Why would I need a change management communications plan?
When a company experiences significant change (think: acquisition, layoffs, new leadership, etc.), employees naturally feel discomfort in the unknown. This can lead to disengagement, lack of productivity and loss of top talent. A change management communications plan ensures that all stakeholders understand the change and successfully move through it. This entails stakeholder mapping, key message development, leadership engagement, training and more.
How much should companies invest in change management?
It depends. In our experience, 5-10% of the total project budget has been allocated to change management communications. In addition, companies should identify and resource internal and external communicators and change agents to the project to ensure its success.
What’s your change management approach?
We prefer to follow the ADKAR change management model when developing and implementing change communications plans. We have also utilized the Kotter approach.