What sort of information should decision makers share with employees as an organisation prepares to go through a significant cultural shift? These are my thoughts sized in digestible chunks. Order of course may vary.
1. The future that we now see for the organisation
2. How we discovered that we needed to change
3. How quickly we need to change
4. Why we need to make changes at that pace
5. How the new vision changes what the organisation intends to achieve
6. Where our new priorities lie
7. How this will change the ways we behave
8. How this will change the ways we compete
9. How this will change the ways we work
10. How this will change the ways you work
11. How we will now judge success
12. What we think the chances of success are
13. What we will be doing to stack the odds in our favour
14. Where we will be looking to make changes first
15. How far changes will extend
16. Why we have prioritised changes in the ways that we have
17. The benefits we expect to generate
18. What we don’t intend to change
19. What we think people may struggle with
20. When we expect the change to be competed
21. Who will be responsible for driving changes
22. Why those people were chosen and the mandate they were given
23. What will be asked of all people during this time
24. How we will keep you informed
25. How you will be supported through the change process
26. How and when we will measure progress
27. How and when we will report on and celebrate progress
28. How you can contribute
29. The incentives for change – personal, team and organisational
30. What we commit to doing to continue being a high achieving culture
The over-riding stipulation is clear, regular and open communications. Everyone agrees with the latter in principle but decision makers sometimes baulk at what they are being asked to share, fearful that it will ‘get out’. My own view is that if management don’t explain what they are doing, why, when, how and with what resources, staff will come to their own conclusions and share those ‘findings’ anyway.
Acknowledgements
Photo of “Little man on the Roof” by zanten.net, sourced from Flickr
