Communicating Change

Change has become a tenet of our modern society. Unfortunately, change isn’t readily accepted in organizations because most people would rather continue in the comfort of their own complacency than alter their habits and current work routines. However, can people be blamed for their resistance to change? The fact remains that organizational change brings out feelings of insecurity, grief, and a necessity for more effort. Insecurity alone is created by fear of failure, fear of loss of status, and a general fear of the unknown. Grief is caused by the loss of familiarity, a loss of confidence, and a loss of comfort in routines and procedures. Change also requires increased effort from organizational members that some may struggle with. For example, learning new skills and building new relationships can be extremely stressful on an individual(1,2). Although there are many resistance factors that may hamper change a few key things leaders should keep in mind when communicating change.

The first and foremost thing to be considered when an organization is considering change is to create a climate for change. By establishing an environment where people are prepared and expecting change there will be less resistance than there would be otherwise. This environment can be established in multiple ways (3). When creating an environment that is adapted for change an organization should first ensure that there are adequate channels for communication. In the highly emotional climate that surrounds programs changes existing communication channels can easily break down. Also make sure that employees are capable to get answers from administrators. In a time of change employees are more hungry than usual for answers and information. If employees are not given the specific attention they need they may become restless and rumors mill.

Once an environment has been established in which change can be effectively communicated leaders should then specify the nature of the change to the organization. In this step the leader should specify how the change will affect the organization’s market influence, productivity, etc. They should also communicate the change in a context of a tangible goal to ease acceptance. In the next step leaders should then explain to the organization why they are pursuing change. In most cases the people who study the facts and decide to change the organization neglect to inform the organization members why they are pursuing change. A third step in communicating change is to let the employees know the scope of change, even if it’s bad news. It’s better to not sugarcoat news because it causes speculation and distrust. A forth step that should be practiced before and throughout the change is to continually repeat the purpose of the change and the actions planned. Don’t assume that employees accept the need for change, multiple meetings brings more opportunities for employees to ask questions and become more comfortable with organizational change. A helpful tool when communicating change in meetings or memos comes in the form of graphics. By using graphics organization members can easily understand plans for change. A fifth thing to keep in mind during an organizational change is to communicate progress. By using benchmarks employees are more aware of their accomplishments and the target goal seems to become more reachable(4). Other organizational issues that should be considered when pursuing change include targeting supervisors. Supervisors are the closest links between management and employees. By ensuring that they understand the plan for change is essential to communicating that message on the other employees. It is also imperative that supervisors and management model the change themselves. If organization leaders are not good models employees cannot be expected to change behavior(5).

Change can be daunting and even scary for some people; however, all organizations will have to go through change at some point in time. Whether the change affects the structure of an organization or the product it’s not easy. Effective communication and information dissemination is essential to success. All in all, it comes down to the leadership of an organization to exemplify and inspire other during these times of change and insecurity.

Main Concepts

Have vision
Have plan
Include everyone
Face to face communication
Modeled by leaders
Address emotions and feelings (fear, insecurities)
Has to be repeated over and over
Utilizing multiple channels to communicate
Create clear and compelling message (Put things into Lehman’s terms, communicate to average grade minus four years)

References

1) Communicating Change.Diane Bailey Associates. (accessed 10/23/07)
2) John Stark. Communicating Change. (accessed 10/23/07)
3) Dilling, L., Moser, S. Creating a Climate for Change: Communicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change. Cambridge University Press (2/5/07)
4) Communicating Change: A Dozen Tips from the Experts. Harvard Management Communication Letter, Vol. 2, No. 8, August 1999. (accessed 10/23/07)
5) Fenson, S. 10 Tips for Communicating Change. Inc.com. (June 2000) (accessed 10/23/07)