Getting the word out.
Last week I shared a change communication checklist. Today I’ll go deeper into the how. Determining the right way to keep people informed is an important as picking the right words.
Ask yourself:
How do I like to communicate with my team?
How does my team like to receive information? (this may be different from how you like to communicate, and will probably involve multiple channels)
Do they attend/actively engage in company meetings?
Do they read emails from me? (if you answered yes, how do you know?)
Are there places in our workspace where people will read whatever is in front of them (think of places where waiting happens: coffee machine, microwave, bathroom)?
Can I meet with people individually or are we too big/no time/would be weird?
Who is the leader best positioned to deliver this information? It may not be the founder. Think about who the organization trusts most and has the best relationships with.
Once you’ve thought about these questions, you should be able to determine the best people to deliver the updates (it might be you, it might not). If others are delivering the message, you should ensure that these trusted spokespeople understand the change, provide them with speaking points, and support them in their communication with their staff.
How they (and you) communicate depends on the answers to the other questions. Once you understand the efficacy of the standard channels (meetings, email, printed materials, face-to-face conversations), pick a few to utilize, and map out your communications calendar. Be sure to have a repository for all updates so people can go back and reference details when they need them. This could be a folder on a server, a page on an intranet, or even a bulletin board in a hallway.
It’s important to plan in redundancy. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself. Some people might not be caught up on email, but might make frequent visits to the coffee machine, so a well placed poster might catch their attention when an urgent email might not. Tell, tell again, and recap. And be sure there’s someone employees can go to face-to-face with questions.