With passing time and increasing competition, an organization, however established it may be, needs to change in order to grow. For an employee, a change could mean different work culture, obsolete technical knowledge, or changing management techniques. Because of such reasons change is not a welcome alternative for many; such cases should be handled with utmost care and careful communication only.

The role of communication in the success of any business function is a well-documented fact. Its efficacy is ushering change it’s also evident from the fact that often organizations choose people with better communication skills to lead a change initiative, with the hope that they will be able to gain widespread support across the organization.

Managing change is essentially a methodical approach used for a proper and effective transition of individuals, teams, and organizations from a current undesired state to a desired state in future. Essentially change management comprises of both organizational change management as well as individual change management process if these practices are effectively used, they can lead to a better organization.

Generally, employees go through three phases before successful implementation of a change is done:

Fear – This is usually due to a high level of internal rumors resulting from lack of proper communication from higher level management. A common example can be a fear of job cuts or of increased personnel responsibilities.

Frustration – In many organizations, full details about a change are kept confined to the higher management only. Employees could get frustrated by the level of secrecy and may retaliate by showing resistance towards change.

Acceptance – This is the final transition towards a change. In given time, employees understand and learn to appreciate the need towards change. This acceptance acts as a final catalyst for an easy and efficient change implementation.

To effectively communicate a change, some general guidelines should be followed:

Trust: Before undergoing a change, it is of the utmost importance for an organization to inform its employees about the change. Trust is an important factor in asserting that a change is taken with a good attitude. An untrustworthy person, if given the responsibility to convey the change, would create a sense of uneasiness among the employees and can cause loss in productivity and morale which can lead to unnecessary rumors, and a higher attrition rate.

Hard Logic: It is a general nature of a human being to be resilient towards change. We search for stability and are happy in such circumstances. Only good communication and a compelling logic would enable an employee to understand the benefits of a change. Seminars, conferences, and general meetings could be conducted to deliver such knowledge.

Acknowledge Success: When profits and or good production results from a change, it is necessary for an organization to communicate such laurels to the employees. This could confirm the effectiveness of the change and would ease further problems, if any.

Change management processes with efficient and sincere communications can help circumvent all the commotion and make executing changes a quick and hassle-free process.

The bottom line is responsible, effective, trustworthy leadership which is the key to success.