What Role Does Internal Communication Play in Change Management?
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- Nearly 70% of change management projects fail because of employee resistance, and 76% of employees say they do not always fully understand why the change is needed.
- Internal communication exists to inform, involve, and mobilize. Neglect it and confusion, mistrust, and resistance take its place.
- Four preparation steps: draw up a communication plan, involve all stakeholders, establish a charter, then monitor and adjust.
- The communication plan sets the objectives, the rationale, audience segmentation, channels, the calendar, who communicates what, and the KPIs to track.
- Timing matters as much as the message: before the announcement, at the announcement, during the rollout, and after the switch, communication serves a different purpose each time.
- Resistance is handled by giving it somewhere to be voiced, not by working around it.
To drive change, you’ll need to lead your organization through several stages. One of those is internal communication.
Most of us have one thing in common: we like surprises! 🎉 However, when it comes to a major transformation in the way we work, that can be a little different… 😅 Nearly 70% of all change management projects fail due to employee resistance. In this case, then, forget keeping secrets. Communicate instead about the changes you wish to make, and explain to your employees why they’re important.
In this article, we’ll look at the role of internal communication in change management, as well as how to implement change effectively. After reading, you’ll know how to better turn your employees into ambassadors of change! 🤝
The importance of internal communication
Internal communication is a key element in change management. But why? 🤔
Basically, internal communication should play an essential role at every step of your upcoming change: informing, involving, and mobilizing employees. When neglected, it can lead to confusion, mistrust, and resistance to change on the part of your employees. This can in turn completely compromise their buy-in and commitment to the very change you’re seeking…
On the flip side, when internal communication is well managed, it offers your organization many advantages! Consider just a few examples:
- Internal communication allows employees to accept changes more easily. If you clearly explain the reasons for the changes, as well as the benefits for the company and its employees, your employees will feel included and support the changes.
- Transparent, honest internal communication builds trust between management and employees.
- Open dialogue pays off! By adopting an approach of open communication in which feedback from stakeholders is welcome, you strengthen employee commitment to the change process.
How should I communicate change internally? 🤔
First, get ready for change
You’ve already defined the change you want to undertake, so hats off! 👏 Before even communicating about this change, though, you’ll need to be well prepared. After all, you have an important role to play!
According to a Chaire ESSEC/IPSOS survey, 76% of employees “don’t always fully understand the need for change.” This is where internal communication comes into play, to ensure a smooth transition for your teams.
To ensure optimal communication, you’ll want to:
- Draw up an internal communication plan
- Involve all stakeholders
- Create a change management charter to respect
- Monitor and adapt your communication
Internal communication is the key to informing, involving, and mobilizing your teams around the upcoming change. So, if there’s one thing you mustn’t do, it’s miss this step! 😬
Draw up an internal communication plan
Your communication plan is your guide to ensuring maximum buy-in for the upcoming change. To draft your plan, you’ll need to:
- Identify your communication objectives and clearly define what you want to achieve.
- Develop a solid argument to justify your changes through the positive impacts they will have.
- Segment your audience to tailor your message to the specific needs and concerns of various departments/employees.
- Choose the appropriate communication channels according to your target and the nature of the message.
- Establish a communication calendar to plan and coordinate your actions.
- Clarify the roles and missions of the members of your company who will have to communicate internally on change management.
- Plan the KPIs that will need monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the communication plan and its impact.
Involve all your stakeholders
Internal communication also means teamwork! According to a Gartner survey, when it comes to managing change, the most successful organizations are those that also rely on their employees, not just their managers. Here are a few best practices for involving all your stakeholders:
- Assign the role of ambassador to managers and staff who have bought into your project and who can thus act as intermediaries between management and employees.
- Organize quick routine follow-up meetings with the various teams involved to share progress and collect feedback.
- Create multidisciplinary workgroups to foster collaboration, mutual support, and collective decision-making.
Talkspirit can help you streamline internal communication around your change management projects. It’s an all-in-one platform that brings the news feed, chat, and workgroups together in one place, so that information about the project does not get lost between tools. Schedule a demo today to discover Talkspirit! 👇
Establish one charter for all
To ensure consistent internal communication, you’ll need to draw up a charter specifying the dos and don’ts associated with change management. For example, you could set out:
- Rules of use for your internal communication tools. For example, use a specific module to organize and manage meetings. Initiate training sessions with a webinar functionality. Broadcast cold news messages on a news feed and use chat for timely and urgent news that requires an immediate response.
- Communication adapted for different audiences. To ensure that messages are as clear as possible, avoid “copying and pasting” from an already prepared pitch. Instead, keep the text clear and concise and adapted to each work team. Besides, these days, artificial intelligence can be a valuable asset! 💡 You can quickly tweak messages with the specifics you’ve fed it.
- Transparency and honesty in communication, even when the news is not positive.
- Clear deadlines for internal communication on each stage of the change management process.
- Compliance with confidentiality and data security rules for internal communication.
Monitor and adjust your communication
To guarantee the effectiveness of your internal communication during change management, it’s essential to monitor your actions closely. Make sure you:
- Collect regular feedback from your employees to assess their understanding and acceptance of the changes.
- Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) linked to internal communication. This includes employee engagement and participation rates in change initiatives.
- Be flexible and ready to adjust your communication strategy depending on employees’ needs and reactions.
If you follow all our advice, you’ll be in business! 👏
When to communicate: the change calendar
Knowing what to say is not enough. The same piece of information lands very differently depending on when it arrives. Too late, and rumor has already taken the ground. Too early, with no answer to the concrete questions (who does what, from when, with what support), and it feeds anxiety instead. A change project falls into four phases, and communication serves a different purpose in each one.
| Project phase | What communication has to achieve | Channel to favor | Signal to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project phaseBefore the announcement | What communication has to achieveGet leadership and managers aligned on one and the same rationale | Channel to favorSmall group meetings, a written briefing note | Signal to watchCan your managers answer the questions that are about to come? |
| Project phaseThe announcement | What communication has to achieveState what is changing, why, and what it means for each team | Channel to favorAn all-hands meeting, then a written post on the news feed | Signal to watchRead rate, number of questions asked within 48 hours |
| Project phaseThe rollout | What communication has to achieveSupport day-to-day use, answer fast, show the first results | Channel to favorChat for quick questions, workgroups for everything else | Signal to watchAttendance at training sessions, feedback relayed by ambassadors |
| Project phaseAfter the switch | What communication has to achieveEmbed the new habits and report on the effects obtained | Channel to favorA shared set of figures, team testimonials | Signal to watchQuiet return to the old tools, adoption gaps between teams |
The last phase is the one most often neglected, even though it decides whether the change holds. Once the announcement is over and the tool is deployed, teams happily drift back to their old habits if nobody talks about the project any more. That is exactly what we discussed with Nick Osborne in our conversation about why change does not stick.
Give resistance somewhere to go, instead of working around it
An objection with nowhere to be voiced does not disappear. It moves backstage, where internal communication no longer has any hold on it. So plan, right from the communication plan itself, a question channel that is open and genuinely read: a group dedicated to the project, a Q&A session after each milestone, an anonymous question box when the topic is sensitive. Answering one well-argued criticism in public is worth more than ten top-down messages. We look at the forms this resistance takes, and how to respond to it, in our article on resistance to change. And if you are still framing the project itself, our three-step change management method sets the stage this communication plan fits into.
A final word
Internal communication has a key role to play in driving change! It’s not just about providing information. Its role is also to reinforce employees’ sense of belonging and commitment in order to limit resistance. Don’t forget: this is the stage in the change management process that should not be overlooked. ⚠️
By integrating these principles and best practices into your change management strategy, you’ll be able to commit your teams to the project and ensure its success! 🚀
Would you like us to support you in your change management project? You’ve come to the right place ;). Contact us to get personalized support 👇
FAQ
Nearly 70% of all change management projects fail due to employee resistance. Hence the advice: communicate about the changes you want to make and explain to employees why they are important.
It can lead to confusion, mistrust, and resistance to change among employees, which can in turn compromise their buy-in and commitment to the change you are seeking.
Communication objectives, a solid argument justifying the change, audience segmentation, the appropriate channels, a communication calendar, clarified roles for the people who will communicate internally, and the KPIs needed to assess the plan's effectiveness.
According to a Chaire ESSEC/IPSOS survey, 76% of employees say they don't always fully understand the need for change. This is where internal communication comes into play, to ensure a smooth transition for your teams.
Assign the role of ambassador to managers and staff who have bought into the project, organize routine follow-up meetings with the teams involved, and create multidisciplinary workgroups. A Gartner survey found that the most successful organizations rely on their employees, not just their managers.
Rules of use for internal communication tools, messages adapted to each audience rather than copied and pasted from a prepared pitch, transparency and honesty even when the news is not positive, clear deadlines at each stage, and compliance with confidentiality and data security rules.
