Framework library · Change management
Communication plan for change
A communication plan for change is a schedule of messages, one row per audience, with the sender and the channel chosen for that audience rather than for convenience. Those two choices do most of the work. People want to hear why from the senior leader who owns the decision, and what it means for them from their own manager. A message with no way to respond tells you nothing about whether it landed.
Use it when
- A change affects several groups who each need different information at different times.
- Messages so far have come mainly from the project team and people say they do not know what is happening.
- You need to show the sponsor who will say what, and when, before an announcement.
Avoid it when
- The design is still open and nothing can be said with confidence. Communicate what is known and when more will follow, but do not build a full plan yet.
- The real problem is that people disagree with the change. More messages will not fix that; use resistance management.
- You are planning a marketing campaign to customers. Use a campaign plan; this plan is for people whose work or service is changing.
How to run it
List audiences by what they need to know
Split a group when parts of it are affected differently. Include the managers who will brief their teams as an audience in their own right.
Write the message each audience needs
Start with what changes for them and when, then why. One or two sentences per row; the detail goes in the briefing itself.
Choose the sender for the message
The case for change from the most senior person who owns it; the personal impact from the person's own manager; technical detail from the expert. Brief managers before their teams.
Choose a channel that allows an answer
Face to face, a live call with questions or a hands-on session lets people respond. Email and intranet posts are for reference, not for news that changes someone's job.
Set the timing and the repeats
Key messages need repeating; once is rarely enough. Tie timing to milestones so people hear before they are affected, not after.
Close the loop
Give every row a feedback route and someone who reads it. Change the next message based on what comes back.
Work through it
Answer the questions below, or load the worked example to see a finished one. The drawing updates as you type. Export the result as a PowerPoint deck, a Word document, an Excel workbook, a PDF or plain text.
What you type stays in this browser, so you can close the page and come back to it. It is not sent to Blue Prysm or anyone else, and the exports are made here, on your device. Privacy policy.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending everything from the project team, whose name means little to the front line.
- Announcing to everyone at once, so managers hear the news with their teams and cannot answer questions.
- Counting messages sent rather than checking what people understood.
- Saying nothing until everything is decided. Silence gets filled with rumour; say what is known and when the rest will come.
Where it comes from
No single originator. Planning who hears what, from whom, through which channel and when is standard change management practice. Benchmarking research published by Prosci, among others, finds that employees prefer to hear the business reasons for a change from senior leaders and what it means for them personally from their own manager. Source.
Use it with
Work through it with us
The frameworks here are free to use as they stand. If you would rather work through the question behind this one with us, these are the ways an engagement starts.