Today, change is part of the modern working world. No one can rely on the processes and approaches of today still working tomorrow. The ability to adapt flexibly to constantly changing conditions is becoming a central element of successful companies. Change management is one way of actively driving these changes forward. It encompasses all projects, measures and tasks, reviews existing processes and ultimately also the corporate culture. A central task in the change process is change communication, which focuses on the involvement of employees and their feedback as part of a development process.
Change communication means change communication. This sub-discipline of corporate communication is a central component of change management that can have a positive influence on resistance, fears and negative moods among employees. A well-developed change communication strategy can eliminate factors that can hinder the success of change processes in the company.
Change communication is becoming increasingly important due to the growing dynamics that companies are exposed to today. Issues such as globalization, digitalization and technological progress are creating high competitive pressure in many industries. Companies are forced to act. However, whenever existing processes are changed, employees also become anxious. Change communication has the task of reducing frictional losses in change projects.
A study conducted by Porsche Consulting in 2020 surveyed 100 of the largest German companies on the topic of change management and change communication. The focus was on the success factors that are responsible for the success of transformation processes. 73% of the companies surveyed stated that inadequate communication and a lack of leadership during the transformation were reasons for failing to achieve the desired goals. In these cases, management failed to motivate employees to implement the new strategies.
Companies today are under great pressure to make the right changes at the right time. As a result, decisions are made very quickly and implemented top to bottom. Employees are automatically expected to deal with the transformation rationally and go along with it. This ignores the fact that long-standing employees in particular often react to far-reaching changes with fear and uncertainty. Will my work performance now be replaced by a PC? Why have areas of responsibility suddenly been taken away from me and given to external partners? Intuitively, this uncertainty leads to rejection. This is where change communication comes in and uses emotional and cognitive tools to support employees in accepting these changes. Traditional change management becomes a reaction to what is happening.
Whether a strategically planned transformation can really be implemented in this form is literally decided by the smallest unit: the individual employee. If too many new things are to be implemented at once or there is a lack of understanding for the necessity of these changes, then motivation and orientation will be lost. Not only does frustration arise, but also resistance. In the aforementioned study, 88% of respondents rated the effectiveness of professional change communication as very high, but only a third of companies implement this success factor consistently. Why is this the case? Many change processes are initiated in parallel without proper prioritization. Anyone who recognizes how important it is to involve employees in change management must definitely prioritize change communication.
Ultimately, employees are and remain the heart of every organization. Based on this realization, it is only logical not to implement changes over their heads by force, but also to recognize the fears and uncertainties that accompany them. Change communication can therefore become one of the most important success factors.
Good communication in the change process can generate motivation. Change communication is not just about informing, but above all about motivating. Every change has a certain impact on employees. They may have to accept additional work, familiarize themselves with new systems or suddenly no longer work on their own but in a team. Change can be stressful. Those who fail to recognize why they should make this effort are paving the way for internal resignation. Good change communication can bring about lasting changes in employees' attitudes and behavior.
Behind every employee is an individual who reacts very individually to planned changes. While very young employees may respond to innovations with great curiosity and openness, older employees may become anxious at this point. Will my knowledge still be enough to keep my job? Will I be able to cope with such major changes? Who will be my contacts in the future? Depending on your point of view, change projects are accompanied either by a feeling of loss of security, fear and resignation or by motivation, anticipation and actionism. This makes it all the more important to look at the team individually and take the respective reactions and emotions seriously.
Larger companies often have their own communications department that takes care of both internal and external communications. However, change communication is much more than just reporting on planned course changes in the employee newsletter. During the change process in particular, employees pay very close attention to the signals from the management level. The communication style of the manager is decisive for the acceptance of what is said. The decisive factor is not what is said, but how it is received by the other person.
In situations where fears and resistance have arisen, misunderstandings can very quickly occur. Management communication now has the task of specifically recognizing these fears and responding individually to employees' questions by actively listening, perceiving and understanding. This takes time and energy - but is a decisive success factor
One significant circumstance is the fact that the changes affect different levels of the company at different times. Changes are decided at management level and have usually been known there for much longer by the time they reach the employees. By the time the announcement is made, managers have already gone through all the phases from insight to acceptance, while the emotional rollercoaster is just beginning for employees. It is important to always keep this in mind during change communication.
There is a lot to do during a change process. Nevertheless, and precisely for this reason, communication must not slip down the list of priorities. Managers should first be ready for change themselves and then set a good example. It is their job to accompany the change in order to turn concerns and frustration into motivation.
Special training courses and workshops can enable managers to communicate the objectives of the change processes. If several managers are involved in the change process, they can develop uniform and consistent messages in workshops and seminars on change management.
Now that the relevance of strategic change communication has been understood, the next step is to select the right tools for implementation. Communication is important in every phase of change. We have summarized the tools available to you here.
Just as there is a time and cost plan for the change project, there should also be a strategic communication plan: who communicates what, to whom and at what time? Only then will you have an overview of whether all employees are really involved in the communication and receive all the important information.
The time lag with which managers and employees learn about the planned change projects should be kept to a minimum. Employees should not get the feeling that important issues have been decided over their heads. The earlier they feel involved, the better.
In times of digitalization, there are a variety of different communication channels available. You can distribute information via circular emails, a newsletter, posters or an internal WhatsApp group. However, when it comes to existential company information, managers should prefer to communicate directly and personally. If information is communicated in a face-to-face conversation or meeting, you will receive direct feedback and perceive the initial reactions unfiltered. This gives you the opportunity to be a role model, present the information in a positive light and respond to immediate objections without delay. Often, fundamental misunderstandings can be cleared up straight away.
The personal impression you make in these conversations can inspire confidence, trust and even enthusiasm. An email in your inbox is not able to do this in this form. The personal conversation depends on facial expressions and gestures, with which you set the course for quick acceptance. Even small signals can point the way here. It is also important that you yourself have already accepted the planned changes in every respect and are looking positively to the future. Only in a vis-a-vis conversation can the emotions be addressed as well as the mind
Once a basic level of trust has been established among the workforce, there is nothing to stop updates being disseminated via other communication channels. It is important to always stay on the ball here and to inform employees of important successes or the achievement of milestones in the project. This can also take the form of an email or newsletter. Another option for change communication is to set up a project website. This can be implemented quickly and makes it possible to get all stakeholders on board.
It is not uncommon for the following communication faux pas to occur: the social media department publishes a post reporting on the company's merger with a former competitor. However, not every employee has been informed about this major change of course. In this case, the employees affected feel - quite rightly - ignored and unappreciated. If the social media community already knows more about the future of your own employer than you do, this does not reflect well on the management.
This makes it all the more important to coordinate internal and external communication. Most changes affect all stakeholders - including suppliers and other contractual partners. You should check exactly who receives information and when. You don't want the supplier to end up approaching the still unsuspecting employee about the merger. In the best case scenario, the employees are already fully behind the change concept before it is communicated to the outside world and can then present themselves confidently and positively to customers, suppliers and others. Change communication is socially sensitive and should always be linked to a clear concept.
Skepticism and resistance are natural reactions to innovations and far-reaching changes in a company. The classic distribution of reactions looks like this: 20% of employees are positive and curious, around 60% are slightly skeptical and 20% actively resist. So how can these last 20% be transformed into motivated employees who also embrace and implement this change process?
Criticism, skepticism and resistance are elementary components of change processes that you can use as an important resource. Resistance is a form of feedback. It is important to listen carefully to the pretexts, filter out important information and take legitimate objections seriously. The legitimate reasons for the resistance in particular show that an employee is willing to compromise. If you communicate the goals and benefits of the change well at this point and involve skeptical employees even better, you can gradually reduce this resistance.
Of course, material incentives can also be created to get employees excited about something. Anyone who works with program X in the future will receive a reward in the form of Y. However, this approach is far too short-sighted. Even if the personal benefit is always important, the primary goal should be to awaken intrinsic motivation. This lives from understanding and identification with the company and the common cause. The money for a one-off payment is quickly spent. Honest and sustainable commitment arises when those involved are personally committed to an overriding goal. The feeling of being needed is more motivating than any monetary reward.
When talking about the important role of communication in change management, lean management is a good approach for successful process optimization in the company. Lean change management (LCM) is a feedback-based approach to change management. The aim of lean management in practice is to promptly and consciously perceive employees' reactions to changes and establish a quick feedback loop. Topics such as mindfulness, emotional intelligence and the empathy of managers come into play here.
In lean change management, employees are given a stronger voice. However, the focus is not exclusively on emotions; companies also learn from the internal knowledge and insights that employees gain during the change processes. Change processes are managed and designed in an agile manner on the basis of these insights. The insights are gathered through interviews or short meetings in the coffee kitchen, for example.
This gives change management an experimental character. There is no fixed schedule for when which measures are implemented. Instead, the measures are continuously adapted based on the findings and emotions experienced by employees. Employee feedback thus becomes a valuable input for the change plan.
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