The 4 questions that managers must reply with each change
Chances are you’re working on a change today that will affect your team. How you implement this change will affect whether you achieve your overall goals.
Here’s the mistake that executives can’t avoid: they’re waiting to communicate. Until they have more information. Until they have “all the answers”. Until it is often too late.
The result is that someone else does the talking – right or wrong – and it feeds the vine. Worse still, what employees then suspect usually happens in their minds much worse than the planned change.
Chances are, you have information right now that is valuable to your employees and worth sharing.
What employees want to know in times of change
Here’s what employees would tell you about their needs in a time of change:
- Employees want to know what you know today and understand if you don’t have all of the facts or details.
- You want to be kept informed of the development of the plans. They want to know what you know if you know it.
- You want to know too What information are you working on? find out. When can you expect updates?
With that in mind, here is the breakdown for any communication about change:
- What we know
- What we don’t know
- What we are currently working on
- Myths and Facts (This is about proactively smashing myths or misunderstandings you hear and correcting any misinformation)
Do you think you are not ready to communicate? Under each of the topics above, list possible messages and see if there is enough information that employees find valuable to communicate with.
In almost all cases, you will have enough information to start an important dialogue that will help you minimize the downside of change and maximize the benefits.
What are you waiting for to communicate that you may need to communicate sooner than you might think?
—David Grossmann
You can use this to help direct your communication in times of change fully editable word document tool – Click the image below to download your free copy today.
