Change & your Communication "Packet"

Coming from a Project Management and Communication background, it is recognised that a strong communication plan must be embedded into the plan. A project typically creates a change of varying degree so it also important to weave in change management strategies to support the project. 

Recently, I participated in a change management program that uses five element to support successful change:

1. Awareness of the need for change
2. Desire to participate and support the change
3. Knowledge on how to change
4. Ability to implement required skills and behaviours
5. Reinforcement to sustain the change

I like how this program, referred to by the acronym ADKAR, stresses the need to build a strong communication "packet." Using this packet as your checklist, you build the communication content to support change. 

Communication Packet: What you need to communicate

1.  Your Business Drivers

• Explain why the change is being made; what current business issues create a need to change; discuss the benefits and business reasons for the change.  
• Discuss customer needs / expectations that support the change; discuss how our competitor activity is creating a need for change (and yes we have lots of competitors)
• Explain how internal and external issues impact employees
• Share the potential consequences or risks if no change is made

2.  Your Business Performance

• Present operational performance measures and trends to demonstrate the business problem or opportunities (use charts and graphs)
• Show the corresponding financial performance and trends to demonstrate how this business condition affects the organisation's financial performance (charts and graphs)
• Compare performance with benchmarks or against performance goals (show contrast where the business is today vs where the business needs to be)

3. Your Objectives for the Change

• Share the specific objective that must be achieved with this change
• Describe the conditions of a successful change (numeric goals that would indicate if the change was a success)

4.  Your Scope of Change

• Share who is impacted by this change and what is not impacted
• Describe which processes and systems will undergo the most change and which will remain unchanged

5.  Your Change - the details

• If elements of the change (the solution) are known, begin to present the high-level vision for the organization
• Describe what will change by group or dept (if known at this time)
• If elements of change are not yet known, discuss when more information will be available and set expectations

Next: now that you have your content, you can craft your communication. Tomorrow, I'll review the attributes of a successful change message.