How do you communicate the value of change management?

This is a fair statement! When I meet a program that is a candidate for culture change, one of the first things I do is talk to the operational folks. Ground zero is where I find the most interesting points of view and the greatest desire to be heard. Coaching executives to be comfortable inviting their employees to collaborate on the change,I find, creates a safer environment for the process to organically take shape and the whole team to take accountability for what they’ve built together.

Before you start - understand your stakeholders perception of change management. If they believe that it is a workstream within the project that just does comms and training you have a bigger mountain to climb. If necessary reframe what needs to be done, call it something different; behavioural design, value realisation, strategy execution, adoption strategy. Each of these breaks the links with the constrained thinking.

Audience is everything, as they have a menage of ideas about how to advance their own careers and the firms for whom they work. You probably need to work to find answers and to verify these.

Communication: You will need to adapt your communication to different audiences. And consider their needs, interests, and levels of understanding. Use language and examples that resonate with them. Training and Development: Offer training programs, workshops, and resources to equip employees with the necessary skills and knowledge to adapt to the change successfully. Remember change is never easy, but most of the time, it’s necessary.

Most change comes down to behavioral change. It’s crucial to understand where each group of stakeholders comes from, what their current state is and then map their unique journey to the desired future state. Communication, training, and expectations of the desired future behavior needs to be tailored to the people receiving it and align with their journeys.

I think it's helpful to make sure that personal benefits for stakeholders are included to ensure there is engagement at a personal level as well as corporately.

Instead of pitching, try using self-discovery instead. Ask your stakeholders questions to understand the level of risk that they are carrying. These are our three ‘killer’ questions: 1. Does anyone red to do anything differently for this change to be successful? 2. How much of your value (from your business case) is dependent on them doing something differently? 3. Are there any consequences for them not changing? These should be asked in the first 2-3 weeks you mobilise. They create openness, awareness and priming of the value at stake and the reliance on the willingness of humans to do things differently. Once the awareness has been created, your stakeholders will be more open to investing to mitigate the risks.

Encourage personal development which is essential to achieve agreed corporate goals and objectives. Personal growth in my experience leads to ongoing economic success.

In my experience, it has also been beneficial to ask the question "How are the benefits of this change" rather than just communicate "What's in it for me?". Shifting the stakeholder mindset to focus on opportunities immediately shifts perspectives and creates a more open and receptive environment for change.

I am a huge proponent of focusing on 'engagement' as opposed to 'communication' when it comes to Change. Providing value to stakeholders should go much wider and deeper than just information. Therefore, efforts should be embedded in change journeys that give birth to opportunities for interaction, deeper understanding, venting, reassurance, etc. Feedback loops can be included in those engagement activities, but that shouldn't be the primary focus of all engagements with stakeholders.

I've found it helpful to also acknowledge where there have been challenges, how they have been addressed and ehat has changed as a result. Providing a rounded view is more authentic as no change activity ever goes 100% to plan and in organisations, stories of what has gone wrong always get out. So the official telling of the story is important.