Communication in Change Management

By Susan M. Heathfield

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You cannot over-communicate when you are asking your organization to change. Every successful executive, who has led a change management effort, in my experience, makes this statement.

I have never worked with a client organization in which employees were completely happy with communication. Communication is one of the toughest issues in organizations. Effective communication requires four components interworking perfectly for “shared meaning,” my favorite definition of communication.

• The individual sending the message must present the message clearly and in detail, and radiate integrity and authenticity.



• The person receiving the message must decide to listen, ask questions for clarity, and trust the sender of the message.



• The delivery method chosen must suit the circumstances and the needs of both the sender and the receiver.



• The content of the message has to resonate and connect, on some level, with the already-held beliefs of the receiver.

With all of this going on in a communication, I think it’s a wonder that organizations ever do it well.

Change management practitioners have provided a broad range of suggestions about how to communicate well during any organizational changes.