The role of Internal Communications in Managing ChangeEmma Murphy

Dec 16th, 2013

Business Landscape

Global competitio

n Changing workforce

mix

Customer power shift

Social media

Technology shifts

Brand story and purpose

Regulations

Regional instability

What is driving change?

A competitive edge…

Becoming change capable is now a key

competitive advantage

Sound familiar?

“Next time we will involve

more people”

“I wish the sponsor had been more supportive”

“We should have

communicated more

frequently”

“We should have paid more

attention to people

resisting”

“We should have spent

more time on training”

“We should have assessed

the people readiness earlier”

This is what we want to

avoid hearing…

What is Change Management?

A structured process and set of tools for leading the people

side of change from a current to a future

state

What are the benefits of Change Management?

• Reduce resistance to change;• Build commitment and buy in from stakeholders;• Build knowledge and ability amongst impacted stakeholders;• Increase the likelihood of projects finishing on time and on

budget;• Increase competitiveness by building change capability;• Ensure the change is sustained.

Why is it important?

Fact: 70% of change efforts fail

• Lack of active and visible sponsorship• Employee resistance• Management behaviours that do not

support the desired change

Why?

Change Management Approach

Case for Change

Assess Impact

Sponsor Roadmap

Workforce Alignment

Prepare Managers

Conduct training

Stakeholder Mngt and

Engagement

Aligned Leadership

Teamwork and Collaboration

Change Management Approach

Change Management Plan

Assess Readiness

• Business Case• Project Scope• Project Plan

Key Partners

CorporateComms

Project Mmgt

Change MmgtL&D

HR

Leadership

Understanding the Change

What are the drivers for change?

Why is this happening now?

What is the scope of the project?

What are the key milestones?

Who are the key stakeholders?

How does this align with the overall strategy?

What are the resource requirements?

The Commitment Curve

Stakeholder Engagement

Identify and group into Tier Stakeholders

Develop key messages and Comms plans

Execute, Monitor and Amend

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Examples of proposed engagement events & communication mediums include:

• Social Media Campaign• Awareness Sessions/Kick Off Meetings• Competitions (e.g., “What does transformation mean to you?”) Roadshows / Launches• Change Knowledge Bytes – small, snippets of information released weekly (the alternative to

reading the whole newsletter) to all employees• Change Ambassadors program• Sector/Function presentations• Sponsor & Steering Committee meetings• Project Awards• Collaboration spaces e.g Yammer Groups• Project Intranet site• Manager Information Package

Developing Key Messages

• How will employees be impacted?

• What are the expectations?• What support will you receive?

• How will employees be impacted?

• What are the expectations?• What support will you receive?

• What is the scope of the project?

• Which depts will be impacted?• What are the timelines

involved?

• What is the scope of the project?

• Which depts will be impacted?• What are the timelines

involved?

• What are the drivers of change?

• Why is this happening now?• What are the risks of not

changing?

• What are the drivers of change?

• Why is this happening now?• What are the risks of not

changing?

• What are the expected outcomes?

• How will this add value both internally and externally?

• What are the expected outcomes?

• How will this add value both internally and externally?

Why are we changing?

Change Vision

Change Vision

What does this mean for you? What is changing?

What are the benefits?

Key Internal Comms Activities

Review Comms strategy and Plan

Build a project brand

Review Message Content

Organize events e.g. kick offs, workshops

Create intranet page/Enterprise Social Groups

Align new behaviours to

values and vision

Leadership Alignment

Conduct Comms cascade training

Monitor and track communications

How can leaders connect with their followers during times of change?

• Followers are looking for authenticity, significance and community from their leaders.

• They want leaders who are visible, available and transparent throughout a change journey.

• Followers want to know that the leadership team and employees are in this together so they can feel that what they are doing is important and that their contributions make a difference.

• Followers want to know how leaders align their values and behaviours with the organizational values.

How can Internal Comms support leaders during change?

Leadership Alignment

Leadership Alignment

“The organization’s people become a mirror image of the leader. What do you want your people to be and do?”

Debbie Nicol, Business en Motion

Collaboration and Teamwork

CollaborationTechnology

Events

• Intranet• Enterprise Social

Networks• Social Media• Virtual Workspaces

and groups• Webinars

• Leadership off sites• Teambuilding

sessions• World Café• Design Workshops• Change Champion

Events• Awards Ceremonies• Demo Sessions

Training

• E-learning• Video courses• Role play/acting• Classroom• Invites, teasers and

follow ups

The Future of Communications

Traditional corporate communication is giving way to a model that Groysberg and Slind call ‘organizational conversation.’ They highlight 3 steps an organization can take to engage in this new way:

The Power of Story Telling

• What is the story behind your change project?

• How does this link to the overall vision and company story?

• Why is storytelling so powerful?

Types of Stories

Finally…

• Let’s help to prepare our organizations for the future;

• Global progress and change is not slowing down;

• Customers and employees needs are changing;

How can we create meaningful communications and interactions to engage employees and

sustain change?