Communicating change Managing communication on change projects

Ann Pilkington

Developing communication and engagement strategies that

support change

Research indicates that up to 70 per cent of change programmes fail and poor internal communication is seen as the principal reason for such failure.

Daly, Teague and Kitchen (2003)Daly, Teague and Kitchen (2003)

Managerial strategies for communicating about change

Strategy DefinitionSpray and pray Management showers employees with all kinds of

information in the hope that employees will be able to sort out significant and insignificant information

Tell and sell Management selects a limited set of messages regarding core organizational issues. Management “tells” employees about these issues and then “sells” employees on the wisdom of the chosen approach

Underscore and explore

Management focuses on fundamental issues related to change success and allows employees the creative freedom to explore various possibilities

Identify and reply Management listens to and identifies key concerns of employees and then responds to those issues as they are brought up

Withhold and uphold Management withholds information as much as possible. When management is confronted with questions or rumours they uphold the party line.

Adapted from Clampitt, DeKoch and Cashman, in Miller, K (2009, p186)

Our case study for today

You work for an IT company in Sofia called Fantastic IT which employs 800 people. Your company has just bought a small IT company called Little IT that has two small offices in Sofia and employs 200 people. These offices will close and staff will move to the head office of Fantastic IT.

Both companies employ engineers, software developers and call centre staff.

Seven rules of change project communication

Rule 1: Planning is everything, the plan is nothing

Well, not quite nothing, but it is easy to get swept along on a tide of complex Excel spread sheets and Prince II methodology. Keep it simple and ensure you strike the right balance between developing the plan and

its delivery. Set objectives, make them SMART and about outcomes (such as changes in behaviour) as well as outputs (e.g. how many

newsletters have been issued). And get your project leadership team to buy into them.

Top tip: be careful not to be judged only on how much you do. The outcomes are what matter.

Rule 2: Right stakeholder, right time

Be clear about which stakeholders you need to involve at each stage and what your approach needs to be. Set out a clear timetable for

engagement. Then you can tell people when you are going to involve them and how.

Top tip: stakeholders will vary in importance throughout the lifecycle of your project, so review them regularly.

Who are the stakeholders for our case study?

LEVEL OF INTEREST

POWER

LOW

LOW HIGH

MINIMAL EFFORT KEEP INFORMED

HIGH

KEEP SATISFIED KEY PLAYERS

Adapted from Mendelow 1991, cited in Johnson and Scholes 2002: 208)

LEVEL OF INTEREST

POWER

LOW

LOW HIGH

INFORM

CONSULT

HIGH

INVOLVE

PARTNER

Change projects and communication

Stakeholder engagement –A project approach

Step 1

Identify the role (or maybe roles) that your stakeholder will play. Are they sponsors, shapers, schedulers or

users of the new service?

• Sponsors: these stakeholders set the direction, hold the budget and can release resources. They are comfortable dealing with a high level of ambiguity.

• Shapers: these stakeholders get involved at the design stage (this could be the design of an IT system, new ways of working or a product). They can see what the future looks like and are relatively comfortable with ambiguity.

• Schedulers: these stakeholders are often ‘gatekeepers’ they can get things done and make the implementation of the project happen. To do their job they often need detail on timescales and tasks so find ambiguity unhelpful.

• Those who will use the new service, adopt different ways of working etc (according to what the project is delivering). This group is less comfortable handling ambiguity because they want to know exactly what they need to do differently. Everyone will be in this position at some point in the project.

The secret is to understand that every time you engage with a stakeholder they are thinking “what does it mean for me and what do you need me to do?” If you can’t answer (which isn’t the same as not wanting to answer) those questions, then maybe that person doesn’t need to be fully engaged just yet. If the person doesn’t need to do something to make the current project phase successful then they shouldn’t be your primary focus. That doesn’t mean you ignore them, but the approach is more measured.

Step 2

Decide what it is that the project needs from that stakeholder in order to help it to hit its milestones and

achieve its benefits; what is the objective of the communication activity?

This step is often missed with project managers simply stating that they want the support of the stakeholder.

Being clear about what is needed from each stakeholder is essential to the communication strategy, otherwise the relationship will be

unfocussed and measuring success won’t be possible.

Step 3

Map this analysis to the project lifecycle so that you know when you will need to engage.

According to the Association for Project Management a typical project lifecycle is: concept, definition, development, handover, benefits. If your project is broken down differently, that’s fine,

this isn’t a rigid approach.

Step 4

Design an appropriate communication strategy for that stakeholder. .......

Remember what their role is, what you need them to do, by when and how much ambiguity you think they are comfortable dealing with. If you

engage a user early in the project lifecycle before you can confirm details you may need to tell them when they can expect certainty. The

approach is likely to vary through the project lifecycle. For example, sponsors will be the main focus of engagement at the start, but once they are comfortable that the project is on track it may be sufficient to

keep them informed of progress.

Seven rules of change project communication

Rule 3

Rule 3: Take an engagement approach Employee engagement results from giving people a voice. But to make the

most of that voice, employees need to know what is going on and why. So, accurate and timely information (not propaganda) is essential. And

that voice must be listened to. Take a look at your project – how and when are employees involved? What are you doing to ensure that what they say

is helping to shape what is done? Get it right and your change project could increase employee engagement.

 Top tip: close the loop – ensure you let people know how their feedback

is being used and, if it can’t shape the project, explain why.

Three components of organisational employee engagement

Feeling well informed.

Manager commitment

Opportunities for upward feedback

(Truss, 2006, p. xi)

Feeling really well informed.

ProfessionalTimely, clear, accurate, pertinent, consistent, sincere, concise, business-like. Reinforces believable values and narrative.

Propaganda

Content is biased and does not reflect reality.

Reinforced by managers who

show commitment

to the organisation.

Upward feedback

AdvancedBased on people feeling well informed in the first place, face to face, actions taken as a result or reasons why action not taken provided.

Basic

Surveys, suggestion schemes, email boxes.

Reinforced by managers who are

open to critical feedback.

Bringing it to life - The role of the middle manager

Many middle managers view their roles as tactical, and not strategic.There is often a communications block between middle managers and their people

Operational:• Tactical project

management• Business targets• Logistics

People Management:• Performance• KPIs• Recruitment

Operational:• Tactical project

management• Business targets• Logistics

People Management:• Communication• Engagement• Performance• KPIs• Recruitment• Morale

EXPECTED ROLE

CURRENT ROLE

80% 20%

50% 50%

Rule 4: Deal effectively with ambiguity

Communicating change can be a difficult balancing act. It is important to start communicating as soon as possible, but you invariably won’t

have all the answers from the outset. So what should you do? Well, you shouldn’t be afraid to tell people that you don’t have a particular

answer. However, it is important to explain why you don’t. People need and like signposts. If you are waiting for some development work to

happen or a decision to be taken at a board meeting, say so. Set out a process for reporting and keep people informed,

particularly if timings slip.

Top tip: help managers to support their staff by ensuring they understand when and how decisions will be made.

The say-do matrix

Adapted from Harkins, P. 1999 Powerful Conversations: How high impact leaders communicate. McGraw Hill

Communication and change

1.Complacent

2.Denial

3.Resistance 4.Accept

5.Enthuse

6.Commit

Implementation…………….post-implementation

Rule 5: Keep it stakeholder centred

There may be a number of parts to your project or lots of projects within your programme, but what matters to your stakeholder? Build your approach around them and their role. Ask what it means for a line

manager, HR colleagues and operatives on the shop floor, then design your communication accordingly.

Top tip: there is no such audience as ‘all employees’.

Rule 6: Tell a joined up story

It is likely that your project is just one of a number of change initiatives happening across your organisation. How are employees meant to make sense of it all? You need to set your project in the context of what else is happening – tell one joined-up story rather than leave staff to work out

how it all fits together. Doing this effectively means forging relationships with other communicators working on other projects and at a corporate level. You need to ensure that your project has an appropriate share of voice. For your project team it may be the most important thing in their

world, but employees might have much bigger concerns. 

Top tip: tell a story about your project to help employees make sense of what is happening.

’.

What would our story be?

Rule 7: Always think about the external implications too

Is your project doing something that might be of interest to the media, or to politicians (local and/or national)? If you think it is, talk to your press

office and come up with a ‘handling strategy’ together. The press love an ‘IT-gone-wrong’ story, jobs being lost – or gained – and anything to do with the environment. Be prepared. The chances are it won’t come to

anything, but you will have the respect of your peers and your stakeholders if it does and you are ready and equipped to deal with the

situation.

Top tip: no communication should ever be thought about as just internal. No matter what protective marking you put on it, what you communicate

could end up anywhere, so always keep that in mind.

What might be the external implications of this change?

Communication and change: tips•Sign post

•‘What does it mean to me’ – NOT what is in it for me

•Tell a joined up story – think story, not messages and bring in the external environment

•Support managers

•Always do what you say you will do – and if you can’t, explain why

•Communicate in the right order; plan, plan, plan, by the hour if necessary

•Sign post

•‘What does it mean to me’ – NOT what is in it for me

•Tell a joined up story – think story, not messages and bring in the external environment

•Support managers

•Always do what you say you will do – and if you can’t, explain why

•Communicate in the right order; plan, plan, plan, by the hour if necessary

Change projects and communication

Understanding the project

Read the project documentation

Ask the right people

Ask the right questions

Be at the right meetings

Find out how the project fits into the wider context

And remember......Be clear about the role of communication – it isn’t a substitute for good governance or line management.

Importantly, communication can’t make sense of something nonsensical.

Sometimes the problem is with the solution being implemented and communicators need to be able to recognise this and push back when the expectation is on them to fix it.

No amount of communication, however creative, can turn a bad solution into a good one.

Change curve – remember people will take time to accept the change

Thank you !