CHAPTER 4

Change Communication

Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

1. define change communication;
2. explain change communication strategy in the management functions;
3. discuss how receptivity to change is possible;
4. dislodge ingrained behaviors in yourself and others so change is possible;
5. lead a change communication process;
6. explain the demands, perceptions, and expectations of change communication.

Introduction

Imagine that you have purchased automobile insurance from a leading company for the last 10 years. Another agent from a competing firm approaches you with an offer that he or she says covers a much broader range of damages than your existing policy—and at half the cost because you are married, and have no speeding tickets or accidents in 10 years! Nevertheless, loyalty to your old company and the agent whom you have worked with for many years makes it very difficult for you to switch companies. Six months after you decide not to switch insurers, you have a collision with another vehicle. Your existing insurance company covers only half the damage to your car and the other driver’s car. Now the other driver is threatening you with a lawsuit because you received a ticket (violation) from the officer on the scene. Moreover, the person you hit also has an inferior policy and his bodily injury claims are not completely covered by his own insurer. You call the agent from the competing company who offered to insure you, just for clarification purposes. The agent tells you that under the policy he offered, you would have been fully covered regardless of who was at fault. How would you feel about your decision not to change your insurance policy after such an experience? Would you change companies for your future insurance needs? This hypothetical example illustrates, perhaps in an exaggerated manner, the tendency of people to resist change and how the lack of receptivity to change can bring harm to those people and possibly others.

The difficulty of changing an entire organization largely resides in individuals’ experiences with changing agendas. When confronted with altering from a comfortable habit to a state in which they have no experience, most people have difficulty saying that yes the change is necessary. For the individual, the change can be something as mundane as selecting a new item on the menu as a substitute for a favorite item that the person has been enjoying for 5 years. Will the change be better than the status quo? Change communication is a dynamic, deliberate process that managers use to shift the entire organization from one state of existence to a more desired state of existence, thus affecting every stakeholder of the organization. The change process can be difficult because employees know that change makes demands, and they cannot be sure of what the end result will be. They only know what they have already experienced, and those situations frame their attitudes about change. Employees typically expect to receive something in return for complying with demands placed upon them by agents of change.

Change for an organization is difficult for many of the same reasons that personal change is challenging. Nevertheless, change and the effective communication of it to constituents are essential for an organization’s survival. In a recent study of 300 U. S. managers, 65 percent said that communicating clearly and frequently was the most important factor in leading a company or team through a major change (Lipmam 2016; Wolper 2016).

Four aspects of change communication will be discussed: (1) applying change communication strategy in the four management functions; (2) understanding the demands, perceptions, and expectations of change communication; (3) leading the change communication process; and (4) dislodging ingrained practices so receptivity of organizational members to change is possible. We begin our discussion with change communication strategy.

Change Communication Strategy

Barrett (2002) demonstrated that during organizational change, communication with employees can mean the success or failure of the organizational initiative. The input and output mechanisms (open systems theory assumes organizations are dependent on their environments to transform inputs into outputs—goods and service to be sold) happen regardless of whether change comes from a process improvement approach, acquisition, new venture, or merger. Barrett’s (2002) model is an attempt to synthesize organizational information into communication.

Figure 4.1 illustrates the application of Barrett’s original three-phased change communication model. Figure 4.1 shows both feed-forward loops and feedback loops. Feed-forward represents communications that take place before the fact (encoding and initiating at every level). Feedback refers to communications taking place after the fact (decoding and interpreting at every level). These loops connect each phase of the change communication effort back to managers at each organizational level and across the functional areas, thus enabling managers to constantly refine their efforts at shaping employee communications.

Application of the model depicted in Figure 4.1 can help you as a manager achieve your strategic goals in effectively using employee communication to implement change. In high-performing companies, goals are usually statements of particular points to be achieved in the short term or long term. Goals tend to be statements of what we want. Plans are blueprints for actions needed to achieve the stated goals.

Strategic planning and goal setting serve to (1) illustrate effective employee communications in the context of the high-performing organization; (2) provide a tool to analyze and diagnose a company’s communication strengths and weaknesses; and (3) frame the change program to improve employee communications to help drive the change. The three-phase model functions as an analytical tool that helps managers diagnose a company’s strengths and weaknesses in employee communication so the company can effectively use communication to facilitate the overall change process.

Receptivity to Change

A well-implemented change strategy requires that stakeholders are receptive to the change, though not every employee will necessarily be supportive. When an organization is involved with continuous change implementation, stakeholders may develop change fatigue or change resistance. Researchers Frahm and Brown (2007) spent 100 days at Tech D, a public sector organization, where many of the employees felt that there were limited feedback channels, and that communication flowed downwards, with little concern about information flow upwards. The research was a case study, and therefore limited to a single firm. Nevertheless, the findings can shed light on change as it occurs in other organizations as well.

Receptivity to change is a measure of acceptance of change by the person, group, or organization. Change receptivity can range from negative, to neutral, to positive. Negative responses to change can include contempt, frustration, change fatigue, and fear. The neutral response includes passive acceptance, limited change readiness, and ambivalence. Positive responses include pro-innovation, change commitment, and excitement.

The receptivity of individuals often changes during the process of the change, which can be for the better or worse. Recognizing that the formal communication was breaking down at Tech D, people began focusing on rumors and grapevine information which, of course, affected productivity negatively. Tech D employees were very satisfied with the CEO’s personal communication style; however, middle managers tended not to pass on information. The organization culture was affecting the flow of information. Tech D management knew that they needed to shift their cultural values to improve the organizational communication quality. In many cases, they needed to pre-sell change so that the people involved would understand why it is happening. The people who had access to higher levels of reliable informal communication were more accepting of the changes. Another finding of the study was that people preferred the term continuous improvement over the term change. The word change often carries the connotation of change for change sake, not secure or positive, and personnel turnover (Frahm and Brown 2007).

As was the case at Tech D, rampant rumors are often associated with unsuccessful change communication efforts, and rumors are often the result of management’s poor communication strategies (Burlew, Pederson, and Bradley 1994; Smeltzer 1991; Smeltzer and Zener 1992). Additionally, during periods of change some people choose to leave the organization rather than engage in the change (Douglas, Martin, and Krapels 2006). Many times people are not ready for change, or they do not like the new responsibilities that the changes may call for. When managers explain why the change is necessary, even those who preferred maintaining the status quo, were less resistance to the change. Employees can understand that not changing may increase costs and changing can decrease costs. Because the resistance to change decreases with understanding, the manager’s role is very important in framing communication about change. Attitudes depend largely on the framing of the statement by managers (McKay, Kuntz, and Naswell 2013; Spears and Parker 2002).

Employees will respond more positively to organizational change when they are satisfied with the management’s communication, and cynicism is greatly reduced when the communication is on the employees’ own terms. Change agents will have a better chance of achieving effective and successful organizational change when they consider the needs of different organizational groups (Jones et al. 2008). To inspire employees, a manager’s language must transform the change into a vision that is consistent, avoid confusion, and gain credibility with employees (Barnett and Tichy 2000). A manager can be a “meaning maker” by emphasizing the vision and not the details. Metaphors can be effective because of their strong emotional appeal (Conger 1991).

To change communication practices within an organization, you as a manager will need to do the following:

• Learn about the people who will be experiencing the change and decide what the triggers are that will make those people trust you and cooperate with the change.
• Describe the change in a broad way and what you see the change achieving.
• Use dialog to help coach changes in cognitive knowledge to develop new knowledge structures.
• Use training and feedback often to develop the new communication skills that you desire.
• Support for the changes by assuring that all organizational systems are aligned. (Suchan 2006)

A change communication model developed by Wiggins (2008) for use in her communication consulting business is illustrated in Figure 4.2.

As shown in Figure 4.2, employees demand for information changes over time.

• In the first phase (quadrant 1), employees find out about the news and want information. This is the time when holding town hall forums and Q & A sessions at multiple locations using video conferencing would be useful. It is difficult at this time for employees to hear both what management is saying and to listen to their own inner voices with such questions as “Will I lose my job? I have a mortgage!” and so forth.
• In the second phase (quadrant 2), the news becomes real and the employees need support. Management should concentrate on individuals and small groups to make sure that the changes and their impact are understood. Venting is important during this time period, so e-mails to managers, scrawl walls, drawings of bubble people, and texting can help employees relieve stress.
• In the third phase (quadrant 3), employees begin to focus on the future and need a vision. Long-term and short-term goals need to be made with the input of all employees. Management needs to be communicating about the future and employee involvement. Communication interventions should be steady with good information and frequent progress reports, which serve to squelch the rumor mill. Use communication circles to discuss rumors, news stories, and anything else that the employees have heard. Basically, stop the rumor mill.
• In the fourth phase (quadrant 4), employees will ideally have accepted the changes and now see themselves as part of the goal and part of the team that will make the change. Strategies in phase four are unique: management should continue the strategies used in the third phase; however, receptivity and acceptance of the change agenda are assumed in phase four. Managers need to communicate about the future and employee involvement. Communication interventions should be steady with good information and progress reports.

As a manager, you will have to provide employees with a reason to change, and they have to believe that the organization truly wants change. If employees believe this is merely another fly-by-night idea, they will not give it credence and will not support it.

Dislodging Ingrained Practices

An example of an ingrained practice was a situation in which a governor of Michigan distributed information on a study of the volumes of material in filing cabinets in the various state offices, and the fact that much of the information had not been used for a long time. The governor was concerned because it was much more expensive to maintain office floor space than storage floor space. All offices were instructed to box up old files and send them to the storage facility. One manager was extremely upset with the request and would not take part in determining which materials should be stored. The manager’s employees followed the governor’s guidelines and emptied six legal filing cabinets from just one department office. The manager did adjust eventually, and of course did not miss any of the materials that were moved. This story illustrates that people require adequate time to adapt to change.

Changing how we communicate is often part of changing a corporation. Altering the way in which workers express their ideas in writing and speaking is challenging at best. Expect questions (and complaints) while change to the new standards is taking place and employees get adjusted to new writing and speaking styles, designs, and message strategies. Standardized communication patterns are important to an organization; however, changing those patterns take time. The more overlap there is between the new communication structures and the old, the easier it will be to make the change.

Cognitive underpinnings for communication strategies that are too simplistic can lead to dysfunctional communication practices and habits, such as documents that are not reader focused in style, organization, or tone; lack of appropriate media (channel) choice; communication distortion caused by too many organizational layers; and not knowing the appropriate feedback channel.

Changes in cognitive underpinnings, organizational performance, and professional self-worth may be necessary to get the message across. Items that can cause inertia in changing the communication in the organization include past and current successes, plentiful resources, systems and structures that are so intertwined that it is difficult to focus, inefficient external feedback loops, and negative information from customers and external stakeholders that may be ignored (Suchan 2006).

Demands, Perceptions, and Expectations

Communication makes demands and creates expectations because communication and information are different: and while they are largely different, the two are interdependent. Information and communication differ in that information is logic and communication is perception. Information is formal, has no shared meaning, and is impersonal. On the other hand, communication is interpersonal. Information becomes communication when there is shared meaning, thus, giving shared experiences primacy over logic (Drucker 1974). According to Peter Drucker, managers must talk to recipients in their own language or on their own terms; that is, one has to use a carpenter’s metaphors when talking to carpenters.

Managers leading the change process need to understand that effective managerial communication is associated with less cynicism, fewer harsh feelings, and fewer negative employee perceptions. Direct supervisors have historically been the preferred sources of implementation-related and job-relevant information sharing during change; while senior managers have historically provided avenues for strategic information to be shared throughout the organization.

Change Makes Demands

Changing the way that an organization communicates and uses communication to make change is not easy. Organizations such as Blockbuster, Borders Books, and Montgomery Ward were destroyed when change in the competitive environment made demands that they were not prepared to make. A traveling salesman, Aaron Montgomery Ward, started Montgomery Ward in 1872. By 1883, it mailed out a 240-page catalog listing 10,000 items, and by 1929 it had grown to an unheard-of 531 stores. Industry analysts believe that Montgomery Ward “lost its reason for being,” in other words, it lost its mission (Tharp 2000). As a result, the catalog pioneer closed its remaining 250 stores in the year 2000, leaving 37,000 employees without jobs. Montgomery Ward failed because it did not change rapidly enough to meet the demands of innovation in the retail industry. They were not able to motivate stakeholders to do something, become something, or believe something different from the status quo. Generally, if changes are necessary, the changes must be organization-wide, making demands of all involved, including external stakeholders. The entire retail industry is currently under pressure to change in response to the trend toward online purchasing. Whether retailers can make appropriate changes will determine if they survive or die.

One recent example of corporate response to rapid changes in online retailing is presented in the Window into Practical Reality 4.1.

If you consider the situation with Blockbuster, you can see how efforts to change can be counteracted by inertia. Change involves five stages (1) a trigger that is linked with a strategic intent; (2) framed change within the goals to be achieved; (3) dialog to help employees understand and use the change; (4) training programs with feedback to develop the new communication skills; and (5) organizational systems that are aligned in support of the communication changes (Suchan 2006). Selling individuals on change requires considerable persuasion. That often means meeting one-on-one with those who can help promulgate change, and larger scale meetings with all employees.

Change Is Perception

U.S. airlines were doing relatively well financially prior to government deregulation in 1978. Following deregulation, however, many have gone bankrupt or have been acquired by other airlines. In an attempt to remain solvent, various airlines have changed their operations and practices. For example, many flight attendants are no longer permanent employees but part-time employees, which means fewer benefits and lower pay. One might question the long-term benefit of this change in terms of employee morale and passenger satisfaction.

Other changes by the airlines have directly impacted the delivery of service to passengers. Charging for checked baggage is one such example. Check-in bag charges has encouraged passengers to carry more bags onto crowded planes, thus increasing boarding time and leading to more late takeoffs. Most customers’ perceptions based on past experience are that checked bags should be part of the flight price, rather than an add-on expense. Customers’ negative reactions and outrage, therefore, should not have been unexpected for airline executives. Many doubt the wisdom of other changes that the airlines have made in recent years—charges for food, carry-on bags, assigned seating, and extra leg room are some examples. Sagging employ morale resulting from low wages and benefits further impacts the faltering satisfaction of customers. As a manager, you will need to consider every employee, customer, and stakeholder when communicating organizational change.

Automakers have also been known to miss the mark on customer perceptions, as described in the Window into Practical Reality 4.2.

Change Is Expectation

Top–down communication provides subordinates with the information needed for understanding. Upper management initiates the change communication process at all levels. When a union is involved, the company should bring them into the change process early on. If the union does not buy in, the organization will have workers who will not buy into the change. In many cases, unions and their members have good reasons to resist the proposed change. It may mean that the company is replacing jobs with robots or shifting operations overseas. While such cost-savings measures may make sense to the firm, it is hard to convince displaced workers that these are improvements. How is it an improvement if they are losing their positions? Do managers know what the union is expecting to see and hear?

One of the most important skills you can apply as a manager seeking to bring about change is the ability to recognize the uncertainty that your people are experiencing and understand it from their perspective. In times of uncertainty, rumors begin to spread quickly through the grapevine and misinformation abounds. Be sure that all employees are receiving the same message during times of change. Formal and informal communication controls need to be in place to control the rumor mill. Because most rumors start because of a lack of information from management, it is better to provide more information rather than too little. A “no comment” management policy simply spurs the rumor mill to run faster! Another important point to remember is that the more employees are involved in solving the problems associated with the change, the less disenfranchised the employees will feel and the more productive your organization will be. If you do not know what is going to happen, say that and ask if the employees would like to work on a solution. Window into Practical Reality 4.3 illustrates how change communication can build expectations.

Change Channel Choices

The type of communication channel chosen by a leader for sharing messages is an important component in the change communication process. Sending an e-mail to all personnel with an attachment may not get the workforce sufficiently motivated. However, selling the line managers on the program and having them present it to their workers may work better in some situations; while, holding a series of small meetings with subsets of the workforce, may be preferred in other cases. Whatever the selected channel, allowing employees to have input as the change develops is essential to their buying into the changes. People will backslide by gradually returning to old habits if leadership falters, or if top talent leaves the organization (Duck 2001).

Four key factors in the change process are (1) duration, (2) integrity, (3) commitment, and (4) effort. Duration is the time it will take to implement the change and the frequency of reviews while the process is going on. Integrity involves choosing the correct people to carry out the change. Commitment is the dedication of top management and employees affected by the change to the enactment of the change. Finally, effort refers to the amount of resources and energy that will be required to make the initiative happen effectively.

The role of the CEO in both profit and nonprofit organizations in bringing about the desired change is to determine both the direction and strategy for change. Strategic management is a dynamic process that over time determines the long-term performance of an organization. The concept of hierarchy of goals theorizes that strategic-level goal achievement is dependent upon first achieving the goals at both the operational and tactical levels. CEOs can only implement a strategic change when there is an accompanying alignment of organizational parameters at the system level. System-level parameters include organizational structure, culture, training and development, recruitment and hiring, resource allocation, leadership, information systems, reward systems, coordination mechanisms, and control systems (Edwards 2000).

Managers throughout the organization must talk the talk and walk the walk, if they want the players to make the change. Managers must ensure the congruency of the information broadcasted through the formal channels of the organization and the information distributed through the informal channels. It is important that the management team at all levels spend less time writing e-mails and texting, and spend more time developing relationships with their employees by sharing stories of what is happening in the organization, thus developing trust. Some organizations have actually set aside specified days when employees have to communicate with one another in ways other than by e-mails and text messages.

Bennis and Nanus (1985) argue that leaders shape social architecture (organizational culture) by managing meaning through communication. Architects design things that engineers then build. Using this type of simile, executives can apply their leadership to build different types of organizational culture or social architecture. Universities and engineering firms typically use the collegial style, with the dominant emphasis on consensus, peer-group membership, and teamwork. Personalistic style emerges when a founder’s personality personifies the organization, for example CEO Fred Smith at FedEx. With this style, the locus of decision making is within a given individual. The formalistic style is at play in government bureaucracy or other hierarchical organizations that drive decisions through explicit rules and policies. Each of these styles is characterized by elements that define an organization’s social architecture.

Being Charismatic

Charisma is a personal characteristic that leaders can use to influence people to embrace their vision and initiatives. Success is built on the capacity to transmit image-compelling ideas to the organizational members via sensory modes. Charismatic leaders induce enthusiasm and commitment in others, build trust, and foster positive emotions through their communication and actions. Suzette Haden Elgin (1980) offers perhaps the best explication of “charisma” and what it means when speakers are “Being Charismatic,” in chapter 13 of her book. Charisma, loosely defined is the attraction other people have toward a speaker’s personality. Charismatic people have attractive personalities. This attraction is purely perception; being charismatic enables the speaker to arouse passion via the sensory mode (sight, touch, smell, hearing, taste) in others—the speaker’s words activate while simultaneously soothing the senses. The words charismatic people use, moreover, fall into three categories: parallelism, unifying metaphors, and culturally loaded vocabularies (Elgin 1980).

Successful leaders know that helping the company’s leadership to become better communicators is one of the most valuable legacies organizations can leave. Improving communication skills through training is about developing a natural, human, and authentic style. It is about being able to connect with and interest other people, most notably by being charismatic. Window into Practical Reality 4.4 provides an example of how presidential rhetoric was used to evoke change in a nation.

Remember that as an engaging leader, you will need to be authentic and honest in your communication. Jargon-filled corporate language does not effectively impact employees, and the most convenient channel is not necessarily the most effective. Dewhurst and Fitzpatrick (2007) state that when communicating for change, you should be able to answer the following questions before you form your message:

• Why am I communicating?
• What my team will think?
• What do I want to say?
• What is the best way to say it?

With your answers determined, you will be ready to say what you need to say in the best way possible. Finally, you will want to ask yourself if your communication was successful.

Summary

Effective managers recognize that the recipients’ experiences shape the reality of what they see and hear. If managers are to successfully initiate change, they need to mesh the employee communication change program with the functional areas of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Five essential actions for an effective strategic communication change program include (1) forming a strategic communication team (SCT); (2) assessing current communication practices; (3) conducting cascading vision, strategy, and job redefinition workshops; (4) monitoring the results; and (5) tying the change communication strategy into the management functions across the management tiers with feedback and feed-forward.

Successfully leading change can include understanding three styles of social architecture: (1) collegial—universities, engineering firms, (2) personalistic—a founder’s personality personifies the organization, and (3) formalistic—explicit rules. Leaders manage meaning through vivid and lively communicative actions, and they talk to recipients in their own language and in their own terms.

Managers leading a change program will need to understand that sufficient managerial communication is associated with less cynicism, harsh feelings, and negative employee perceptions. Direct supervisors are the preferred sources of implementation-related and job-relevant information during change, while senior management provides strategic information.