Change communication
Together with your employees, you are guaranteed to achieve change
Together with your employees, you are guaranteed to achieve change
Today, the world is turning faster than ever - change is the new normal. Companies need to be flexible and constantly adapt in order to survive in a complex environment. But change can only succeed if employees play an active role in shaping it.
Without committed employees, your story will be ineffective and your corporate goals unattainable. Because change needs more than just good arguments: Employees not only need to understand change, they also need to feel it.
The result?
Greater acceptance
When employees are actively involved in shaping the company, resistance is overcome and the willingness to change increases.
Identification with corporate goals
Employees who help shape change feel more connected to your company - they are motivated and goal-oriented.
Faster implementation
Motivated teams implement change measures faster and more effectively - successes become tangible and you save time and costs.
Better cooperation
Commitment ensures an open exchange and harmonious cooperation - your team pulls together.
Innovative strength and creativity
Employees who are allowed to help shape change bring fresh ideas and innovative solutions to the company.
Sustainable corporate success
A committed team creates lasting, stable success and sustainable growth for your company.
70% of all change processes fail due to employee resistance.
The 5 success factors for a successful change process
The 5 success factors for a successful change process
1. inspire instead of manage
A clear, inspiring vision gives your employees and customers orientation and makes the goals of your change tangible. Only those who know the goal will walk the path with conviction.
2. concrete milestones
Set achievable and measurable milestones and celebrate interim successes. Small, visible progress increases commitment, motivates your team and promotes trust in the change process.
3. commitment of the management
Change needs real role models. If the management is fully behind the change, trust is created - among employees and customers alike.
4. pick up employees
When employees play an active role in shaping change, they contribute valuable knowledge and experience. This reduces resistance and solutions are developed directly from within the company. This strengthens identification with the changes: Everyone feels responsible and gets involved out of conviction.
5. open communication and transparency
Clear, honest and regular communication creates trust and eliminates uncertainties and fears. Promote maximum transparency across all departments and hierarchical levels in order to strengthen a common understanding and an open corporate culture.
Turning those affected into participants.
KREBS: How a claim comes to life
The KREBS Group, once rooted in corrosion protection, has developed into a versatile provider of logistics, maintenance and training services.
As the company grew, so did the challenge: a fragmented structure and an outdated brand image called for a clear realignment. The solution? The development of a new story and a fresh brand image - bundled in the claim: "Clear. Strong. Nordic."
But a claim alone is not enough - it had to be brought to life. An interactive roadshow process picked up the employees at all locations, connected them with the new identity and allowed them to play an active role in shaping it. Through targeted interviews, the claim was filled with real voices and authentically communicated both internally and externally. The result: a strengthened brand with which employees and customers alike identify.
How to integrate communicationoptimally into your change process
Vision as a starting point
Once all decisions have been made at management level and a clear path for the change process has been outlined, the next step is to prepare all stakeholders for the change. This is achieved by openly explaining why the change is necessary and what opportunities it will bring for everyone, both internally and externally. If this is successful, the reactions are less rejection and more confidence and desire for something new.
Structured support
All internal stakeholders should engage with the change in a communicative manner. It is crucial that the overarching corporate goals do not remain abstract, but are translated into concrete, individual goals. In this way, every employee understands what contribution they can make to the change. Interactive formats such as workshops or feedback sessions help to accompany this process, allowing employees to experience new processes in a practical way.
Continuous dialog
Successful change management aims to firmly anchor the culture of change in the company. This also includes an ongoing dialog with employees, which in turn has an influence on the change process. Essentially, the aim is to keep employees on board and involve them in the company's further development. Active and transparent employee participation can be worth its weight in gold for the future of the company.
of all change processes, managers do not share changes and do not live them properly.
of all change processes, employees are not involved enough in the change processes.
of all change processes, communication is too focused on 'sending' and too little on 'dialog'.
of all change processes show a lack of information flow betweenmanagement and employees.
of all change processes are not given enough time.
of all change processes make the benefits of the change appear incomprehensible or unclear.
of all change processes do not address emotions enough.
of all change processes make the messages appear implausible and inconsistent.
of all change processes suffer from a lack of appreciation.
HOW TO CHANGE-COMMUNICATION
How do you structure successful change communication?
1. define your process:
- What is the status quo?
- What result are you aiming for?
- What happens on the way to the destination?
- Who is affected?
2. set a budget for the first year.
3. start a workshop with the managers.
1. before you start the leadership workshop, ask yourself the following questions:
- What do those affected know about the change?
- What do those affected fear and hope for?
- What consequences does the process have for those affected?
- How and with which channels should communication take place?
2 In the workshop with your leaders, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are our assumptions about the status quo, our goal and the way to get there generally accepted?
- What do employees think/hope/fear?
- What do our customers think/hope/fear?
- What do our partners think/hope/fear?
- Can we formulate a story from the change?
- How does the story go for our employees?
- How does the story go for our customers?
- How does the story go for our partners?
- What does this mean for our existing communication?
- Should we open new channels?
- Which messages need to be addressed to whom and when?
- How do we create trust through transparency?
- How do we release the energy of our colleagues?
- How do we use the energy for the successful change process?
- How do we turn passivity into activity?
- Agenda for workshop
1. define a results structure and a roadmap from the results of the workshop.
2. write a story for each target group and think about how these stories can best be staged: as a video, with photos, as a social media post.
Plan internal and external resources for campaign implementation. Take into account milestones such as trade fairs and major corporate events where you should have material ready.
1. now it's time to really get going: put together a team to accompany and coordinate the change campaign.
Give your change process an emotional logo and a motivating slogan. This way you make your process tangible right from the start.
3. open a constructive, open dialogue in which you respond to the concerns and hopes of the employees and give them the chance to participate in the process.
Announce your kick-off event with a motivating email.
Make it clear what the employees will gain from the change process, that they are in demand and can actively participate.
5. Start the staff communication with a kick-off event. Introduce the event with a keynote speech explaining the new story:
- What was the problem?
- Why can only this change process solve the problem?
- What are our opportunities
Following the impulse lecture, you will answer questions and start
a workshop in which employees discuss their concerns and hopes.
discuss.
After the kick-off event,you start your individual process.
2. use recurring workshop formats and open parallel digital discussion channels so that the discussion does not break off.
3. define milestones so that quick successes are possible and can be celebrated.
4. set up regular interim analyses in order to be able to make course corrections.
The change journey of SAST Solutions
SAST Solutions protects SAP systems worldwide against cyber threats. The company embarked on an exciting journey into an international network when it was acquired by the American group Pathlock.
But every successful change of course needs orientation - and a strong crew. Through creative change communication with interactive workshops, playful events and a creative leitmotif in Star Trek style, the change was actively shaped. The result: a strong team that sets off into new worlds full of energy.
The biggest mistakesand how to counter them
The biggest mistakes and how to avoid them
Change communication is only for large companies.
Small and medium-sized enterprises must also constantly adapt to changes and their market. After all, megatrends such as globalization and digitalization do not stop at the gates of an SME, nor do new research findings, changing employee expectations or political guidelines. Such adaptation is often not even recognized as a change process and there is no corresponding communication. This can lead to undesirable behavior from all sides.
When bosses believe that employees do not have the skills to participate in the change process.
Involving employees is a key factor in successful change management. However, many managers believe that planning and implementation are entirely up to them. This can quickly lead to employees feeling left out. They then quickly fall into a victim role instead of being able to actively participate in the change.
When bosses think they can leave everything to the employees.
Flat hierarchies are all well and good. But without clear visions, goals and framework conditions for the change project, even the most committed employees are overwhelmed. Therefore, from the staff's point of view, it is important that managers present comprehensible statements and concepts.
We'll wait and see for now.
Change initially costs resources. That is why many entrepreneurs often react when they are already overwhelmed by change. Those who miss the boat once have a hard time catching up again. Companies like Kodak or Nokia are prominent examples of how technical developments can be slept through and lost.
Change is too expensive for us.
Change processes are not possible without investing time and money. However, those who invest properly and see change as an incentive to improve and develop will gain market share.
Change succeeds when you communicate correctly!
I'm Stefan Weder, Managing Director at Blaupause , and I'll help you look through the lens of stakeholders so that your change communication motivates rather than unsettles.