The communication game

IT IS SAID THAT THE THREE MOST stressful events in life are moving house, going through a divorce and starting a new job. A common factor of these is that they involve significant change. Change in the workplace can also be very unsettling: research by business psychologists OPP last year showed that the frustration and upheaval caused by organisational change has led 49 per cent of employees to consider leaving their company and 14 per cent actually to leave.

Given the stress of starting a new job, we know that the decision to leave is not taken lightly. It is recognised that organisational change initiatives rarely meet their stated objectives and that in the majority of cases this is due to people-related factors.

Major life changes, such as a divorce or moving house, create significant upheaval, but do not happen very frequently, so there is time to adjust afterwards. In many organisations however, perpetual change is a reality, often leaving little time to adjust to each initiative. Economic drivers and stakeholder pressures influence most changes and the consequence of not changing to meet these demands can be far worse than the change created by these pressures. But not everyone sees it this way.

Successful change management

As a student you will know that involving staff plays a key role in successful change management. It enables them to understand the need for change and to support the new initiatives proposed - but most of all it helps to overcome disruption from employee resistance to the changes.

The type of organisational change has a significant effect on employees' reactions. As might be expected, research demonstrates that changes relating to job roles, restructuring or pay and conditions elicit the strongest type of response. Organisations need to be sensitive to these areas: if they handle them well, employees are more likely to feel motivated, valued and committed to the changes.

However, if change is poorly managed employee resistance is more likely to occur and this will have a detrimental impact on performance. One well-known UK financial institution has taken its purchasing function through three organisational changes within the last year. This creates considerable disorientation for the staff that frequently have to change their roles and responsibilities against a backdrop of potential displacement and fears of possible job losses. Given that most organisational changes take three months to complete, this particular organisation cannot be operating effectively.

Keeping employees informed

Resistance to change can be driven by a fear of the unknown, so the rule for managing people effectively through a change process is communication. A lack of information about organisational change initiatives induces negative reactions in employees. One of the most important considerations in a change project is to understand the reasons for the change as well as its benefits - which requires clear communication from senior management. The second most important factor is to know that the leadership can be trusted to provide honest updates. This correlates with the findings of other research which suggests that employees consider trustworthiness to be the most essential leadership asset.

As a CIPS student you are expected to understand the communication model implicitly, as well as the means of overcoming any barriers to it. The checklist below summarises six essentials to effective communication. This is useful guidance not just for passing exams but also more generally throughout your career.

Aside from organised messages, there is the continuous undercurrent of informal and unplanned communication. This includes informal conversations, casual remarks, as well as non-verbal behaviour. This type of communication will always happen whether planned or not - and so it is essential for managers to ensure that everything they say and do is congruent with the messages they want to relay. If they fail in this, then important questions of integrity start to be asked and support for the change programme can be jeopardised.

Organisational change is inevitable and essential. When it is well managed, it enables organisations to adapt to the environment in which they operate, ensuring on-going success. Communication is a vital skill for all managers - those who learn to master it are most likely to prosper in today's dynamic organisational environment.