change communication playbook - davis & company · change communication playbook 7 2 define...

5 all-star steps to succeed

at the change game!

Change communication playbookCoach leaders and managers to win

Change communication playbookwww.davisandco.com 2

The clock is counting down

Getting ready to communicate change is like preparing for the big game. You need to map out your strategy. Make sure your equipment is in order. And train your team, so players know precisely what to do when the pressure is on.

The most pivotal roles in change communication, of course, belong to leaders and managers:

• Leaders act as coaches through a change: They articulate direction, set context (explaining why change is important) and provide motivation, especially when the going gets tough.

• Managers are the quarterbacks of change. They huddle with their teammates before the play to discuss what has to be done. And, when strategies don’t go according to plan, managers often call an audible (explaining what needs to be done now, despite the obstacles).

There are four reasons why leaders and managers don’t step up to the plate and hit change communication out of the park:

1. Ensure leaders and managers understand the change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2. Define communication roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3. Encourage leaders to connect the dots . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4. Help managers answer questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5. Build communication skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Lead your team to change victory with these five steps:

Lack of knowledge

Don’t understand the topic well

enough to present it, interpret it or

answer questions about it

Unclear expectationsDon’t know that communication

is expected of them; that it’s a key role

No accountability

Aren’t held responsible for

communicating

Insufficient communication

skillsAren’t comfortable

presenting information,

answering questions or responding

to concerns

1 2 3 4


The CEO said the change was important, but my manager told me not to worry about it, saying it doesn’t have anything to do with our work.

What employees need from leaders and managers

If there were a call-in show about change communication, here’s what employees would say:

Your moveDespite the obstacles, how do you help leaders and managers get their communication game face on? In this smart guide, we’ll provide five key strategies for coaching leaders and managers to be winning change agents.

If I don’t hear about this change from our leader, it must not be important.

The CEO talked about the change months ago, but since then he hasn’t said very much about it.

The CEO told us about the change, but my VP has not explained how our division is affected.

I wish my manager would tell me how this change will affect us.

I ask questions, but my manager doesn’t know very much about the change.


Ensure leaders and managers understand the change

Often leaders and managers know what’s changing in their own area, but don’t get the full extent of the organization-wide implications. Make sure they have an opportunity to learn what’s changing, where and when.

Training tip

Inspire the team by sharing past success

At a leader briefing, encourage senior leaders to share their personal experiences with change. Ask leaders to explain how success depended on strong leadership, flexibility and teamwork.

The best way to do so? Schedule one or more face-to-face sessions hosted by senior management. To ensure a successful session, follow these three steps:

Give a pep talkWhether face-to-face or virtual, senior leaders should provide a play-by-play of the situation: a snapshot of what’s going on at that moment in time. They should take time to communicate the details of the change, help leaders and managers see the future in a positive light and inspire them to pull together.

Hold a warm-up session Leaders and managers are people too, so they feel the same anxiety and uncertainty employees do. But they don’t necessarily feel comfortable asking tough questions in a public setting.

Here’s an effective way to encourage questions: After senior leaders give a presentation on the change, have leaders and managers break out into small groups to brainstorm questions they think employees would have. Then come back together to give senior leaders a chance to answer some of those questions. This exercise levels the playing field by giving participants a way to express their questions and concerns in the guise of representing employees.

Prepare leaders and managers for the big gameYou can help leaders and managers kick-start conversations with their teams by providing a playbook that outlines “the facts” and ensures that everyone in your company—no matter how far they are from home field—get the same story. The playbook should contain easy-to-use communication tools like key messages and facts, a PowerPoint® deck and answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

1

5Change communication playbookwww.davisandco.com

Test your knowledge R O U N D 1

Key messages provide leaders and managers with a “script” to get the

conversation started with their teams.

True False

Check the answer on page 14.

Ensure leaders and managers understand the change1

Ensure success with the proper change communication equipmentWyeth, a pharmaceutical company (now part of Pfizer), was introducing Springboard, an initiative designed to increase efficiency and speed to market. To ensure the success of this initiative, Wyeth knew it needed to engage its 400 top leaders in understanding and supporting change. Davis & Company designed web meetings to prepare leaders and provided them with toolkits that contained essential information about the initiative.

Goal!


Define communication roles2

Your change efforts are more likely to be successful if leaders and managers are actively involved. While your CEO probably understands his/her role, vice presidents and managers further down in the organization may not see themselves as key players in change communication.

Define each player’s position in the changeLeaders and managers play different roles during change. So it’s important to understand the distinctions in order to set clear expectations:

• Senior leaders include the CEO, direct reports and the top eight to 15 leaders.

• Key leaders include the top 25 to 100 key leaders, one to two levels down from senior leaders.

• Managers include directors, managers and supervisors, who run departments and groups, or supervise individuals.

Build players’ confidence Leaders and managers will be at the top of their game if they understand why their position is important. You can set them up for success by explaining their communication role and why their position is crucial to the success of the change:

Training tip

A checklist will ensure leaders don’t drop the ball

To make sure the ball is successfully passed to their team, give leaders a checklist that provides concrete steps they can take to ensure employees understand and act on a change.

Position Communication role Why it’s important

Senior leader Articulates where the organization is heading, clarify priorities, and share progress and accomplishments

Employees look to leaders to provide direction and focus.

Key leader Interprets the big picture to convey “what it means to us”

Abstract high level information becomes concrete and meaningful.

Manager Defines what employees need to do to help the organization succeed, answer questions and address concerns

Dialogue is the most important tool in communication: it allows employees to participate and helps them work through issues.


Define communication roles2

Helping key leaders become change communication MVPsAetna, a national leader in health and related benefits, needed to help its key leaders—between the senior executive and direct manager levels—understand their critical role in communication. Davis & Company articulated leaders’ communication roles and responsibilities, and developed a plan for providing leaders with the skills, knowledge, content and tools for fulfilling their role.


Slam dunk!

A manager’s primary change communication role is to answer which question:

A. What’s changing?B. Why are we changing?

C. How does this change affect me?



Encourage leaders to connect the dots3

To support change adoption, a critical role for leaders is to make sure managers have the right skills and tools to propel their teams to winning performance.

Training tip

Don’t forget about the power of visuals

When possible, keep a flip chart nearby or use a room with a whiteboard to illustrate important points and processes.

Develop game-changing tools• Hold a pre-game “press conference”: Use town halls to socialize new changes

with team members. Help leaders use time wisely by providing talking points that explain the change. Reserve the bulk of the session for interaction such as Q&As and small group discussions. If you use social media in your workplace, apply the same practices to a leader-led jam session.

• Training camp: When change is significant, invite managers to participate in a workshop. Run exercises that require managers with different roles to solve business challenges together. Or hold an interactive brainstorming session where managers are asked to contribute ideas and potential solutions to questions, such as: “What can we do to increase our rate of completion from 80% to 100%?”

• Whiteboard it: Use the power of visuals to illustrate complex ideas and processes. Equip meeting and breakout rooms with flip charts and whiteboards to sketch out critical paths. Or create an infographic that clearly depicts change objectives and processes that can be posted and distributed as a reminder of your winning strategies.

• Review the stats: Use leader/manager meetings to review progress and results. Ensure sessions are purposeful by developing objectives and an agenda so attendees come prepared to present relevant updates and actively participate. Make sure managers know exactly what they need to do when they get back out on the field.

• Huddle: Don’t wait until the end of the fourth quarter to see if your change initiative is working. Encourage leaders to proactively touch base with managers, in forums such as 10-minute Monday morning check-ins.


Encourage leaders to connect the dots3

Helping leaders communicate key business decisions

CIT, a leading provider of financing to small businesses and middle market companies, needed help providing leaders and managers with information to communicate more effectively with employees about key business decisions. Davis & Company created Leader Briefings, a one-page, easy-to-read HTML email to be distributed before a major announcement or event. In a survey to measure effectiveness, the majority of leaders strongly agreed that the publication was relevant, timely, useful and effective.

Touchdown!


Huddles are not just for National Football League teams.

True False



Help managers answer questions4

Every fan knows that the power of sports is more than the match being played right now—we also love the legends, myths and stories of the sport. But sometimes myths can get in the way of winning. For example, when it comes to change, there’s an inaccurate perception that managers communicate by presenting to their teams (like the coach’s thrilling pep talk in the locker room before the final game of the Stanley Cup).

Training tip

Think like the most skeptical employee

Imagine the toughest, most challenging employee you know. Then draft questions that person would ask and answer as candidly as possible.

In fact, managers spend most of their communication time responding: dealing with issues as they arise, providing guidance in real time and, most important, answering questions. That’s why Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are the most important communication tool you can provide to managers.

Create FAQs that are:• Comprehensive. The best FAQs include every possible question an employee

would have. (As with goalies, the tougher the question, the better.)• Candid. This is no time for sugarcoating. Managers need the straight story.• Navigable. If the change is significant, organize the FAQs by topic so managers

can find what they’re looking for.• Instantly available. Managers don’t want to go hunting through old emails to

find FAQs. Make these and other manager communication tools available on an intranet site that, ideally, is accessible through a smartphone.

Sample questionsHere are some questions to consider when drafting FAQs for an upcoming change:

• What is changing?• When will change occur?• Who will be impacted?• What do I need to do differently? When?• Why are we changing?• Will jobs be cut? • Are people moving offices or relocating to other cities? • Are any offices/facilities/stores being closed? • Will the reorganization affect our pay?


Help managers answer questions4

Creating a manager’s toolkit for a new initiative

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, a supermarket chain also known as A&P, needed to help district and store managers communicate a new initiative to employees. Davis & Company created a toolkit that provided background information about the change, clarified managers’ role and provided tools to communicate with their teams during the transition.

Hat trick!


Provide FAQs just ahead of a change announcement so managers

are ready to respond. True False



Build communication skills5

If you were a coach, would you send a player onto the field without training him/her first? Of course not! It’s important to make sure your leaders and managers have the skills they need to talk about change effectively with their teams. Help leaders and managers step up to the plate by giving them the proper training.

Training tip

Encourage managers to participate in workshops

Web-based sessions are a convenient and affordable way for managers to enhance their skills and knowledge.

Leaders and managers can experience anxiety when they aren’t comfortable talking about a big change or lack the essential communication skills to do so. Help them get rid of “pre-game jitters” by developing these key skills:

Interpersonal skills help managers successfully engage, motivate and build relationships with their teams so they can relieve employee change anxiety and get them pumped up for the game. These skills include:• Listening• Delivering key information• Responding to tough questions

Collective/team skills allow managers to lead groups and work as a team more effectively, on and off the field. They can facilitate group dialogue about change and rally the team for support by:

• Communicating via email and social media

• Resolving conflicts• Communicating goals

Comprehension skills enable managers to give play-by-plays about the change and create understanding for their teams. They can translate messages from senior leaders and ensure employees know what they need to do to support it by:• Making information relevant• Communicating persuasively• Coaching

Leadership skills help managers hit a home run by setting them up to be active advocates for change. They can support the change by: • Motivating employees• Building consensus• Recognizing their team

Focus on skills that will set leaders and managers up to win


Build communication skills5

Developing leaders’ communication skillsGPU, an energy company (now part of FirstEnergy), was planning a conference to help its leaders better understand the strategy and their role in communicating this business strategy to their organizations. Davis & Company designed the meeting’s agenda and developed learning sessions—on such topics as maximizing meetings, preparing communication plans and face-to-face communication—to help leaders become more effective communicators.

Grand slam!


Managers always need face-to-face training to

prepare for change.

True False


Quiz Qs and AsThe leaders in internal communicationWe’re Davis & Company, the employee communication experts. Since 1984, leading organizations have depended on us to reach, engage and motivate their employees. Our strategic mindset, creative spirit and practical know-how can solve your toughest communication challenges. Give us a call. We’d love to help.

To schedule a consultation, call us: 1-877-399-5100 or email Alison Davis: [email protected].

www.davisandco.com

Q1: True or false: Key messages provide leaders with a “script” to get the conversation started with their teams.

A1: True. While leaders and managers may not present, they need content to respond to team members’ questions.

Q2: A manager’s primary change communication role is to answer which question? A. What’s changing? B. Why are we changing? C. How does the change affect me?

A2: C. Employees are likely to ask their managers what impact a change has on individuals’ jobs.

Q3: True or false: Huddles are not just for National Football League teams.A3: True. These time-efficient meetings are a great way to address immediate questions and concerns.

Q4: Provide FAQs just ahead of a change announcement so managers are ready to respond.A4: True. You need to be careful of disclosure rules, of course, but try to provide managers with FAQs

as early as possible so managers can get in the game.

Q5: Managers always need face-to-face training to prepare for change.A5: False. While face-to-face training may be needed for a significant change, in most situations

you can hold web-based sessions to provide the information and skills they need.

change communication playbook - davis & company · change communication playbook 7 2 define...

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