This session was an introduction to managing communication on change projects. It was delivered on the second day of Apeiron Communication's conference "Good communication starts from within"

1. Communicating change
Managing communication on change projects
Ann Pilkington

2. Developing communication and
engagement strategies that
support change
Research indicates that up to 70 per
cent of change programmes fail and
poor internal communication is seen as
the principal reason for such failure.
Daly, Teague and Kitchen (2003)

3. Managerial strategies for communicating about
change
Strategy Definition
Spray and pray Management showers employees with all kinds of
information in the hope that employees will be able to sort out
significant and insignificant information
Tell and sell Management selects a limited set of messages regarding
core organizational issues. Management “tells” employees
about these issues and then “sells” employees on the
wisdom of the chosen approach
Underscore and
explore
Management focuses on fundamental issues related to
change success and allows employees the creative freedom
to explore various possibilities
Identify and reply Management listens to and identifies key concerns of
employees and then responds to those issues as they are
brought up
Withhold and uphold Management withholds information as much as possible.
When management is confronted with questions or rumours
they uphold the party line.
Adapted from Clampitt, DeKoch and Cashman,
in Miller, K (2009, p186)

4. Our case study for today
You work for an IT company in Sofia called
Fantastic IT which employs 800 people.
Your company has just bought a small IT
company called Little IT that has two small
offices in Sofia and employs 200 people.
These offices will close and staff will move
to the head office of Fantastic IT.
Both companies employ engineers, software
developers and call centre staff.

5. Seven rules of change
project communication

6. Rule 1: Planning is everything, the plan
is nothing
Well, not quite nothing, but it is easy to get swept along on a tide of
complex Excel spread sheets and Prince II methodology. Keep it simple
and ensure you strike the right balance between developing the plan and
its delivery. Set objectives, make them SMART and about outcomes
(such as changes in behaviour) as well as outputs (e.g. how many
newsletters have been issued). And get your project leadership team to
buy into them.
Top tip: be careful not to be judged only on how much you do. The
outcomes are what matter.

7. Rule 2: Right stakeholder, right time
Be clear about which stakeholders you need to involve at each stage and
what your approach needs to be. Set out a clear timetable for
engagement. Then you can tell people when you are going to involve
them and how.
Top tip: stakeholders will vary in importance throughout the lifecycle of
your project, so review them regularly.

8. Who are the stakeholders for
our case study?

9. LEVEL OF INTEREST
P
O
W
E
R
L
O
W
LOW HIGH
MINIMAL EFFORT KEEP INFORMED
H
I
G
H
KEEP SATISFIED KEY PLAYERS
Adapted from Mendelow 1991, cited in Johnson and Scholes 2002: 208)

10. LEVEL OF INTEREST
P
O
W
E
R
L
O
W
LOW HIGH
INFORM CONSULT
H
I
G
H
INVOLVE PARTNER

11. Change projects and communication
Stakeholder engagement –
A project approach

12. Step 1
Identify the role (or maybe roles) that your stakeholder
will play. Are they sponsors, shapers, schedulers or
users of the new service?

13. • Sponsors: these stakeholders set the direction, hold the budget and can
release resources. They are comfortable dealing with a high level of
ambiguity.
• Shapers: these stakeholders get involved at the design stage (this could be
the design of an IT system, new ways of working or a product). They can
see what the future looks like and are relatively comfortable with ambiguity.
• Schedulers: these stakeholders are often ‘gatekeepers’ they can get things
done and make the implementation of the project happen. To do their job
they often need detail on timescales and tasks so find ambiguity unhelpful.
• Those who will use the new service, adopt different ways of working etc
(according to what the project is delivering). This group is less comfortable
handling ambiguity because they want to know exactly what they need to do
differently. Everyone will be in this position at some point in the project.
The secret is to understand that every time you engage with a stakeholder they
are thinking “what does it mean for me and what do you need me to do?” If
you can’t answer (which isn’t the same as not wanting to answer) those
questions, then maybe that person doesn’t need to be fully engaged just yet.
If the person doesn’t need to do something to make the current project
phase successful then they shouldn’t be your primary focus. That doesn’t
mean you ignore them, but the approach is more measured.

14. Step 2
Decide what it is that the project needs from that
stakeholder in order to help it to hit its milestones and
achieve its benefits; what is the objective of the
communication activity?
This step is often missed with project managers simply stating that they
want the support of the stakeholder.
Being clear about what is needed from each stakeholder is essential to
the communication strategy, otherwise the relationship will be
unfocussed and measuring success won’t be possible.

15. Step 3
Map this analysis to the project lifecycle so that you
know when you will need to engage.
According to the Association for Project Management a typical
project lifecycle is: concept, definition, development, handover,
benefits. If your project is broken down differently, that’s fine,
this isn’t a rigid approach.

16. Step 4
Design an appropriate communication strategy for
that stakeholder. .......
Remember what their role is, what you need them to do, by when and
how much ambiguity you think they are comfortable dealing with. If you
engage a user early in the project lifecycle before you can confirm
details you may need to tell them when they can expect certainty. The
approach is likely to vary through the project lifecycle. For example,
sponsors will be the main focus of engagement at the start, but once
they are comfortable that the project is on track it may be sufficient to
keep them informed of progress.

17. Seven rules of change
project communication
Rule 3

18. Rule 3: Take an engagement approach
Employee engagement results from giving people a voice. But to make the
most of that voice, employees need to know what is going on and why. So,
accurate and timely information (not propaganda) is essential. And that
voice must be listened to. Take a look at your project – how and when are
employees involved? What are you doing to ensure that what they say is
helping to shape what is done? Get it right and your change project could
increase employee engagement.
Top tip: close the loop – ensure you let people know how their feedback
is being used and, if it can’t shape the project, explain why.

19. Three components of organisational employee engagement
Feeling well
informed.
Manager
commitment
Opportunities
for upward
feedback
(Truss, 2006, p. xi)

20. Feeling really well informed.
Professional
Timely, clear, accurate,
pertinent, consistent,
sincere, concise,
business-like.
Reinforces believable
values and narrative.
Propaganda
Content is biased
and does not
reflect reality.
Reinforced by
managers who
show commitment
to the organisation.

21. Upward feedback
Advanced
Based on people
feeling well informed in
the first place, face to
face, actions taken as a
result or reasons why
action not taken
provided.
Basic
Surveys,
suggestion
schemes, email
boxes.
Reinforced by
managers who are
open to critical
feedback.

22. Bringing it to life - The role of the middle manager
Many middle managers view their roles as tactical, and not strategic.
There is often a communications block between middle managers and their
people
Operational:
• Tactical project
management
• Business targets
• Logistics
People Management:
• Performance
• KPIs
• Recruitment
Operational:
• Tactical project
management
• Business targets
• Logistics
People Management:
• Communication
• Engagement
• Performance
• KPIs
• Recruitment
• Morale
EXPECTED ROLE
CURRENT ROLE
80% 20%
50% 50%

23. Rule 4: Deal effectively with ambiguity
Communicating change can be a difficult balancing act. It is important
to start communicating as soon as possible, but you invariably won’t
have all the answers from the outset. So what should you do? Well, you
shouldn’t be afraid to tell people that you don’t have a particular
answer. However, it is important to explain why you don’t. People need
and like signposts. If you are waiting for some development work to
happen or a decision to be taken at a board meeting, say so. Set out a
process for reporting and keep people informed,
particularly if timings slip.
Top tip: help managers to support their staff by ensuring they
understand when and how decisions will be made.

25. The say-do matrix
Adapted from
Harkins, P. 1999
Powerful
Conversations:
How high impact
leaders
communicate.
McGraw Hill

26. Communication and change
1.Complacent
2.Denial
3.Resistance 4.Accept
5.Enthuse
6.Commit
Implementation…………….post-implementation

27. Rule 5: Keep it stakeholder centred
There may be a number of parts to your project or lots of projects within
your programme, but what matters to your stakeholder? Build your
approach around them and their role. Ask what it means for a line
manager, HR colleagues and operatives on the shop floor, then design
your communication accordingly.
Top tip: there is no such audience as ‘all employees’.

28. Rule 6: Tell a joined up story
It is likely that your project is just one of a number of change initiatives
happening across your organisation. How are employees meant to make
sense of it all? You need to set your project in the context of what else is
happening – tell one joined-up story rather than leave staff to work out
how it all fits together. Doing this effectively means forging relationships
with other communicators working on other projects and at a corporate
level. You need to ensure that your project has an appropriate share of
voice. For your project team it may be the most important thing in their
world, but employees might have much bigger concerns.
Top tip: tell a story about your project to help employees make sense of
what is happening.
’.

29. What would our story be?

30. Rule 7: Always think about the external
implications too
Is your project doing something that might be of interest to the media, or
to politicians (local and/or national)? If you think it is, talk to your press
office and come up with a ‘handling strategy’ together. The press love an
‘IT-gone-wrong’ story, jobs being lost – or gained – and anything to do
with the environment. Be prepared. The chances are it won’t come to
anything, but you will have the respect of your peers and your
stakeholders if it does and you are ready and equipped to deal with the
situation.
Top tip: no communication should ever be thought about as just internal.
No matter what protective marking you put on it, what you communicate
could end up anywhere, so always keep that in mind.

31. What might be the external
implications of this change?

32. Communication and change: tips
•Sign post
•‘What does it mean to me’ – NOT what is in it for
me
•Tell a joined up story – think story, not
messages and bring in the external environment
•Support managers
•Always do what you say you will do – and if you
can’t, explain why
•Communicate in the right order; plan, plan, plan,
by the hour if necessary

33. Change projects and communication
Understanding the project

34. Read the project documentation
Ask the right people
Ask the right questions
Be at the right meetings
Find out how the project fits into the wider context

35. And remember......
Be clear about the role of communication – it isn’t a substitute for good
governance or line management.
Importantly, communication can’t make sense of something
nonsensical.
Sometimes the problem is with the solution being implemented and
communicators need to be able to recognise this and push back when
the expectation is on them to fix it.
No amount of communication, however creative, can turn a bad
solution into a good one.
Change curve – remember people will take time to accept the change

36. Thank you !