As more and more organizations are forced to change the way they
operate in order to remain competitive or even stay afloat, those
overseeing employee communications also must rethink their function
beyond just communicating company news or management pronouncements.
The imperative to change results from changes in markets and
rapidly changing technology available for the workplace. Non-profit
organizations also are affected by these shifts, as well as by changes
or reductions in funding available from governments and foundations.
In this environment, even two-way communication--with effective
flow of information from employees to management as well as from
management to employees--will not ensure that employee communications
will play a pivotal role in change efforts. So contends Bill Jensen,
an organizational change consultant.
Key Messages Don't Spur Change
From an analysis of scores of organizations' internal
communications tools and priorities, Jensen has concluded that as much
as 90 percent of employee communications focuses on delivering "key
messages." Such messages inform, but require no response, and there
is no obvious consequence if recipients ignore those messages.
Instead, Jensen says, communicators should strive for "behavioral
communications," which are intended to cause audiences to act toward
specific organizational objectives. These objectives could relate to
almost any aspect of organizational performance.
A Behavioral Change Model
Based on a study of employee surveys and focus groups involving
more than 200,000 employees from various companies nationwide, Jensen
created a change model built around five questions. The answers drive
behavioral decision-making:
-- Why are we changing? Why is this important?
-- What do you want me to do differently?
-- How will I be measured and what are the consequences?
-- If I change, what tools and support do I get?
-- What's in it for me? And for us?
Jensen emphasizes that most senior management communications fail
because they address only the first question. "That's important," he
says, "but only as context setting. True behavioral decisions are
based upon continuously answering all five questions together."
(Jensen Group, 201/539-5070)
Are Communicators Up to the Task?
Most corporate communicators are not up to the task of leading
corporate change, contends consultant Bill Jensen of change consulting
firm The Jensen Group. "I'm not optimistic about the current batch of
communicators out there," he says.
Unless they drop their focus on shaping messages, they will be
overtaken by technology (e.g. the Internet, PC-based tools), which
allows individuals at many levels and backgrounds tremendous power to
distribute information.
If internal communications staff wish to survive and prosper,
Jensen says they should center their work around "managing and
organizing knowledge." This ability has become critical as knowledge
workers--those whose jobs consist largely of manipulating and
analyzing information--currently estimated to comprise 20 to 40
percent of the workplace, continue to grow in numbers and importance.