how employee engagement can drive buy-in for organizational changes
DESCRIPTION
Given May 8th, 2009 for the Ragan Corporate Communications Conference, this presentation highlights the differences between traditional corporate communications and communications associated with organizational change management.TRANSCRIPT
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- Strategy - Enterprise Technology - Network and Infrastructure - Industry
How employee engagement can drive buy-in for organizational changes
Larry A. MathiasBlackwell Consulting ServicesMay 8, 2009
w w w . b c s i n c . c o m 2 Ragan Corporate Communicators Conference 2009
Agenda
• What is Change Management?
• What is ADKAR?
• Types of Internal Communication
• Type of Organizational Changes
• Differences between Corporate
Communication and Employee
Engagement
• Grapevine
• Questions
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What is Change Management?
―A structured approach to transitioning
individuals, teams, and organizations from a
current state to a desired future state.
The current definition of Change Management
includes both organizational change
management processes and individual change
management models, which together are used to
manage the people side of change.‖
Source: Wikipedia
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Why You Should Care
• Best practices show that communication is the #3
contributor to success of a change implementation.
Source: Prosci, Inc.
Source: Organizational Dynamics, Jim Markowsky
• Conversely, 92% of large
change efforts fail because
of leadership issues,
organization (culture)
issues or ―people‖ issues
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Why Change Communications Fail
Source: Mark Shadle, President, Central Region, Edelman
―One of the biggest reasons that change efforts fail is that
they start with management thinking that people will care
much more than they actually do. They think that if they
broadcast or communicate the benefits, people will rush
to embrace the change and become champions.
The fact is, people care most about what affects them
personally and what they can control. Management needs
to make a rational argument for change, but also an
emotional appeal as well.‖
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Why Change Communications Fail
• People want to know what the proposed change is
all about and why things have to change.
• People want to know how the change will be good
for them personally—not just good for the
company. They also want to know if they will be
able to master the new skills the change requires.
• People want to know the nitty-gritty
implementation concerns such as system
alignment, best practices, and the daily mechanics
of making the change happen.
Source: David Witt, Ken Blanchard Companies
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Other Reasons Why
Change Communications Fail
• Communication is not tailored to specific
audience
• Companies begin communicating too late
• Companies do not understand what mode
of communication will be most effective
during change
• Companies avoid talking about outcomes
(too much ―fluff‖ and not the ―future state‖)
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The Shift Started in the Mid-1990s
―…15-20 years ago very few businesses had someone in the
company with 'Internal Communications' in their title. Today
almost all FTSE 100 firms do. And Fortune 500 too.‖
David Ferrabee, MD Change and Internal Communications
Hill and Knowlton London6 July 2006
Emphasis on internal communication spurs IABCJanuary 26, 2009
―…Companies and institutions have been putting increased
emphasis on internal communications in recent years….‖
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Reaction"I will react to this change – If I must"
Testing"I must absorb this change”
Negative perception"I feel threatened by this change"
Compliance"I have to do it this new way”
… or compliance
Change Commitment Curve
Change can be achieved
through commitment …
Positive perception"I see the opportunity in this change"
Engagement"I see the implications for me/us"
Understanding"I know why and what will change”
Awareness"I am being told about something"
Testing"I will put myself at stake for this change"
Action"I will act to achieve this change"
Commitment"I want to do it this new way"
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What is ADKAR?
• ADKAR Model
– Awareness of the need for
change
– Desire to participate and
support the change
– Knowledge on how to change
– Ability to implement required
skills and behaviors
– Reinforcement to sustain the
change
Jeffrey M. Hiatt (2006)
ADKAR: A Model for
Change in Business,
Government and our
Community
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Prosci‘s Change Management Process
Awareness
Desire
Knowledge
Ability
Reinforcement
Desired outcomesC
han
ge
ch
ara
cte
ristic
s
Org
an
iza
tion
al a
ttribu
tes
Define your change
management strategy
Prepare your change
management team
Develop your sponsorship model
Phase 1 – Preparing for change
Develop change management plans
Take action and implement plans
Phase 2 – Managing change
Collect and analyze feedback
Diagnose gaps and manage resistance
Implement corrective actions and
celebrate successes
Phase 3 – Reinforcing change
Source: Prosci, Inc.
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Managing Change
ADKAR phases of
change
Change Management
Tools
Communication
Sponsorship
Coaching
Resistance mgmt.
Training
Awareness
Desire
Knowledge
Ability
Reinforcement
Source: Prosci, Inc.
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Types of Internal Communications
• Informational
– Aimed solely at
sharing information
– No action required
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Types of Internal Communications
• Inspirational
– Aimed at building
pride in the
organization
– Little or no action
required
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Types of Internal Communications
• Engaging
– Aimed at
driving a
change in
behaviors
– Action
required
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‗Connecting the Dots‘ (Line-of-Sight)
Work by technologists throughout
Allstate Protection Technology
(APT) has helped produce our
outstanding second quarter
results.
In announcing corporate earnings for
the second quarter last week, Allstate
Chairman, President and CEO Ed
Liddy attributed net income of $1.034
billion, in part, to sophisticated
underwriting and pricing technology
that helps find an attractive price for
customers offering high lifetime value
-- technology that was developed
internally by APT employees.
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Where Do You Start?
• Assess the impact on people
– Organizational (re-org, merger, downsizing,
acquisition, new products or services)
– Process
– Technology
• Assess the significance of the change(s)
– Developmental
– Transitional
– Transformational
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Types of Organizational Changes
• Developmental Change
– Enhancement of current systems, processes or skills
• Transitional Change
– Creation / implementation of new products, services,
systems, processes, policies or procedures that
replace existing ones
• Transformational Change
– Existing state is being forced to die, while new state is
still unknown; new state requires a fundamental shift in
mindset, organizing principles, behavior and/or culture
designed to support new business directions
Source: Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson
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Symptoms of Poorly Managed Change
• Negative messages
• Employees lose interest
• Employees leave the organization
• Increased absenteeism
• Unplanned obstacles
• Funding disappears
• Sudden shift in executive priorities
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Employee Resistance
• Employee resistance
…is the norm, not the exception
• Even when things are bad, there is a
―comfort‖ with how things are today
• The goal of organizational change
management is not to eliminate
resistance, but to minimize the impact of
the resistance
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Successful Change Management
Successful change
management leads
to:
– Greater speed of
adoption
– Higher utilization
rate
– Greater
proficiency
Source: Prosci, Inc.
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Why Do People Resist Change?
• ―What‘s wrong with the way we do things now?‖
• Loss of control
• Lack of trust
• History of poorly managed change
• Lack of clarity on expected outcomes
• Threat
• Fear of failure
• Surprise factor
• Size of the task
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Change and Transition ProcessWhile change occurs externally, individuals go through
transition internally in order to accept the change.
Transition
State
Current State
Future State
Source: William Bridges
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Communicating During Transition
• People adjust to the same change in different ways
and at different speeds (people transition differently)
• Transition does not occur in a smooth, linear fashion
• People will think first about what they have to give up
• Transition is necessary for buy-in and commitment
• People will be concerned that they do not have
enough resources
• If you take the pressure off, people will revert back to
their old behaviors
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Corp. Comm. vs. Employee Engagement
Focus
Frequency
Vehicles
• Viewed as [one-time] event • Viewed as a process, with various
communication activities occurring as
employees move along the change
acceptance curve
• One-to-many vehicles (blast emails,
companywide presentations or
videos, and newsletter articles)
• One-to-one vehicles at multiple stages of the
communications process, including face-to-
face meetings with managers
• Focused on informing employees
on “what’s going on”
• Focused on engaging employees in “what’s
changing” and “how it impacts me”
Corporate Communication Employee Engagement
Communication Awareness
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Corp. Comm. vs. Employee Engagement(continued)
Direction
Context /
Tone
Measurement
• Usually comes top-down, and
geared for one-way
communications flow
• Encourages two-way dialogue
• Context of the message is in terms
of organizational view
• Frequently worded to communicate
key messages in “safe” language,
minimizing impacts to the
organization
• Context of the message is in terms of the
individual employee’s perspective
• Designed to provide the opportunity for
impacted employees to ask questions,
contemplate the message, talk to their peers
to discuss the impacts, and then ask
additional questions.
• “Participatory” metrics (evidenced
by attendance at a meeting, page
views to an intranet page, etc.)
• “Attitudinal” metrics (focused on
measurable changes in specific [desired]
behaviors)
Corporate Communication Employee Engagement
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Sponsor Roadmap
Sponsorship
Awareness
Desire
Knowledge
Source: Prosci, Inc.
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Communicators Can Support Managers
Coaching
Desire
Knowledge
Ability
Reinforcement
• Develop audience-specific
key messages to help
managers properly and
appropriately cascade
information to their teams
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Communicators Can Support Managers
Source: Prosci, Inc. – 2009 Benchmark Survey
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Resistance Management Planning
Resistance mgmt.
Desire
Source: Prosci, Inc.
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Change Saturation Log
• It’s been written that “the only constant is change.” Effective employee engagement is more than a one-time event that informs employees of organizational changes; it’s an ongoing process aimed at moving employees through the various phases of the change adoption curve.
• In this practical session, you’ll hear how a Fortune 100 company used communications as the foundation for an enterprisewide change management initiative. Specifically, you will learn how to:
• Identify the six primary differences between corporate communications and change communications Help leadership cultivate coalitions and partnerships to overcome barriers between departments and organizational silos Develop coaching strategies that help managers properly and appropriately cascade information to their teams Recognize risks associated with change saturation and overload Create a program that uses “informal” leaders at the grass-roots level to help eliminate gossip and misinformation Don’t miss this opportunity to obtain real-world ideas for engaging employees and mitigating the risks associated with most change initiatives.
• Employee communications is just PR to an internal audience
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How Do We Informally Solicit Feedback
and Communicate Concerns?
Source: IABC
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Credibility of Source Matters
Source: Prosci, Inc.
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Controlling the Rumor Mill Before it
Destroys Your Effort!
Source: Dr. TJ Larkin and Sandar Larkin
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Grapevine Kicks Into Gear
Conditions when you can expect the rumor mill to kick into
high gear:
1. When there is a lack of formal communication
2. When the situation is ambiguous or uncertain
3. When employees feel threatened, insecure, and
highly stressed
4. When there is an impending large-scale change
5. When the subject matter is of importance to
associates
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Change Agent Network
• Employee Participation– Selected by either manager submission or volunteer application
• Characteristics1. Ability to convey information and engage peers in communication
and change management efforts
2. Trustworthy, open, honest (seen as reliable, credible and a ―go to‖
person)
3. Commitment to participate and see tasks to completion
4. Excellent observation and analysis skills
5. Risk taker, good judgment, ability to move forward even when
there is ambiguity
6. Enthusiastic, able to establish and maintain momentum
7. Ability to positively influence peers
8. Collaborative - capable of working with diverse
groups of people to bring them together
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Change Agent Expectations
One-year commitment to:
– Communicate key messages to peers
– Encourage and support others throughout the
implementation of new policies and processes
– Seek out feedback from others; listen and dispel
rumors
– Gauge individual feelings and reactions
– Raise issues early so that the issues can be resolved
before they affect the successful implementation of
new initiatives
– Brainstorm solutions and recommendations
– Participate in Change Agent meetings and follow-up
activities
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Helping Coworkers Through Change
1. DO demonstrate your own passionate commitment to the
change.
2. DO demonstrate your unwavering commitment to your
people.
3. DO give a mighty sense of purpose.
4. DO give the power to succeed.
5. DO give people a sense of connectedness.
6. DO give people meaningful rewards ... especially during
changing times.
Source: ©Dr. Alan R. Zimmerman
www.DrZimmerman.com
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Resources
by Dean Anderson and
Linda Ackerman Anderson
www.beingfirst.com/
by William Bridges
www.wmbridges.com/
by John P. Kotter
www.johnkotter.com/
by Jeffrey M. Hiatt
www.change-
management.com/
w w w . b c s i n c . c o m 40 Ragan Corporate Communicators Conference 2009
Questions?
- Strategy - Enterprise Technology - Network and Infrastructure - Industry
Larry A. Mathias
Consultant
[email protected] Bloomington, IL - Cincinnati, OH - Chicago, IL - Miami, FL - Washington, DC
HQ - 100 South Wacker Drive, Suite 800 Chicago, Illinois 60606
ph 312.553.0730
41 Ragan Corporate Communicators Conference 2009 w w w . b c s i n c . c o m