So, what do we do if Europe says Oui, Ja or Si?
The Brexit can has been kicked down the road for so long, are we ready to manage the change if the Council of Ministers and the UK Government give provisional approval later this week? The UK Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, wrote to 600,000 businesses on Monday, telling them they had 80 days to prepare before the transition period ends and Britain finally leaves the EU.
The largest companies already have sophisticated plans in place but many of the smaller organisations in the UK (and elsewhere) will be asking the question: ‘So how do we manage this massive transformation?’ The changes will mean something different for each organisation however there are five steps that each organisation can take to manage the communication of this change.
- Manage the audience – who do you need to communicate with? Update your distribution lists so you can communicate directly with all of your employees – sounds simple but it normally adds delay when it is realised the list is 18 months out of date. Think about your customers and suppliers – can you communicate directly with them? As a minimum, you want to be able to engage the 20% who account for 80% of the business.
- Manage the message – what do you need to tell them? As an organisation, you need to be able to explain what’s changing. What will the audience need to do before 31st December 2020? What will they need to do differently after 1st January 2021? You will need to tell them where can they get advice or guidance about what’s changing in your organisation? Where to go for support in advance? Where do they turn for support if things don’t quite run to plan immediately after the transition period ends?
- Manage the Channels – How do you get the message across? Check when employees were last asked how they like to receive (urgent and important) information? Some of the traditional means of communication just won’t cut it anymore. For example, inviting employees to join a meeting in the canteen with a manager might not work in a post-Covid world where many people are working remotely. Decide what is the best way of communicating? It’s probably a combination of ways. People learn best when they receive the information in a consistent way through different channels. For example, how many times do you need to repeat the message – too few times and the audiences will miss some of the nuances; too many times and the audience will tune out, get bored and ignore the message completely.
- Manage the timing – when to communicate? Who needs to know first and in what order – leaders; managers, employees but what about the Unions or the Works Councils – and what about the people operating in different time zones – it’s worth planning out a clear sequence of communication. There is also the question about how far in advance do you need to communicate? With 80 days to go there isn’t much wiggle room but if you communicate too far out people will forget the message, if you communicate too close to the event people will be unforgiving that you didn’t give them enough notice. Just accept the fact that you probably will not be able to please all of the people all of the time.
- Manage the feedback – Is the message landing? Listen to the audiences – what are their concerns? Can you reduce distress by proactively responding to the more frequently asked questions?
The organisations that communicate their plans in a clear and consistent way will be the winners and those whose communications are muddled at best or non-existent will be the losers. As Brexit affects us all (in the UK) every organisation will fall into one of the two categories – winners or losers!
Brotzen Mayne advises global and national organisations on communicating effectively to deliver successful transformation programmes. The company has recently launched Communicate the Change, an on-line self-paced training programme. You can find out how it can help anyone responsible for delivering change to ensure the communication is understood and drives the relevant behaviours of people impacted by the change.
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