Gaining commitment and maintaining impetus are fundamental to implementing successful and lasting change. After the initial surge of activity in creating the change vision there is a real risk that business-as-usual concerns will rapidly diminish our interest in, let alone commitment to, making the change. Continual reinforcement of what we want to achieve is required to make sure the individuals from the business stay engaged in the change. This requires a clear communications strategy translated into appropriate, localised directions for use by change leaders throughout the organisation, whether they are business managers or ‘people like us’ – local role models.
Things to consider
- Have you established a clear, shared vision for the change among all interested parties?
- Does the communications strategy cover the ‘breadth’ (involve all relevant areas) and the ‘depth’ (involve all relevant levels) necessary for long term commitment?
- Are you looking out for previously unidentified individuals and groups who need to be ‘on board’?
- Do you know how to communicate with each individual or group and how often?
- Are those impacted by the change empowered to contribute to the change?
- Does the communication feedback tell you what you need to know about how individuals and groups feel about the change? Is their commitment steady, rising or falling?