Ten Principles to live by when communicating change.

How to create the conditions for a successful change plan.

I’ve been supporting a few clients on change comms this week. So, I thought, why not share the love? I know many folks are either leading or receiving some kind of change, and the more awareness we can gain on how to make it better, will serve all of us.

Coincidentally, the OTL team has been knee deep in research preparing for our 2023 insight paper [want to contribute, take the 5 minute survey] and the most resounding message folks want their leadership teams to hear is:

Please, PLEASE, put more effort into communicating change.

Sure, but I want to go faster.

For those of you that don’t know me, change is my preferred state. I thrive in it. That makes me good at it. I am also acutely aware that I over-index on taking the time to put a rock solid communication plan together to prepare for worst case scenario. This is a skill I’ve gained from doing it wrong many, many times over. By taking this approach of being considered, thoughtful and planned, I’ve often hit tension point with clients that want to “rip the bandaid” and “move faster”.

Here’s how I play it back to them. We have two options:

• [OptionA] Take the time upfront to think through important considerations, align leaders on a consistent messaging, and prep FAQs which will give folks a sense of calm and reassurance that we kind of know what we are doing, or at least have a semblance of a plan.

OR

• [OptionB] Rip the band-aid off, fuck off a lot of people because we clearly didn’t think obvious things through and spend the following weeks dealing with emotionally charged (sometimes IRATE) folks which completely distract all of us from the work that needs to get done.

Yes let’s please go “faster”.

based on anecdotal research :)

Ultimately it’s their path to take, and I’ll support them either way, but I know my preference.

If you’re down to try Option A, here’s my playbook to preparing for a good comms change plan:

My Ten Principles to change management comms:

1. Apply a campaign mindset: what’s the "message stack" we want to send, what action do we want the "user" to take, how do we want them to feel, how can we reinforce this message across multiple channels over the coming months? 

2. Plan out the next 6+ months of comms with your lead team with high level messaging at each point - important as a leads team to get out of the immediate term and look at the future to drive the greater vision.

3. In delivery, assume everyone is thinking “how will this impact me?” 

4. Therefore, they will only take in about 20% MAX of what’s being said - so keep it crisp and short. Avoid piling in too much into one comms.

5. Prepare the follow-up email in advance and make tweaks based on the sentiment is when you deliver - bonus if you can reference something that came from the Q+A to show that you are really listening.

6. Give enough away that you have answers to the majority of questions that come your way. You probably haven't figured everything out but sometimes the less they know the better. Focus on what they need to know now. Saying “we will be working that out” for more than 50% of answers will create worry and lack of trust in leadership, so only share what you are confident in.

7. Fully own any hard decisions and the change. Sit in that discomfort. Avoid casting the blame to those above you, take the lead.

8. Align with your leads on what behaviours you want to see post messages and ensure that’s reinforced in the message.

9. Always end with an action plan and roadmap to transition.

10. Set up a FAQ shared only with leadership to ensure everyone has the same information and is able to answer most questions.*

* I must stress how important it is to keep this FAQ shared with only immediate leaders and keeping the group tight. It might seem obvious but one time a client printed out the FAQ for their All Hands and left it on a chair which was found, became the focal point and eroded all the great work we put into.

A Leader’s BFF: Conditions for Change

I reference this framework whenever I’m guiding a change plan (big or small).

Big thanks you to Stefan for putting this on my radar 6 years ago in my first month at Wetransfer - it’s been a honest lifesaver and a leader’s best friend.

So as an example, let’s run it through one of my least favourite changes: Moving people’s desks (IYKYK).

Vision: As we move to a more hybrid model, we believe we can update our workspace to promote more collaboration and team building. This means we will be reducing the amount of desks in the office. Often desks are going unused and taking up a lot of space that could be used for more purposeful activities.

Skills: In order to make this work, we ask for your flexibility and understanding. We recognise that some of you have your preferred desks to work from, but we hope you appreciate the greater benefit this will provide.

Incentives: Moving to a flexi-desk approach will mean that we will have more meeting rooms, designated team spaces and communal areas. So no more need to find external office spaces to run our team offsite.

Resources: We are committed to making this work and designing a space fit for the future not adapted from the past. We are hiring a workspace design firm to help us create a space that really speaks to our brand and in both functional and fun, a place we actually want to come to spend time in.

Action Plan: As of next week we will be removing 50% of our current desk capacity, and implementing a desk booking system. The design agency will be reaching out to all teams to do some research and will be hosting workshops throughout the coming month. We appreciate that it might be a bit uncomfortable as we make this transition, so we will be hosting feedback loop meetings every 30 days to capture the sentiment and ensure we adapt as we go.

Big or Small - all change have impact.

I’ve found that most client’s put in this kind of effort (if at all) when there’s a “really” big change like an acquisition or restructure.

When we operate in constant change environments, all change matters.

In order to find security and stability, folks will attach themselves to anything that give semblance of comfort (like a desk). Therefore small changes can cause HUGE and emotional reactions because you’ve unknowingly shifted the proverbial straw on the camel’s back.

As a leader, take the time to run through any change through this framework. No one will fault you for being;

• Over prepared.

• Over communicating.

• Thoughtful and considerate.

Your #1 role is to reduce anxiety within our teams so that they can focus on doing great work.

You got this.