Cathy's web poster was on "Communicating Change Effectively". We hear about this a lot and is a very important topic. Any change comes with some resistance. To implement any change successfully it should be communicated effectively. One way to do this is to involve all the parties involved from the early stages so that they feel part of it is possible. Change should come with a positive message and reasons for it. Also, it has to be communicated well in advance of when the actual change will happen. There are certain changes where communicating early will not be possible like layoffs where communication becomes even more important as the people affected by change were not ready for it.
At work, we follow a FAQ approach for communicating any change, where we come up with a list of questions and through them communicate the necessary information. This approach was very useful and was successful in multiple projects.
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3 comments:
bus244_mba makes a good point about times when change shouldn't be communicated early. Still, although it may be in the best interests of the organization not to let members know about a planned change, such as layoffs, it may not be in the best interests of organization members. For example, if organization members know they're going to be laid off, they can start looking for new jobs. This may negatively affect the organization with members leaving earlier than the organization had planned for. But for employees, it can mean not missing a paycheck if they find a new job.
And although I agree that change is inevitable, many times change in organizations occurs for all the wrong reasons, as with following the latest fad or in reaction to outside forces. Organizations must assess before making changes and effective change must be planned.
"Change" was one of the most frequently discussed topics among the articles I read (on organizational identity). I think it promises to remain a hot topic in the current economy, as it often seems to be another euphemism for downsizing/lay-offs. It is interesting to note how attitudes about change, have changed. In the past, people associated it with progress, where today, it has the negative connotation of uncertainty. When change initiatives are announced at a company, everyone must at least pretend to embrace it, or be labeled as "part of the problem," even if in reality they are worried about loosing their jobs. Although companies don't necessarily have to spell things out in detail about upcoming changes, I think they should communicate frequently about the company's health and business environment.
Change truly is a frequently discussed and researched topic. Perhaps that is because, as is oft repeated, "change is the only constant." To the extent that this is true or not, change is frequent, not always predictable, and often difficult to manage. In organizations, where employees are counting on the organization for more than just another culture to join, change can have significant impacts on the lives of many people. This is in part why I agree that change should be coated with a layer of communication, to make the negative effects "go down" easier.
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