An important skill for anyone in a leadership or strategic thinking role is working with others to bring about change. That’s a big topic, and we’ll start today by looking at the key ingredients for a successful change.
During a change process, there is a great deal of uncertainty and often fear. Many organizations think it’s wise to keep it vague and play it “close to the vest” since things are often in flux and they don’t want to give out information that turns out to be wrong. Limiting communication does two things – it inflames fear and creates a rumor mill. Neither are helpful.
While there are things that may need to be kept confidential during change, these should be very limited and need to be tested frequently to be sure they can’t be shared. Otherwise, information should be freely given, not on a need to know basis, but widespread. It can be given with a caveat that things are in flux and might shift and that management will inform everyone as it does shift.
What should be communicated?
- The vision – why is this change taking place and where do we hope to land?
- The incentives – what is the likely benefit to the employees, customers and/or organization?
- The timeline – what is expected to happen by when
- What new skills employees might need and how/when/where they will get them
- How might performance expectations shift after the change, and how will people be held accountable/evaluated?
- What resources are being made available to help employees with the change
- Who to talk to for more information or if they have questions or concerns (and this person needs to be both available and knowledgeable!)
These are the basic ingredients needed for a successful change process. Once they are in place and fully communicated, that should short circuit the rumor mill, help soothe fears, reduce (but not eliminate) stress, and build support for the change.
This is the framework. In future issues, we’ll take a look at the dynamics of the change process and some specific actions to take to support successful change.
Let me know what questions/concerns you have about change. If you’re in the midst of change and would like some consultation on getting through it, let us know that as well. Contact our Project Manager, Nicole O’Connor, at Nicole@KriegerSolutions.com.