Communicating Planned Change to Stakeholders

Organizational change impacts stakeholders and employees either positively or negatively. The internal stakeholders impacted by the change are employees, supervisors, managers, and changes; the external stakeholders affected by the change are business associations, regulators, suppliers, vendors, stakeholders, and customers. However, they all are different and they respond differently relevant to their unique needs and requirements. Today, we’ll discuss communicating planned change to stakeholders; steps involved in the process, benefits, and strategies on how to communicate change to stakeholders.

Process of Communicating Change to Stakeholders

• Defining the goals and objectives of the communication for the targeted audience
• Developing and organizing key communication messages and points
• Connecting and engaging with stakeholders
• Adapting and adjusting your communication plan
• Employing clear and simplified language
• Open and honest communication

Benefits of Communicating Change to Stakeholders

• Building and sustaining changes for a long period of time
• Onboarding all the stakeholders by earning their support and commitment
• Limited resistance of employees and stakeholders due to more engagement
• Empowering all the stakeholders and involving them in the decision-making process
• A diverse team of stakeholders leads them to find more innovative and creative solutions
• Stakeholders share knowledge, skills, and expertise to successfully implement changes in the organization

Strategies for Communicating Planned Change to Stakeholders

Let’s discuss the main strategies for communicating planned change to stakeholders; they’re as follows;

Prioritizing Stakeholders

First of all, you should recognize various stakeholders before connecting and communicating with them. It is necessary to recognize all the stakeholders affected by the change; the ones who oppose the change, and the ones who have control over the change initiative.

You would have a long list of internal and external stakeholders. It is important to prioritize various stakeholders based on the impact of the change and its outcome. Recognizing various stakeholders and prioritizing them would help you to develop a comprehensive communication strategy. Connecting and engaging with them would have to save a lot of time and capital resources.

Recognizing Resistance of Stakeholders

Here, you should comprehend various categories of stakeholders and how they feel and respond to the changes, so that you can communicate with them effectively. While analyzing and comprehending various stakeholders, you should keep in mind the following points;

• How they are perceiving change
• Whether they oppose change or not
• Their contribution and part in the change project
• Things they want to know about the change project
• Motivation reason for the change
• Preferred communication channel

It allows you to predict their responses and reactions; takes the right steps to address their concerns and queries and persuades them to comprehend their views.

Communicating with Stakeholders

While implementing the change project, you should regularly communicate with various stakeholders and address any type of unexpected issues. Keep in mind the following subject areas while communicating with stakeholders;

Communicate the goals and objectives of the change initiative

• Give reasons for the significance of the change project
• Goals and objectives of the change initiative
• Things you want to achieve through the change project
• Setting measurable goals and objectives

Discuss how you are Going to Implement Change

• Scope of the change project
• Strategic approach to the change initiative
• Key tasks and activities that you would perform
• Outlining methods and procedures to manage change
• Internal changes would impact the organization externally

Performance measuring criteria

• KPIs of the change initiative
• Let them know about the financial decisions
• The existing time of the change project

Multiple Communication Channels

It is necessary to be aware of the various communication channels that employees and stakeholders employ to send and receive messages. For instance, their preferred mode of communication could be periodic reports, fact sheets, memos, letters, and emails for sharing information and data. For verbal communication, some prefer face-to-face meetings, seminars, social media platforms, and interviews. You should employ multiple communication channels to share the information by keeping in mind the pros and cons of various channels.

Actions

Leadership should take practical steps to let the stakeholders know about the significance of the change project through their behaviors and actions. It allows them to comprehend the challenges and difficulties of the change program. The news of leadership onboard would send a positive message to the employees and stakeholders and it increases the success rate.

Consistency in Communication

Communicating organizational change is not a one-time thing; rather it is a regular process. Change leaders should be consistent with their change communication message. They should be open, honest, and straight forward with their communication, instead of disguising it.

Conclusion: How to Communicate Change to Stakeholders | Strategies for Communicating Planned Change to Stakeholders

After an in-depth study of communicating planned change to stakeholders; we have realized that communication is the key to the success of the change program. If you are learning about the strategies for communicating planned change to stakeholders; then you should keep in mind the abovementioned benefits; steps involved in the process, and the best practices.