Next steps following the video
You need to have a solid understanding of your culture first, before you can make a plan on how to preserve it. Figure out what your core values actually are, and what that means for your action during this crisis. Then start identifying how your people are going to be affected by the restructuring of roles and how. It is important to note that even people for whom the roles will not change at all, will suffer from anxiety from during this process, and survivor's guilt afterwards. You might think that managing your culture and people right now is not as important as some other more pressing matters. But getting this wrong now will seriously erode your team's credibility in your leadership, and hold back your company's future productivity. Getting this right is hard, but you are not in this alone. This is also an opportunity to come out at the other end with a culture stronger than ever!
It is best to approach this task of planning your communication for restructuring roles and organisation in a structured format. Below we have outlined the key steps you need to take to successfully plan your communication and actions to support your teams and culture through this transition.
Step: Identify your company's culture and define key actions
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Action: Hold a workshop or brainstorming session with your task team to focus on and identify your companies. Use this to create a deeper understanding of what your company is actually trying to achieve, how it is doing it and how those factors are currently linked. Identify any gaps between what you want your culture to be and how things are currently done in your business.
- Visible structures and processes
- Strategies, goals and philosophies
- Unconscious actions, taken-for-granted beliefs and assumptions
- Suggested timeline: any time, but before you are restructuring roles and employee compensation packages
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Action: Hold a workshop to define what the clear actions are you and your company are committing to fulfil this culture. Focus on action statements that present key pieces of your culture (e.g. for non-hierarchical culture "We always listen to everybody's idea regardless of title or seniority and acknowledge that the best ideas are generate by the people on the ground"). Use these statements to focus on your gaps previously identified. For each element of your culture, answer the following questions:
- What are non-negotiables for culture?
- What do we need in order to ensure the non-negotiables are in place?
- E.g. change communication plan ensures plan of action through the storm with a clear communication
- What do we already have in place that we can leverage?
- The big question is: How much of this can be used to enable the non-negotiables?
- What exactly are you going to prioritise to ensure the non-negotiables are in place?
- E.g. set up a change plan project team, convene strategy review session, analyze current resources including people, products, markets etc.
- What do you need as a leader?
- E.g. training, coaching, budget, skills
- Suggested timeline: any time, following first workshop (or combined as part 2 of the first workshop)
Step: Build communication plan and support system
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Action: Create a change management and communication task team to manage and maintain culture and communication during transition. This team should involve at least one skilled HR person in order to address employee wellbeing
- Suggested timeline: following workshops
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Action: Have the change mgmt. task team perform an impact assessment on internal stakeholder. For each defined group of stakeholders, define clearly and the describe the impact of your change initiatives (cost reductions, role re-design, org. re-design, reductions in pay, layoffs, etc.) and
- Suggested timeline: as soon as possible, before communicating significant role-redesign or layoffs
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Action: Build communication plan with clear layout of key messages, responsible person for communication, channel of communication and timelines (incl. frequency of communication). This plan should tightly integrate with your project plan so communication around key milestones and initiatives is coordinate and anticipates shock to stakeholders helping them prepare. This plan needs to be continuously updated and messages catered for specific audiences.
- Suggested timeline: as soon as possible, in parallel with finalizing new org and role design and other cost-cutting measures
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Action: Following impact assessment on stakeholders, identify which support systems you and your team can provide to support those affected by the transition. These can be 'soft' support such as commitment to extra times in calendars for personal conversations to 'hard' support such as offering counselling, or access to data bases for support.
- Suggested timeline: one week after impact assessment
Step: Iterate and improve communication plan
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Action: Set up mechanisms to measure impact and engagement of your employees (e.g. through anonymous office surveys) and allow them to give feedback. Continuously monitor and measure employee wellbeing through these tools
- Suggest timeline: as part of setting up communication plan, send out weekly or min. bi-weekly surveys
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Action: Continuously review communication plan to adjust were necessary regarding messages, timing (based on change management milestones), frequency. Make sure to use feedback from your employees to adjust plan where necessary, and iterate key messages to need to be communicated more clearly.
- Suggested timeline: continues, min. bi-weekly review
