Why change communications needs partners, champions and critics.
Before drafting a change comms announcement, teams need people who can identify risks, help employees understand the change and challenge weak spots in the plan.
Elizabeth Whittington, senior director of executive communications at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, recommends building that group around three roles: partners, champions and critics.
“Communication should not be expected to assess every risk alone or prepare for those risks in a silo,” Whittington said during Ragan’s Communicating Change from Strategy to Impact webinar, now available on Ragan Training.
Here’s who Whittington says are best people for the job.
- Partners who understand what comms doesn’t
Bring partners in early enough to shape the strategy instead of just as final reviewers, Whittington said.
Partners are the people communicators consult for expertise before they start writing.
That may include HR, legal, government affairs, managers or outside advisors. Each sees the change from a different angle. HR understands workforce impact. Legal knows the guardrails. Government affairs may spot policy or regulatory concerns.
“Everybody’s protecting something different,” Whittington said.
But those teams shouldn’t only appear at the end to approve copy, Whittington said. Legal and public affairs colleagues have actually helped her team communicate more effectively, she said.
“They’ve told me that they don’t want to be the office of ‘No’,” she said. “They encourage us to say what we need to say.”
- Champions who can help people understand the change
Champions are people who support the change and can explain why it matters.
“Typically, this is your leadership, but also those independent contributors who can act as ambassadors,” Whittington said.
Employees might hear a formal announcement from senior leadership, but they generally turn to managers and coworkers to understand what it means for them.
Whittington said employees at St. Jude, particularly frontline and deskless workers, get much of their information from their managers. Those managers need talking points and tools that allow them to explain the change “in their own words.”
Choose messengers based on trust and proximity to the audience, she said.
- Critics who will challenge the plan
Comms teams also need someone willing to say what isn’t working.
Critics can spot risks, contradictions or credibility problems before a message goes public.
Invite pushback early, Whittington said. It’s much easier to answer hard questions internally than after employees or the public start asking them.
“If you only involve people who already agree with the change, you’re likely to miss the questions that matter most,” Whittington said.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter at PR Daily. Contact her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
The post The 3 people every comms team needs during organizational change appeared first on PR Daily.
