According to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, 71 percent of employees believe it’s critically important for their CEO to respond to challenging times, and 76 percent want their CEOs to take the lead on change. While these findings bode well for your change management initiatives, it’s still important to be fully prepared before rolling out an organizational transformation.
Are your organization’s communicators prepared to deliver your vision effectively?
All too often, transformational messaging gets diluted as it’s cascaded down to line employees. C-level communications and town hall events are carefully developed with key points and takeaways, but after the initial executive announcement is made, middle managers are often left with the task of reinforcing the message and fielding lingering employee questions. Research by IBM Watson Media shows that 72% of employees don't have a full understanding of their company's strategy, so it’s crucial that we empower our managers and team leads with communications tools that align with the new strategic vision.
Have you identified and equipped potential change agents across your organization?
Not all heroes wear capes, and not all change agents sit in the C-suite. While sponsorship by senior leadership is essential to transformational success, it’s also vital that employees across the organization embrace the change. To identify potential change agents at your company, look for the influencers, relationship builders and organizational advocates at every level and every business unit – find out which employees are the most engaged, and equip them with the communications tools they need to help champion the transformation.
Will this transformation change your organization’s culture?
According to a study by Gartner, 42 percent of CEOs at companies undergoing digital transformations anticipate a deep culture change, and 46 percent of CIOs report that culture change is their biggest barrier to success. Reframing a deep-rooted culture to align with a new strategic vision may take some time, but it can be done. Start off by clearly defining values, behaviors, and non-negotiables, and reinforce those principles in ongoing communications. Measure your efforts with KPIs, engagement metrics and employee pulse surveys, and modify your messaging if and as needed.
How Will You Prevent “Change Fatigue”?
Research published by the Center for Creative Leadership found that change fatigue is one of the top challenges facing organizational cultures. With change quickly becoming the new normal, it’s vital that we keep employee engagement a high priority throughout any organizational transformations. To combat the risk of overwhelming employees with change fatigue, help leadership prioritize change initiatives, and encourage employees to share their concerns via two-way communication with their managers as well as feedback with leadership.
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