The power of ‘why’: crafting meaningful change management communications

Change is constant within most organizations, yet navigating it effectively can be a daunting task.

Whether you’re implementing new business tools or introducing updated corporate travel policies, the way you communicate change directly influences how your employees respond. Think of executing an effective change management communication campaign like setting out on a trip. Before packing your bags or planning the route, you likely ask yourself: Why are you taking this trip? Should anyone join you? What are you going to do when you get there? In the realm of communication campaigns, these questions translate into a trio of fundamental inquiries: Why are we building this campaign? Why should employees care? What is the business impact of this change? Defining the answers to these questions isn’t just a preliminary step; it’s the compass that guides the entire campaign, ensuring you’re communicating to your employees with a clear purpose.

Building a foundation by understanding your ‘why’

Before you can begin an effective change management communications campaign, you first must answer three ‘whys’:

• Why are we building this campaign? This question serves as the North Star, guiding the campaign’s purpose. Without a clear objective, a campaign risks becoming disjointed, lacking focus, and failing to achieve meaningful results.
• Why does it matter? This question compels teams to consider the broad organizational impact. It reinforces the campaign’s significance in the context of the organization’s goals and mission.
• Why should employees care? This question prompts teams to identify the impact on individual employees, making the communication more personal. Understanding its relevance ensures the campaign resonates with your employees on a deeper level.

Establishing clear answers to these questions can lay the foundation for a thoughtful and purpose-driven communication campaign.

Putting the why into action

When employees understand the meaning behind a change and can recognize its impact, they are far more likely to embrace and champion the transformation. Consider a scenario where your goal is to encourage employees to travel more intentionally to meet your organization’s carbon emissions reduction targets. The overarching “why” behind this campaign is to contribute to the broader objective of combating climate change. Instead of simply implementing a new policy, it’s essential to convey to employees the significance of their travel choices in reducing emissions. This involves educating employees on the reality of climate change and emphasizing the collective responsibility to foster impactful change, helping them understand why they should care about this initiative. By establishing such a meaningful “why,” you can move forward and craft a communications campaign that strikes the necessary tone of voice and resonates with your employees.

In another scenario, you could use a strategic communication campaign to encourage employees to embrace a new project management tool. The overall purpose for this initiative would be to provide hiring managers with valuable insights into current employee bandwidth and efficiently track billable hours, improving the company’s invoice process. However, this message isn’t likely to resonate with most of your employees. You must acknowledge that adopting this tool is a win-win situation; the company benefits from a streamlined billing process, while teams gain an impactful dataset for justifying new hires, and employees see an improvement in work-life balance. Focusing your message on how this change will benefit work-life balance for the employee is a powerful motivator for compliance. The campaign could center around this core message, emphasizing that adherence to policies is not merely about setting new rules in place but is tied to the organization’s commitment to employee wellbeing.

As you can see, this strategy can be leveraged in communication campaigns across your organization. A procurement team could use this strategy to educate employees on changes with key supplier or a human resources team could announce a shift to a new digital platform, enhancing accessibility within their organization. No matter what department you’re in, the effectiveness of positive advancements you bring to your organization relies on your ability to encourage employees to embrace the change.