As organizations strive for growth and transformation, change is inevitable. But before you dive into that next big initiative, take a moment to ensure your teams are ready to embrace it. Change is a process—one that often takes months or even years. Investing time upfront to prepare your team for the transition will save you a lot of headaches in the long run. You’ll have different communication needs for different groups depending on where you are in your initiative – before it starts, or in one of the phases (assess, design, build, deploy, stabilize).
Let’s simplify by breaking it down into three key groups you need to focus on: Senior Leadership, Initiative Participants, and Everyone Else Impacted by the Change. They all need to hear why you are doing this, how it impacts them/their team, and what they need to do. Here are the basics on how you can prepare each group to ensure a smoother transition:
1. Senior Leadership: Setting the Foundation for Success
The Why – Before anything else, make sure your senior leadership team is fully on board. A well-grounded business case is essential to communicate the “why” behind the change to this group. This doesn’t need to be completely filled out at this point (there is a lot you won’t know yet), but it should provide a clear rationale for the transformation and show the need for change based on data.
The How – Once you’ve assessed the current situation and designed your future state, it’s time to share how the change will impact Senior Leaders and their teams. Bring an updated version of the business case with you as you’ll have a lot more clarity on where this project is headed at this point in the initiative.
The What – Senior leaders need to know what is expected of them. Encourage them to actively support and reinforce key messages, speak positively about the initiative, and redirect any questions to you or the project team. Be sure you have an easy way for people to contact you about the project that will make it easy for Senior Leaders to redirect queries to you. A Microsoft Teams channel or something similar can really help. You’ll want to deliver this message several times (this group has a lot going on!). Start no later than the end of design and repeat it at the end of build and deploy phases.
2. Initiative Participants: Ensuring Alignment Throughout the Project
The Why – As the project progresses, new people will continue to come onboard. At the start, use your “kickoff” presentation to tell why the initiative is happening. Then evolve the presentation as the project progresses. When new team members join, use the updated presentation as a project onboarding deck.
The How – The end of the design phase is a good time to make sure your initiative participants understand how the changes will impact their roles and their teams. Track who you’ve shared this information with—and when—so you can provide updates if the model/solution changes (they often do).
The What – For this group, you’ll need to answer what is expected of them twice. First, provide a clear description of their role in the project when they are onboarded. Then, just prior to the initiative going live, communicate what will change for them post-implementation, through training, documentation and/or other change communications.
3. Everyone Else Impacted by the Change: Preparing the Broader Audience
The Why and How – These two elements go hand-in-hand for this group. You don’t want to keep them waiting for the How once they hear the Why. Depending on the complexity of the change, multiple communication channels may be necessary. Consider newsletters, Q&A sessions, videos on your intranet, or even town halls to reach a broader audience. The clearer and more consistent your messaging, the smoother the transition will be.
The What – Often, the “what” for this group is covered in training. Ensure that training sessions are recorded and include supporting documentation that employees can revisit at their convenience. Those Q&A sessions and videos above are helpful here too.
Wrapping Up: Set Yourself Up for Success
By focusing on these three messages – Why is this happening, How does it impact me, and What do I do – you can prepare your organization for a successful transformation.
Change is challenging, but with the right strategy in place, you can minimize disruption and maximize adoption.
How does your organization handle change management? I’d love to hear your thoughts and strategies in the comments!