Change is good, right? For employees and customers, that’s not always the case.
I read a piece in Harvard Business Review that championed the idea of stability management. And while this approach is not possible in every situation, it reinforces a good point about the psychology of change and how rbb approaches change management communications for our clients.
As an organization goes through transformation, thinking about it in someone else’s shoes is tremendously important, especially in a post pandemic world where people have lived through something that we could have never predicted and are naturally more questioning.
The best change communication efforts create clarity. The phrase “change is scary” is true not because something different is necessarily bad, but because it’s unknown.
Employees normally have questions that range from the broad – why the change is occurring and what it will mean for the company – to the personal – job status and performance implications. Customers conversely want to know how service will be impacted or what additional value that change will deliver. However, the best change management programs anticipate things that aren’t top of mind and plan for all situations, not just the optimal outcome.
Communications that are rooted in empathy, authenticity, and transparency build trust and inspire confidence for key audiences to navigate the change with your company, rather than jump ship.
Is change or transformation happening at your company? Let us help you on that journey.