Chapter Seven-Forget The Coolest Office: Change Communication

Chapter Seven – Forget the Coolest Office: Change Communication

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase Change Management. Maybe you were curious and looked it up on the internet. Maybe you were even brave enough to scroll through the many diagrams and flow charts that accompanied the search results. If so, you were probably wondering if you were looking at the WWII invasion plans for Normandy or, perhaps, the plans to build a nuclear warhead. Either would have been a good guess.

It is a shame, actually. Change Management communication is a critical tool in every business’s arsenal. It is a systematic approach of communicating to employees not just what you’re changing about the way they work but, more importantly, why. It’s that simple. Let’s be clear though – as simple as it sounds, change is scary. For many of us, the scariest thing we can imagine. And it’s no different when we talk about changing an employee’s workspace. When workspaces change, employee’s minds become hyper-sensitive to everything, and rarely to the positive. Change management communication can encourage employees to understand the positives in the change that’s occurring.

Unlike those diagrams on the internet, the steps to change management are best kept simple:

Engage Leadership – The “why” of the changes attempted can only come from the leaders of the company. Having a visioning session that fleshes out why the leaders are creating change is critical. A commitment from leaders to model the changes for all employees is also critical. If your moving to open plan to increase collaboration, what does it say to employees if the C-suite stays cloistered in private offices and conference rooms?

Mobilize Middle Managers – Buy in from middle managers is crucial because they are a big part in delivering the change message. Beware – middle managers can also be the keepers of “the way we’ve always done it” becoming an obstacle to new ideas. Including them in a meaningful way will create buy in, which is critical for them to change communication.

Create A Change Team – No, this group is not picking out finishes and furniture. That’s an interior designer’s job. The change team’s main responsibility is translating and implementing that vision from the C-suite into messaging for employee’s and they must be empowered by the leaders to do just that. As such, this team is best constructed not only of management, but rank and file employees who are the best evangelists for change. Peer to peer always trumps top down communication when it comes to embracing a message. Ever tried coaching your own child in a sport? They are more likely to take direction from another player than from the person who also tells them to clean their room.

Develop the Plan – Creating the messaging is the most difficult and the most critical part of this process. Creating messages for the company, the department, individuals, customers, and the community must all be customized while not straying from the original vision set forth by leadership. It may help to have a representative from the marketing department on the change team to help facilitate this.

Prepare and Implement – Preparing for change can take many different forms, but really it boils down to getting the message out. A kickoff town hall meeting or video from the CEO with the company messaging. A happy hour with displays of the new space for individual messaging. The options are endless and only constrained by the change team’s creativity and what the company culture will support. Whatever activities are used, they must occur well before the actual implementation of the change so that the change just seems like a natural progression for employees.

Reinforce and Adjust – Change Management is a journey not an occurrence. Once change is implemented it may take months or years for that change to become ingrained in a company’s culture. That’s why it’s so important to reinforce the “why” of the change that was implemented and adjust as time goes by. Post Occupancy surveys can be valuable in this endeavor. Just wait 60-90 days after implementation to ask those questions.

Throughout this process be fanatical about transparency. People can sense insincerity from a mile away, so whatever your “why” is, whatever your messaging is, if it’s disingenuous it will be perceived as such and taint any future communications. Pay special attention to the members of the change team. Not only will they be constructing the messaging, but they will be living examples of the messaging as well. Choose people for the team who are natural evangelists and use their talent to spread the message. Moreover, don’t look at a change management process as “just a workspace” thing. Once this process is learned it can be applied to any corporate change – a new software or operating system, a new product or service or even a new compensation plan. Change is constant as is the need to manage it.

Mckinsey & Co estimates that 70% of change in corporate America fails because it is managed poorly or not managed at all. Think back to your own professional experience. Have you ever had change sprung upon you? How did you react? How did that make you feel? How did it affect your opinion of your company? The bottom line is that 82% of the average companies operating expenses are people. The goal of leaders is to leverage as much engagement and innovation out of that cost as possible. When it comes to changing a worker’s workspace, communicating why that change is happening and how it is of benefit to the worker and the company is crucial to keeping that employee engaged and productive.

Authors:

Michael Furnari LEED AP + WELL AP

Territory Sales Manager, Haworth

“ Michael is a student of business and a believer in the power of space to create engaged, innovative work groups. He has helped dozens of clients in Central Florida use space as a tool to achieve their business objectives”

Erin Schultz, CBRE

Director, Market Leader for Tampa & Orlando, CBRE

“Erin believes a strong management process can create great spaces for clients. Her multi-disciplinary experience and approach have helped some of the largest corporations in the country create effective and cost-efficient facilities”