There are two aspects to some change management communication strategy: firstly the balance between information content and psychological resonance; and second the phase of the initiative, in other words before the change and during.
The structural and content aspect of your communications
You are going to benefit considerably from the discipline of a programme-based approach to handling and leading Internal communications your change initiative, as your communication strategy will be based around the following:
- Stakeholder map and evaluation [everyone who is going to be affected by the change and your evaluations of the impacts as well as their reactions ]
- Blueprint [ the clear definition and statement of the changed organization]
- Vision statement and pre-programme preparation process [ the high level vision as well as analyse the impacts and the follow up preplanning procedure to unpack the vision ]
- Programme strategy [the steps that will be taken to make the changes and get the advantages - a schedule of jobs and endeavors and initiatives ]
The key FACTUAL questions that your communication strategy have to address
- what exactly are the aims?
- What will be the key messages?
- Who are you trying to reach?
- What information will be conveyed?
- When will information be disseminated, and what are the timings that were important?
- How much information will be supplied, and to what degree of detail?
- What mechanisms will undoubtedly be employed to disseminate advice?
- How will feedback be supported?
- What is going to be done as a result of feedback? to disseminate advice?
- Who are you trying be supported?
What advice a result of feedback?
- What are the objectives?
- How much information is going to be provided, messages?
- What mechanisms will probably be used
The crucial EMOTIONAL questions your communication strategy have to address
When it comes to the psychological resonance part of the communications, John Kotter makes the point that change leaders that are great are great at telling stories that are visual with high psychological impact. Kotter exemplifies this the anecdote of Martin Luther King who didn't stand up before the Lincoln Memorial and say: "I've a fantastic strategy" and illustrate it with 10 great reasons why it turned out to be an excellent strategy. He said those immortal words: "I've a dream," and then he continued to reveal the folks what his dream was - he illustrated his graphic of the future and did so in a way that had high psychological impact.
William Bridges focuses around feature of the change and the emotional and psychological impact - and introduces these 3 easy questions:
to the drivers that make it essential
(1) What is changing? Bridges offers the next guidance - the change leader's communicating statement must:- Clearly express the change leader's understanding and intent
- "Sell the situation before you try to sell the option."
- Be under 60 seconds
(2) What will really be different due to the change?
(3) Who's likely to lose what? Bridges maintains the situational changes aren't as problematic for businesses to make as the emotional transitions of individuals impacted by the change. Transition management is focused on seeing the specific situation through another guy's opinion. It is a view predicated on empathy. It is management and communicating process and works together to bring them through the transition. Failure to do that, around the part of change leaders, plus a denial of the losses and "lettings go" that people are faced with, sows the seeds of mistrust.
5 guiding principles of a good change management communication strategy
So, in outline the 5 directing principles of an excellent change management communication strategy are as follows:
- Clarity of message - to ensure relevance and acknowledgement
- Resonance of message - delivery and the emotional tone of the message
- Exact targeting - to reach the right people with all the message that is right
- Time program - to attain timely targeting
- Feedback procedure - to ensure two way communication that is actual
Failure reasons in change management are many and changed. But one thing is painfully clear.
The root cause of all this failure is dearth of clarity as well as too little communication. This is exactly what a Programme Management based way of change is all about and why it so important.
