When research on communication in the context of organizational change has tried to dissect the aspects that influence employees’ attitudes toward change, transparency, appreciation, and participation have been some of the most relevant ones.
Explore the most influential aspects of communication when it comes to how employees feel about a change initiative.
#1 Participation
Wide participation in the change process to make organizational members feel more included, committed, and in control of the situation.
Study shows that dialogic communication results in lower levels of resistance to change among employees. Although communication within the context of change has been largely seen as a way to inform, involve, and motivate collaborators, participants are often engaged in monologic participation, where they are not actually treated as objects of change, but rather than participants. However, a change that is led through dialogue is more likely “to take root because it is born at a point of contact among various consciousnesses” Matos & Exposito summarize the principles of dialogic communication developed by Kent and Taylor (2002), which are mutuality (collaboration and equality), propinquity (the participants involved are engaged in the present, rather than after the decision has been made), empathy, risk, and commitment.
#2 Transparency
There is a strong relationship between communication and uncertainty. They claim that successful programs of change communication depend on the accurate management of uncertainty associated with change, since poor or insufficient information will initiate rumors and gossip. A lack of information bolsters negative feelings and increases resistance, and one of the primary reasons why change efforts do not succeed is under-communication. Consequently, more accurate information will reduce people’s perception of uncertainty, and proactively establish and maintain trust.
This highlights the importance of providing employees with detailed and accurate information during change. Conversely, good change communication provides complete and honest information that addresses the concerns of employees and allows for participation. Repetition of the message through more than one medium also increases people’s memory of the message. All this indicates that a successful change program should focus on keeping employees well-informed about the change initiative and its implications.
#3 Meaningful communication
Research points out that the communication must also be meaningful, informing and motivating employees to support the initiative. Katzenback (1995), in his book The Real Change Leaders, includes meaningful communication as one of the main characteristics of high-performing companies. Meaningful communication informs and educates all employees, and motivates and positions employees to support the strategy. Communicating the vision and the mission to change members will contribute to increased levels of change readiness. Effective communication about the vision and purpose of the change processes provides justification to employees and adds meaning.
#4 Communication as a socially constructed process
Apart from all the change efforts that managers make, there is a difference between what is formally said (perhaps before managers) and what is informally conveyed (often among colleagues). Homan (2007) describes this difference as on-stage and off-stage behavior. This is partly how people make sense of change, “there is a continuous process of sensemaking going on in informal conversations where people make sense about what is happening in the formal side of the organization”. It is done jointly, not individually, by discussing the situation with colleagues and drawing conclusions based on those interactions.
During organizational change, individuals construe their own sense of the significance, importance, and worth of a change initiative. They tend to do it through social interactions and these processes are described by sensemaking theory. Sensemaking and meaningfulness may influence employees’ receptivity to change. Berger and Luckmann (1976) pointed out that “all that is involved in change will also bring about change through their social processes of interaction and the meanings they develop as a result.”
Several scholars within this approach understand the organizational change from a narrative approach, since stories make sense of changes. A narrative is a form of communication that is important in sensemaking processes and learning, since stories help people structure their experiences. Different background conversations create different contexts, and consequently different realities that frame a certain change initiative. Background conversations are products of people’s direct and indirect experiences and manage the way they understand what is said and what is unsaid. The authors suggest that a solution to deal with background conversations is reinvention, where the focus is on reframing and creating a new context, not changing what is.
#5 Appreciation and support
Trust in leaders and knowing that leaders support the change efforts are also important to ensure readiness. In this effort, leaders should be supportive enough to ensure the commitment of employees to the changes. The psychological contract approach (Rousseau, 1989) represents a set of mutual expectations between the employer and the employee. Most of these expectations are implicit and consist of norms like respect and appreciation. Research observes that when employees felt that their organization fulfilled the psychological contract during the change, their cognitive and behavioral response was positive. It turns out that feeling appreciated during the change process leads to more positive attitudes toward change, while a lack of support leads to more negative attitudes.