ELIZABETH HUGHES / LOCAL GOVERNMENT 101 E LIZAB ETH H UG H ES COM M U N ICATION. www.elizabethhughes.co.nz
Seven tips How to communicate through change.
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eing flexible, adaptable and able to cope with change are not so much aspirational traits for working in local government but essential if you are to survive. For those of you who are considering change in your organisation – whether new systems and processes, structural, rebranding, outsourcing or policy changes – here are some tips for ensuring that communication effectiveness is maximised.
TIP 1 Communicating for change can only be as effective as your current internal communication systems and processes allow This may seem obvious. Yet some organisations have exceedingly high expectations about how well the change process is going to land and still fail to appreciate the bigger picture. In other words, if your internal communication systems and processes are already rated poorly by staff, do not expect ‘change communication’ to achieve miracles (see Tip 2).
TIP 2 Use the information from your staff survey to find clues as to risks and opportunities for change communication In my job, I get to see lots of staff surveys. What is striking is that so many of the results across many different organisations are very similar. When focusing on local government, the summary of results is as follows. The top three things that staff are dissatisfied with are:
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• Lack of connection to the vision and values of the organisation (not knowing how I contribute to the overall purpose of what we do); • Communication (either it’s not open and honest, or there’s not enough of it); and • “The leadership” (this can sometimes refer to both political and organisational). The top two things they generally rate highly are: • The people I work most closely with (‘my team’ – by far and away the highest scoring in all surveys); and • Doing my job well (within the bounds of what I know and deliver). When considered in tandem, these provide some strong clues about to how to communicate change effectively: • Create visibility for the ‘leader’ to explain why the change matters in the overall scheme of things; • Inform people about the specifics of the change, in a way that is relevant to their team and job; and • Be transparent and sustained in your communication (telling people once or twice is not enough).
TIP 3 Tap into new media for communication It used to be the smokers who knew everything that was going on because they stood together and chatted at least four times a day. These were the people who sustained the underground communication networks. Then, in the 1990s and noughties, it was the water cooler