A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document can improve your change management strategy by keeping your stakeholders informed throughout the duration of the project. It is a simple communication tool. It can be a living document where multiple project team members can edit and add questions with ease.
Use your project team, people managers, and sponsor to create a thorough list of anybody impacted, positively or negatively.
Communicating information that is not relevant is a surefire way to disengage a stakeholder. Prioritizing the efforts of your team and yourself will make sure the most critical stakeholders are communicated with the most frequently. An influence – interest grid can be helpful to visualize this assessment. Read how here.
Each stakeholder may have different requirements for this project. Utilize inputs from your project team or people managers to understand where they are at in regards to the project, how they may be impacted, their needs, concerns, benefits, capacity for change.
Consider existing meetings, emails, newsletters that you could be a part of it, instead of creating a separate required meeting or email for employees to read. Consider how to make it easier on them to get the information required. Some people or teams may not consistently use email, chat or calendar and it may be necessary to figure out other ways to get their attention.
Consider this easy to remember, simple format – What? So what? Now what? You can always link to more thorough project information, details or an FAQ for those that want it.
A communication plan can be extremely useful to keep track of complex audience groups, timelines, and large teams. Download a free template here.
Ensure your sponsor and critical project team members are aligned with the approach, key messages, and timeline of your communication milestones.
For example, will you be sending out a routine email update? When should they expect the next in-person communication? This allows them to rest easy in the confidence that they will hear from you again and you are considering their needs.
Did you already communicate with a group in a face-to-face forum? Next time, try email. The time after that, try chat. Consider visual reminders in the workplace such as table-tents, posters, or flyers.
This allows your leaders the time to digest and adjust to the information so that when their employees receive it they are ready to support the initiative.
Provide them with easy to follow talking points, FAQs, or slide decks as needed.
Give your stakeholders the flexibility to engage with the information at the time that works best for them.
Ensure two-way communication. How does a stakeholder provide feedback, ask questions, or bring up concerns? Make their options to contact you or the team visible and include it in every communication.
The absence of information often leads to assumptions. Get ahead of rumors, correct trains of thought, and be as transparent as possible with the information you can share.
For example, an end-of-week project summary could be sent to stakeholders to keep your project at the top of their mind. Keep it concise and focus the information on impact to the stakeholders.
Respect the time of your stakeholders. Do not blindly “cc” or “bcc” or “reply-all” where possible. Send only relevant content to the relevant stakeholders.
I’ll say it again – respect the time of your stakeholders. Send out pre-reads and set meeting agendas. Time-keep the meeting, take notes, and share meeting notes after the fact.
Different people may create a different impact. For example, hearing from a member of your department may create more trust in the project. Hearing from a senior leader may demonstrate the non-negotiables of this project. It can be useful to write or create a communication for the team, and then ask them to communicate to their respective teams. People often engage with information better when it comes from a close colleague instead of a stranger.
Start this at the beginning with questions from the project team. Add to it throughout the project duration. This can be a useful document to attach to communications and equip your change agents with ready-to-go and consistent answers. See our guide here.
Consider a scheduled “office hours,” a table in a popular area in your workplace, and engaging your change agents for more impromptu conversations on the topic.
An easy and simple tactic can be to keep a “living” slide deck where updates are shared and a history of previous updates is maintained. Consider a quick-to-make google site, shared folder, FAQ, or other ways to share information depending on the complexity and confidentiality of your project.
4 Steps to Complete a Stakeholder Analysis (How-to Guide) – FREE template included
Why a Stakeholder Analysis is so important
How to Create a Communication Plan – FREE template included
Change can be stressful and unsettling for employees, so it’s important to effectively communicate the rationale for the change and how it will affect them. A common way people can get disengaged, frustrated and unproductive in the workplace is to not understand how their work connects to the bigger goals of the organization. Similarly, a thoughtful communication strategy can help to avoid issues like delayed project milestones, incorrect rumor swirl, or employee confusion.
Make sure you’re not working in a silo. Project team members can give excellent feedback and inputs about which tactics are effective, and the needs of their teams.
Ensure communications are happening before project milestones! This is particularly important if the change is visible (remember, the absence of information usually leads to assumptions being made!) or if action if required. As an example, it can often be useful to communicate with managers or certain stakeholders a few weeks before the general employee population. Communicating with these groups earlier allows them to adjust to the change and ready themselves to discuss and prepare their teams.
Consider how to enable two-way communication between your customer and the project team. How do employees go about asking questions or raising concerns? Could you set up a Q&A forum, in-person or virtually? How can communications like emails be supplemented with chats, in-person meetings, or visuals?
A rule of marketing states that a customer needs to hear about something SEVEN times before taking action. Are you taking advantage of all the available communication channels to ensure your employees have the information they need? Consider the timing of communications too to allow employees to have enough time to digest and react to a change announcement before anything is expected of them.
Use a variety of channels to ensure that everyone has access to the necessary information, and be transparent and open in your communication. Different learning styles, different personalities, and different generations all have preferences in communication styles.
This customizable Google Sheets template will allow you to capture the complexity of cross-functional change communication. Download below.
Read this: Why a communication plan is critical to your project
Review Communication Plan & Tactics with Project Team
Ensure communications are happening before project milestones, particularly when they are visible to employees or action is required.
Consider how to enable two-way communication between your customer and the project team. Do they have department contacts for questions? Could you set up a Q&A forum, in-person or virtually?
A rule of marketing states that a customer needs to hear about something SEVEN times before taking action. Are you taking advantage of all the available communication channels to ensure your employees have the information they need?
Use a variety of channels to ensure that everyone has access to the necessary information, and be transparent and open in your communication.