Change is inevitable. It’s true in life and it’s true in business. Sometimes change is good. Sometimes it’s not so good. Sometimes it’s planned, and sometimes it takes you by surprise. Whatever its nature, failing to effectively communicate change can have negative results for your business, including an alienated workforce, suppliers, and in worst-case scenarios, customers.
Change leads to uncertainty, and uncertainty leads to fear, stress and poor decision-making. Within a company, employees who rarely see change in their day-to-day roles can be very strongly and negatively impacted by change. Departmental restructurings, layoffs, acquisitions, divestitures, policy updates, and other major changes can leave people wondering “what does this mean for me?”
As a business owner or department head, you need to let people know where they stand. If you don’t, people will fill in the blanks themselves, often with incorrect and exaggerated information. This can lead to confusion, the spreading of gossip and rumors, decreased morale, mistrust of management, damaged reputations, increased rates of employee turnover, and other undesirable outcomes. Worse, false information can spread outside of a company, with dissatisfied employees airing their grievances to suppliers and customers, causing further damage and making an issue more difficult to contain and manage.
You can’t always control change in your business, but you can always control how you manage and communicate it. Companies that effectively communicate changes in their organizations typically experience a range of benefits, including:
We offer a range of strategic communications services to help your workforce, suppliers and customers understand changes to your business. We provide clear, concise written content that helps your business achieve the above benefits and more. Our services include:
Below are some of the most common changes at companies that can be made more successful with effective communications planning.
Companies that make effective communications a part of their change management strategy have many advantages over those who do not. We’re here to help you ensure that your communications help your workforce, your suppliers and your customers embrace changes to your organization. Get started with a free consultation by clicking the link below.
