Chapter 7: Communicating Change

Synopsis
Managing and communicating change may be the greatest challenge facing today's managers. Events such as restructuring and downsizing can force radical changes on the organization.

When employees are faced with major changes, such as new technology in the workplace, many will pass through stages of reaction similar to experiencing a death: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. A skillful manager can ease the transition by being sensitive to these stages of reaction. There are characteristics that identify each reaction stage and appropriate actions that the manager can take.

The chapter presents a model that helps managers more strategically communicate about major changes in order to speed employee acceptance and boost productivity. The Iceberg Model outlines a strategic approach to communicating change that is based on four levels of planning:

Level 1: Analyze the context. Consider questions such as: Is the change congruent with the culture? Will key relationships be adversely impacted?

Level 2: Analyze the audience. Consider questions such as: What groups will be impacted by the change? How will each group be impacted?

Level 3: Design the strategy. Develop a unifying theme that energizes and motivates.

Level 4: Develop the tactics. Select the channels, develop the message, determine the timing and the spokespeople.

The strength of the model is that it focuses the majority of the organization's resources on the "below the water-line" issues–the first three levels of planning. This suggests a more strategic approach instead of the more usual tactical approach, which focuses the majority of resources on level 4 issues.

Outline

1. Approaches to Change
1. Management Orientation
2. Employee Orientation
3. Integrative Approach
   
   
2. Types of Change
   
   
3. Reaction to Change
   
   
4. The Iceberg Model
   1. Contextual Analysis
      1. Historically, have the employees readily assimilated other changes?
      2. Is the change congruent with the culture?
      3. Is the change seen as non-complex and manageable?
      4. Is the change seen as advantageous over past practices?
      5. Are the benefits readily observable?
      6. Will key relationships be adversely impacted?
         
   2. Audience Analysis
      1. How will each group be impacted by the change?
      2. What are the most likely points of resistance of each group?
      3. What are the communication preferences of each group?
      4. Who are the "lions"?
   3. Strategic Design
      1. Develop tentative communicative goals for each of the audiences
      2. Glean a common set of goals for the general audience
      3. Develop a unifying theme that energizes and motivates employees
      4. Allocate communication resources according to the audience analysis
      5. Develop a general structure for achieving the goals and championing the theme
   4. Tactics
      1. Channels
      2. Message
         1. Try to link messages to the audience's pre-existing thinking routines
         2. Always discuss the upside and downside of the change
         3. Directly address likely resistance points
         4. Remind employees that "everything" is not changing
         5. Publicize initial successes
      3. Safety Valves
      4. Timing
      5. Spokespeople
      6. Monitoring Devices

       

5. Final Thoughts

Take the Chapter 7 Self Test