How to Communicate Change

How to Communicate Change

In the event of an organizational change, an effective communications strategy will go a long way in making sure that the change is handled positively. In the organization, a well formulated system should be designed to help the organization communicate effectively to all the stakeholders. Lewis (2011) notes that communicating change in the organization is one of the most important aspects of implementing specific change. He advises that the organization engages in formal as well as informal communication procedures when it comes to communicating change to the employees. The formal communication involves the use of channels that are official such as memos, and other channels set down by the leadership, and should be the first official communication. However, Informal communication may even play a greater role in influencing the outcome of change (Lewis, 2011). When communicating change, I would first ensure I am specific, precise and as detailed as possible. This is important in that it will help avoid being vague, and the employees will clearly know what is going on without being speculative. I would go a step further and try to imagine the questions that they may ask themselves, and make an effort to answer them before hand. I would also structure the conversation to be two-way communication. This is to give the employees a chance to ask for a clarification, so as to clear any ambiguity lying in the air (Lewis, 2011). According to Cushman (2001), there is need to communicate change in a timely manner. I would communicate any change sometime before implementing it, so as to give the employees time for reactions, and for them to f el that the change has no sinister motives. Finally, the conversation will have to be inclusive. When disseminating the information, I will make sure that the employees are well represented, because they need to feel that they are part of the decisions that are made.

References

Lewis, L. (2011). Organizational change: Creating change through strategic communication. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

Cushman, D. (2001). Excellence in communicating organizational strategy. Albany: State University of New York Press.