Communicating Strategic Change - A Check List

When an organization rolls out a major new business strategy internally, the leadership team and board of directors expect to achieve full and speedy implementation so that the desired impact of the new strategy will be seen on the company’s bottom line – sooner, rather than later. 
        However, the ultimate success of any new strategy is contingent on employees at all levels and locations achieving full understanding, followed by their buy-in and commitment to the strategy. Unfortunately, the process of realizing those ends is never quick or simple. 
        People, by nature, resist change. The imposition of a new strategic direction on any organization represents significant change and therefore is often met with skepticism, questions and, at best, a wait-and-see attitude. 

       Few people willingly charge ahead. Rather, they hang back to see who jumps on the bandwagon, how things develop, whether their jobs will be affected and, if so, how.
        That’s why effective employee communications as means to help people achieve understanding are so critical.
        In this regard, communications help people access relevant information on their own terms, making it meaningful for their jobs and responsibilities, as well as for their own personal goals and needs. 
        The CEO and his/her leadership team have a significant ownership role to play in making sure that the company’s internal communications are effective, driving the kind of information and engagement that will improve understanding. They must take a formal and committed approach to open communications in a number of areas. 

       The quickest route to failure is for the CEO and leadership team to turn over implementation and communication of the change to others, and disavow any involvement. Believe me, I've seen that.
       Instead, leadership must employ a more disciplined approach to communications starting by incorporating it into their management model, while establishing certain protocols for management communications and content generation. Following is a check list of the core components of an effective approach.
       

Adopt a Philosophy

• Communications are at the core of the company’s management model.
• An open environment for information exchange and feedback is the basis for discussion, debate and learning.
• While all employees are responsible for communicating effectively and openly, managers are the primary channels for information and relationship building to ensure alignment and consistent understanding.
• Communications are integrated within the leadership team as both a function and a philosophy – i.e., the head of Corporate Communications has a “seat at the table” and participates in making key decisions.
• Decisions, policies and directives emanating from the CEO’s team will be communicated quickly and completely throughout the organization, beginning with the managers.
• Core messaging (centralized content) will be developed by Corporate Communications and disseminated to officers and managers.
• Managers are required to “convey” information to their staffs in a timely manner, adding relevance to their business unit and/or location.

Make the Content Meaningful

• Bring in more in the way of answers to the common “Why I should care?” and “What’s in it for me” type questions – e.g., the rationale behind significant change, its impact on people and their roles in making it happen.
• Centralize responsibility for managing strategic communications under one person, with a “seat at the table” among the company’s leadership. That does not just mean attending senior leadership meetings, but having the CEO communicate about communications, thereby raising its importance in the organization.
• Encourage and support the development of more localized communications vehicles (for remote sites, functions, profit centers and business areas).

Establish a System

• Conduct monthly State-of-the-Business meetings with staff hosted by department/unit managers to keep everyone apprised of progress for full adoption of the new strategy and barriers to achieving that.
• Hold quarterly manager meetings, timed with results – hosted and owned by the CEO.
• Create intranet “pull” sites that reinforce key messages, strategy, etc. 

Make Feedback a Central Part of Communications

• Make sure employees know they are heard by playing back to them the suggestions and questions you are getting from them.
• Engage in active dialog between and among leadership, managers and employees in a range of venues and platforms, where ideas and insights can be easily exchanged.
• Avoid the conventional “suggestion box” approach.
• Explore and actively consider other means to collect and respond to employee ideas/insights, through such means as pulse surveys and employee focus groups.

Ensure a Discipline around Communications

• Check communications effectiveness regularly through random queries by managers as to people’s awareness and understanding.
• Sense what people understand/need to know and then respond, making adjustments when and where needed.
• Understanding will not be consistent across the organization. Pay special attention to business units/functions/locations where understanding and buy-in are lagging. Identify the barrier and fix it.
• Do not become wedded to systems and vehicles that outlive their usefulness.
• Uncover and replicate best practices in communications both within business units, locations or functions of the company and at other organizations, including competitors.

Ensure Accountability in Communications

• Build communications effectiveness into managers’ performance metrics. Institute regular 360-degree reviews.
• Test communications effectiveness with pulse surveys and biannual employee surveys.

No one ever said that activating a new strategic direction or business model is easy. But paying attention to your communications methodologies and following through on these kinds of steps will go far in ensuring that you get there sooner than you would have otherwise.