Engage your people
or risk failure

Engaging heads and hearts

A key driver of success for any transformation project lies in the experience of those impacted as this is what will help build alignment or foster resistance. The role of leaders and people managers in generating this alignment is critical. Clear and consistent communication enables people to understand the change, retain some sense of agency, and connect with the purpose of the project.

Our research found that many leaders aren’t prioritising effective communication

Despite the fact that communication is key to driving engagement, reducing stress and fatigue for employees and maximizing the successful implementation of change, our research shows that insufficient focus is being placed on managing communication throughout the transformation process.

Almost half of those those we surveyed (45%) said the change communications strategy for their project has been reviewed less than three times over the last year. Meanwhile, just 30% said they consider communication to be a top priority when implementing change, and a worrying 28% said their people were a priority.

A worryingly low percentage of HR leaders prioritise communication when managing change

“People don’t resist change, they resist being changed”

- Peter Senge

Targeted messages generate buy-in

It should go without saying that if leaders want to succeed in driving positive change within their organisation, effective communication and supporting their workforce should sit at the very top of their agenda.

You cannot generate the necessary buy-in from employees if you’re leaving them in the dark to anticipate the worst and fill the gaps in their knowledge with rumours. This will fuel anxiety and misplaced fear, as found by Oak Engage where 40% of employees said they feel anxious towards change and 61% of employees worry that business leaders purposely try to mislead them.

But why are so many leaders failing to recognise the importance of communicating with their people?

Without the proper training, leaders will find themselves unclear as to what steps they need to take to implement change properly. This is evident in the fact that 1 in 5 HR professionals said their employer doesn’t have targeted communication plans for transformation projects, while just 27% said they place high importance on targeted comms when implementing change.

said they place high importance on targeted communications when implementing change

employees doubt their leaders' ability to drive change

A skills gap for leaders?

Our research found that 1 in 5 HR professionals said their business hadn’t provided specific upskilling in managing change for their leaders. With transformation projects becoming increasingly complex, leaders need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to implement and oversee them effectively – and this needs to include the leadership required to engage and communicate effectively throughout transformation.

If their development in this area is being neglected, it’s more likely they’re going to sink rather than swim when chucked into the deep end of a major change initiative. And so it’ll come as no surprise that only 25% of employees say driving change is a key strength of their senior leaders.

These statistics reflect a lack of understanding from leaders as to how important tailored communications are in addressing the different areas of a business. If leaders aren’t communicating in a way that resonates with employees and their unique experiences of change, generating understanding and buy-in will be very difficult.

And with Gartner data finding that employees are withdrawing their willingness to support change, down from 74% in 2016 to just 43% in 2022, any subsequent unease and discontent will inevitably lead to an unwanted loss of talent. If people begin leaving the business mid-project, it’ll become difficult for any change to be effectively integrated – leading to additional, costly transformation projects being required to rectify the shortcomings of their predecessors.

As found by a recent survey by HappierMe: when communication fails, leadership fails.

Key takeaways

Identify specific communication strategies for key groups
Maximise a two-way dialogue throughout the process
Upskill leaders and managers on leading on the human side of change