenges
- timing everything
- how much do we share?
- managing managers authentically
- pre-involving internal comms
- takes time for news to sink in
- don’t focus on squeaky wheels
- manage message complexity
- productivity decline may impact business
- facts/transparency/timing
- acknowledging human emotion
- lack of trust in senior management
- mixed messages – media vs internal
- keeping ahead of media
- collective resistance
Solutions
- Timing:
- o
get a plan
- o
THINK
- o
get key stakeholders together
- o
pre-position as many core messages as possible
- o
it may change
- Authenticity:
- o
believe what you’re selling
- o
facts and data build a strong ‘why’ story
- o
role-play for managers who have to deliver
messages
- IC Role:
- o
get in early!
- o
position ourselves as partners
- Messaging:
- o
WIIFM
- o
bite-sized narrative
- o
honest and personal
- o
stand up to scrutiny
- o
ask for commitment
- stay focused, acknowledge reaction
- communicate the good with the bad for credibility
- use plain English
- clear plans and timelines
- think outside square – channels
- establish credible source of info/voice
(peers/leadership/CEO)
- define and engage key influential stakeholders
(unions)
- clear facts and WIIFM and context and
expectations (or, what does it mean to me?)
- people assigned to listen, two-way
communications (collect feedback – intranet – focus groups)
- provide support/counselling – acknowledging
people’s feelings
- media responses ready – employees first
- internal and external comms aligned
- some people may need to go – with respect
Reaction to
Acceptance
Challenges
- getting people to listen
- getting people (managers) to be open to
listening/feedback
- rebuilding trust
- honest/frank
- senior management not listening (steamroller
approach)
- managing the rumour mill
- convincing management to allow open and honest
communication
- getting regular information out in a timely
manner – sustaining momentum
- getting everyone on the same page – one size
does not fit all
- getting staff to participate
- disinterest
- lack of understanding of staff needs
- dealing with unexpected reactions from staff –
factors unforeseen
- leadership
- time/ budget/resource constraints
Solutions
- celebrate positives
- venting sessions (emo ball – everyone dresses in
black!)
- announce issues – employer ask for solutions
- introduce quick wins to gain staff confidence
- constantly reinforce vision and staff benefits
and values
- involve staff at all levels of organisation –
clear feedback mechanisms
- blog site for staff to ask questions
- be honest and realistic
- incentives to change behaviour
- do your research – understand your audiences
- plan ahead – comms strategy
Acceptance to Action
Challenges
- challenge around role definition – change management
vs change communication
- is change dictated/imposed or do they own?
- need to show/demonstrate action
- period of confusion
- risk of bounce-back – revert to previous
behaviour
- how do you get voices heard?
- lead them towards exploring – provide management
level with information
- need to identify where people are – to tailor
information
- might leave people behind by moving into
positive too quickly
- managing those who are way ahead of the pack
(e.g. leaders)
- developing common understanding and maintaining
consistent messages
- managing the pace for everyone
- need to give tangible evidence
- getting practical – what do I need it to do?
- shift from why to how
- differing levels of support and required skills,
common knowledge, applying them
- managing expectations for everyone including
boundary management, sober selling – not the silver bullet
- availability of channels and appropriateness
- protecting the ‘acceptors’ and continued support
- trust – building and maintaining
- maintaining acceptance
Solutions
- communicate structure and steps – be clear
provide certainty
- provide room for staff to find their own actions
- acknowledge emotions
- provide a language for change
- provide forum for questions/clarification
- ongoing pulse survey to identify who and what
- stay connected
- tailored information
- trust-promoting behaviours (say/do)
- simple road map
- make the first step easy and personal
- demonstrate what has been done already – role modelling
- ensure/encourage buy-in by action
- form committees of influence/opinion leaders
- change language – e.g. “no longer in
transformation, we are now one business”
- pulse polling – qualitative and quantitative
- regular updates
- take up permission to lead
- reps from each group involved together in a team
with a real outcome with clarity around their role
- solution development component in the program to
involve different groups
- feedback process with actual conversation, face
to face, live and active
- tapping into existing forums, intranet
- ongoing and management support backed up by
actions
- “model office” set up scenario and bring people
in to experience how it works
- changes to policy and procedures – core documents
reflect the new state
- clear scope statement and key messages that is
constantly referred to
- continue to bust myths and sell benefits
- demonstrate with actual examples that should now
be happening
- issues management process
- role definition and clarity, accountabilities
- coaching in preparation for actions for sponsors
- identify opinion leaders and champions and
harnessing them
- maintain active communications, momentum
Action to Commitment
Challenges
- maintain momentum of change
- continue to see possibilities
- move from talk to action and ownership
- alignment across organisation to maintain
learnings
- understanding long-term view throughout organisation,
especially managers, that the process is about ongoing engagement
- ensure action is focused on the right things in
the right way
- people may want to move back to the “old”
- maintaining the compelling vision
- lose momentum/enthusiasm
- longer term benefit?
- no choice – resentment and resistance
- time and resource to act
- unrealistic expectations – not delivering
- change of staff
- toxic employeee
Solutions
- communicate small wins/success stories
- use successful roles models in all areas of the
organisation
- maintain frequency and consistency of comms
- encourage people to tell their own stories: on screen savers,
newsletter,
wikis, blogs,
video
- face to face meetings in teams and one on ones
- celebrate wins
- recognition (personal)
- tangible evidence that the change is better than
the old (e.g. gifts)
- under promise – over deliver
- make it fun/energetic – through involvement to
create impact
- one on one formal sessions
- quiz to reinforce message (humour, interactive)
- symbolic activity – shed old, put on the new
- acknowledge past/old
- permission to make mistakes (loosen reins)
- be flexible, creative with comms of same
messages
- choice with the new
- maintain focus of leadership team
- top down team building
- what’s in it for me!
- clarity on benefits/opportunities
- reward/recognition
- leadership roadshows: progress,
milestones,
outcomes,
results
- feedback – surveys, focus groups
- incentives/meaningful
- celebrate success
- long term vision – visual map
- internal brand – project
- clarity of roles
- customer feedback:
endorsement,
vox pops,
stories
- doing good deeds
- internal competition
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