Why Communication is Crucial in Change Processes

Heba
Strategy Consultant, United Arab Emirates

Change Communication Strategies

Before and during major change initiatives, everything must be considered including how and to who the change will be communicated. Part of any plan for managing change is how you're going to communicate that change. This is a particularly tough area that is underestimated by quite a few change managers. How things are going to get communicated must get the same planning attention as other aspects like logistics or finances, because it is vital for the success and could well turn out to be the reason to "make it or break it".

Communication about major, complex, strategic changes can be tricky. You don't want your team to feel overwhelmed and bombarded with information and unable to determine what they're supposed to do. On the other hand, you also don't want them wandering in the dark and creating their own rumors about what might be happening. You need to find a middle ground of this information and plan its distribution.

An interesting model for communicating complex change comes from Clampitt, DeKoch and Cashman, who studied strategies for communicating about uncertainty. Their model compares the amount of information given versus how leadership responded to request for information. And what they found is that there is a continuum and a sweet spot for how you should communicate about uncertainty:

THE SPRAY AND PRAY APPROACH. Leadership releases all information and expects that people will find what they need. This can actually cause people to feel like they don't have the information they need and is likely to lead to confusion.
THE WITHHOLD AND UPHOLD APPROACH. Leaders release no information at all and forbid asking questions until necessary. Secrecy and control are the implicit values of this approach. This leads to teams feeling disempowered, dissatisfied, and the rumor mill is likely to take over. Rumors often run counter to the organizational change goals.
THE TELL AND SELL APPROACH. Leaders communicate a more limited set of messages, first telling employees about the key issues, then persuading them of the wisdom of their approach. More limited information is put out, but communication is still seen in a top-down manner. There is not much exploration of the thoughts, needs or anxieties of others. This is a sure-fire way to lose buy-in from various teams.
THE IDENTIFY AND REPLY APPROACH. Leaders just wait for people to ask questions. Then and only then they reply with the information regarding those questions. This is not very effective, because management is not fully in control of such process. What if staff members don't ask any questions? Or just irrelevant ones? This approach leads to incomplete information and essential details not getting to those people who need it.
THE UNDERSCORE AND EXPLORE APPROACH. The sweet spot. Leaders communicate just enough and focus on developing a few core messages clearly linked to organizational success, while actively listening for potential misunderstandings and unrecognized obstacles. They give just enough details so that employees engage more readily with the change, but not so many details that they're overwhelmed or intimidated. This takes more work, as you need to first understand what each team and sometimes each individual needs, and then create messaging that underscores what's important for them. For example, the sales team needs different information from the engineering team. But just as much as your crafted message matters, you also need to leave the door open for questions and concerns from them to explore. Even the best communication strategies might miss details. So allow teams to be curious and ask for more (relevant) information. This may help eliminate issues that you are even unaware of.

The key to good change management communication is not just planning the amount of information you're going to share, but also having a clear plan for what information gets shared to whom and how (emails, team meetings, posters, workshops, the intranet, …) plus good mechanisms for handling questions. The more detailed your plan, the more likely you are to be successful.

Source:
Clampitt P.G., DeKoch R.J., Cashman T., "A Strategy for Communicating about Uncertainty", Academy of Management Executive, Winter 2000, 41- 57.