The Loop

The Loop, a Bristol-based communications agency, recently held a communications workshop with National Savings & Investments, looking at how change initiatives are implemented – what succeeds and what fails. In this feature, Lucy Croft and Natasha Cochrane of The Loop look at why you need to manage your communications carefully.

Change is uncomfortable, and adapting to change can be chaotic. The vision of the perfect future comes easily, but the realisation of this vision is a challenging and lengthy process. Change is possible however. Outlined below are some key factors to consider when planning, implementing and evaluating change.

The underlying factor here is effective communication – without this your change strategy stands a good chance of emulating the high percentage of those that fail.

It is crucial to recognise that altering behaviour is a long-term objective, not something that can be forced upon employees overnight. Change strategies can only be embraced by employees if they are given a context for the change, and if they understand the need for change.

You must know exactly what results you want to achieve before you introduce the change initiative. Measurement is critical – how will you know whether change has taken place and to what extent? Think about the day to day changes that will show the wider change initiative has succeeded. What new behaviours will your employees demonstrate?

Your audience cannot be viewed as one homogenous mass – individuals at different levels and within different roles within the organisation will react to change in various ways. It is crucial to segment the audience, and communicate with each segment appropriately. This can extend to your use of communication channels: these must be chosen carefully to deliver the appropriate message in the right way to the right people.

Research shows that two-way communication is preferred, encouraging your audience to interact and establish constant dialogue. This is crucial, particularly at times of change, and therefore the emphasis should be on face-to-face channels, and ensuring that feedback loops are incorporated into every channel.

Your audience needs to be involved right from the start, so that they feel they have helped shape the changes, rather than being presented with a pre-formed set of instructions on ‘how to change’. Input from employees about how they see the company, and how they would like to see the company is gold dust. Your aim is to engage and motivate your employees and ensure that they are behind the initiative.

The most important message to communicate is WHY. Why are we changing? What good will it do us? Your employees need to be able to see how the change initiative is going to improve things on a day-to-day basis.

Research has told us that most people want to hear about change directly from their line manager, and so it is vital to dedicate time to team meetings where everyone can ask questions as well as have input.

Ultimately, it is crucial to realise that change takes time. Values and behaviours can be deeply embedded within an organisation, and the process of re-educating cannot happen overnight. Senior management must be seen to embrace this change, and lead by example.

The Loop (www.theloopagency.com) specialises in providing complete communication solutions to major national and international clients. Whether through a one off product or a complete campaign, The Loop provides its clients with the most appropriate communications tools for the job, such as video, web-sites, live events or print.

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