Navigating Month 2: Communication Strategy for Change Program

Commence Communications with Staff and Change Champs

The first month of your engagement as Change Manager is about building relationships, doing research and setting some direction with your Leadership Group, Project team and other Work Stream Leads even if the plan isn’t concrete.  The key objective was to get moving on it, leading confidently and demonstrating to your Project Director and Project Team that things are in good hands.

In Month Two it is important to set the expectations of others that this is going to be an inclusive and fun Change Program. Trust is important so getting information out that tells how your Project Team Is going to keep all staff up to date is very important.

Share that you are:

·         Setting up a Project Email Address and Intranet project site

·         Developing FAQ's covering technology, transport, neighbourhood, building and facilities

·         Developing information pieces on the organisations nominated Project Team (including yourself)

·         Setting up a Project team site including Microsoft Teams for Change Champions and others

·         Setting up Facebook Workplace site

Developing a concept plan for e-newsletters, and let them know you are creating a template and working through content, brand, tone and approval (this shows you are serious in keeping staff up to date)

Your first meeting may include introducing yourself and getting to know who is in the project team. If this is a face to face meeting then that’s great, but today’s COVID world makes things more difficult to get together so let’s work on the assumption you are doing a video or teleconference.

If you have the time and the skills to do some fun graphical stuff during your meeting, go ahead.  Most people are visual anyhow, but at the very least, prepare a table that you can talk to so they can at least follow your conversation.  Perhaps table something like this to show who is in the Project Team and wider group that you will all be working with and hearing from, and point out some of the deliverables or actions that may be undertaken.

After the meeting express your thanks for everyone’s time and set some direction for the next catchup.

Although pretty soon after Month 02 you will be developing your Change and Communication Strategy, Engagement Plans and other key high level documents to formulate the big picture of your change project noting your project structure, what key stakeholders are involved and key dates, you should get out a ‘heads-up’ to each of your Project Team, Work Stream Leads and Change Champions so they know what to expect discussions to centre on and can start to form their own thoughts for discussions.

 

Communication Plans

Getting your cohorts quickly across what's coming before you develop your Change and Communication Strategy is essential to ensure open communications, engender confidence and set nerves to rest.

Discussions with the Change Champions.  

Explain the overall process, from planning to design and construction to the Change Champions. These representatives will be instrumental in conveying controlled change related messaging to the broader staff community.  More work will be required than normal since COVID-19 to navigate the lack of face to face contact with the general business community.  The Change & Comms team in conjunction with the Project Director should work out the best methods of engagement and ways of capturing input and content from others in virtual meetings.

Discussions with the IT Work stream 

The IT Work stream will be undertaking IT Discovery and Support.  There may be identified a possible requirement for the Change Manager to assist the IT Work stream more than usual, particularly if there isn't a Portfolio Change Manager which would normally be involved here.    Jot down some of the things that you may want to discuss with them such as: 

Guiding Principles for Bookable and Non-Bookable Spaces and AV/VC & Bookable Overlay to Floor Plans

·         Telephony Launch

·         Typical meetings to discuss solutions to super charged users

·         Pilot for Degradation testing and consolidated feedback

·         High End Computing User Group Validations

·         Adapting to changes and Work Stream involvement to accommodate fixed desking within neighborhoods

·         Assist Migration of IT Solutions to mitigate

·         Possible clash Of Rollout and Relocation

·         Develop Day One Tech Immersion Support

Discussions with the Workplace Services and/or Operations Work streams

The Workplace Services and/or Operations Teams will work with the Change Manager over many months on FM Discovery and Support.   The Change Manager should seek to understand quickly whether there is a dedicated FM work stream and how much access they have to this person.  

The type of things they will work together to achieve may include:

·         Coordinate Policy/Process Gap Analysis of Facility Management/Workplace Services processes

·         Recommend early engagement to raise risks and trends

·         Ensure line managers have validated the change program and have commenced engaging with their teams

·         Engage with all potentially impacted parties in relation to the change

·         Regular sessions to review what we have done so far and what else we need to close out

·         Work point operational management

·         Scenario planning

·         Work point identification

·         Mail delivery

·         Onboarding

 

Discussions with the Procurement team 

In conjunction with the work undertaken with the Workplace Services and/or Operations Work streams, a discussion will need to commence with Procurement on vendor/contractual changes to the supplier network.

In many large moves, there can be hundreds of contractual changes to be made to active suppliers. This is also a great time to investigate the desire to change the FM scope and challenge the status quo. The Change Manager will need to manage discussions and work with the Procurement and Facilities teams to socialise and instigate changes according to regulatory and business requirements.

Discussions with People & Culture (P&C)

The Change Manager will work with P&C to understand opportunities for staff input and providing staff more collaboration and buy-in to the new work environment.  People & Culture will work with the Project Team to develop programs for people leaders, showing support for the changes and how things will work for their teams.

The type of things they will work together to achieve may also include:

·         Working with P&C closely on remuneration for car parking

·         Q&As

·         Development of General Managers’ Conversation Guides

Discussions with the Comms Manager, Internal Comms Team, Corporate Affairs, and the Portfolio Change Manager

A Change Readiness Assessment will be undertaken after consultation with some of the abovementioned parties if they exist in the project structure.   Additionally, the Change Manager will update the Project director and PCG of their intention to undertake a Change Impact Assessment and Change Readiness Assessment within the business at the beginning and at intervals through the program.  

Check out some of the things that the Change Manager will work with other Work streams on!

 

IT Work stream
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change	x
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts	x
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.	x
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training	x
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)	x
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business	x
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

 

Fit out Work Stream
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change	x
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts	x
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business	x
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

 

 

Comms Work stream
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change	x
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts	x
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in	x
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.	x
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business	x
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk	x
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

Operations Work Stream
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change	x
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts	x
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business	x
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

Facilities Work Stream
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change	x
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts	x
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.	x
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training	x
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business	x
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

Project Director
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change	x
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in	x
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.	x
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)	x
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business	x
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning	x
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices	x
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk	x
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

Change Champs
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change	x
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.	x
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

P&C
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts	x
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in	x
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.	x
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)	x
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business	x
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices	x
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

HSE
Get to know the key players in the project in the project. Discuss how we can support the workplace and each others in the change
Review and analyse the change and business requirements and assessing both business and staffing impacts
Working with management to obtain and build support for change and in turn facilitate buy-in
Organising and facilitating activities to assist with cultural change as part of the relocation programme.
Developing training plans and recommending the approach to managing and delivering training	x
Liaising with other project (i.e. IT project impacts)	x
Consulting with project team and broader business to monitor risks, issues and dependencies across the business	x
Providing regular reports and updates to your Project Director and PCG which feed into standard project management planning
Merging of business units or change in business processes and practices
Enlist managers and supervisors to the new world – ask them to walk the talk
Define measurable stakeholder aims and measure their achievements	x

 

Site Visits

Assist in identifying examples of positive feedback or good news stories from staff and ensure these are communicated within the organization to reinforce positive feelings towards the move. The Change Manager will want to talk with the PCG and Strategic Leaders about getting out to the new site to have a look at where you will be living in the future.  

 

 

A well-organised site visit can quiet deflectors and get your people excited about the change.  

The Site Visit can not occur for many months between the Change Program starting and just prior to the fit out commencing, but that is even more reason why it has to be organized well. For as soon as the fit out starts, it will be extremely difficult to negotiate with the builders and the landlord to get civilians through a building site, if not impossible!

The Change Manager should strawman what the Site Visit program will look like. Yes, this is a program in itself.

Inclusions are:

·         Who’s invited first – i.e. PCG members, PWG members

·         Site Inspection Process for approval, and by whom

·         Set up requirements at the site

·         Develop process and schedule for communication, transportation, selection of visitors, competition

·         Developed Site Inspection Programme, Script and format

·         Explainer for Site Visit/Open House - save the date and nominate now

·         Greeting and Acknowledgement of Country

·         Photo Opportunities

·         Cleaning 

·         Walk through format 

·         Registrations

·         Site orientation, building induction in preparedness for Open Houses, and Site Visits

·         And so much more

Q&As and Frequently Asked Questions

There are many ways to allow employees opportunities to express themselves and these are managed by the internally appointed Change & Comms team.

The Project Inbox which is an important link to the project team will foster a great deal of material that can influence the Q&A material and Frequently Asked Questions pages for future intranet, face to face meetings, and newsletter content.

The following examples provide material/content that the Change Manager may need to address. Remember, it is not up to the Change Manager to make up answers! They need to collaborate with the Work stream Leads and PCG in many cases before compiling Q&As and FAQs for the Intranet, Newsletters, Change Champion Meetings and general Staff Huddles and Standups.

Let’s see what you may want to tell. … and these are in no particular order!

COMMUNICATION OF BUILDING PRECINCT FACILITIES AND FAQ’S 

Once the Change Program focus is determined you will commence communication on building precinct and facilities.  Normally this focus will take a bit of time to develop FAQ's covering technology, transport, neighbourhood, building and facilities.

FAQS CAN PROVIDE CONTENT FOR STANDUPS AND HUDDLES

Some questions staff will have about the new office and how it affects them may not make it into the FAQs but would be great discussion points for Strategic Lead packs and Change Lead meetings.  It is important that the Change Manager have enough information about the design and fit out intention to put them into a good place.  Sitting in on any design meetings where storage, kitchen, breakout, meeting room and training room layouts and details are agreed will benefit them greatly.  The Change Manager passing on queries and responses will help the Strategic Leads and Change Leads immensely in answering those adhoc day to day enquiries.  It gives them more material for their regular staff meetings where there may now be a regular update on the move and instils confidence with their staff that they are championing for them by being across everything.  It is important that they are seen to be passing on essential and exciting stuff as promised.

Let your Strategic Leads and Change Leads know that it is okay that they don’t know the answers to all questions raised in these sessions and tell them they should tell staff that they will come back with any answers when currently available.

Some of the type of questions that may be good for staff stand-up’s and huddles may include:

What facilities are there for those on 24-hour call?

If a team are called in at short notice and presumably cannot access public transport if after hours, will they be able to utilise any car parking at the building?

Are there going to be plenty of bookable and non-bookable quiet rooms for 1:1 meeting?

Will there be adequate video conferencing facilities?

We currently have kitchenette facilities on each floor – will this be the case @ the new building, or is there just one large area?

 

It is a good idea as FAQs are added to the home page that you review the format and coding. For example, what may have been a suitable order when you started, may have had the subject of childcare and car parking taking the top spots.  The FAQs could be alphabetical which is also a good way of promoting them, but they could also be alphabetical by category.  In any case, slight reformatting, reordering of the content and some minor rewording may be required as the Change programme develops.  For example: you may have a category for Technology.  In regard to this topic, you may now have a landing on the number of dual screens, for example, you may have information on something like 85% dual screens to primary work-settings.  In these situations, when you know the topic may be contentious, make sure you seek approval from your Project Director.  It’s not a bad idea to run each week’s content by your Project Director before posting so you have approval and support for any new content. 

No surprises please!

No surprises please!

FAQS - FAQ REVIEW AND UPDATE

It is a monthly job to review and update any FAQs.  Review the reordering of content and any rewordings also.   Don’t forget to attach the latest copy of FAQs to an email to your Project Director and ask if there is anything that they would like to add or change.  The Project Director will be across the Work streams so they will know what Technology or Fit out updates may be pertinent.

Once the updates are published and live, let everyone know.  Ask your Project Director or other contributors to the Q&As and FAQs to send you through any updates as they come to hand.

TRACKING COMMENTS/FEEDBACK AND ADDITIONS

Capture all comments/feedback from the Q&As and FAQs with your Project Director. This may help you determine what’s in favour, what’s not popular and why.

FAQS- KEEP THE TIMELINE FLEXIBLE UNTIL THE END, THEN BE SPECIFIC

When developing FAQs try to keep the information as general as possible so it’s not outdated in a couple of weeks.  This becomes less of a requirement towards the end of the project.  

So, what are the pieces that may be quite specific and communicated towards the end of the project?

 

Lessons Learned Workshops

There are many presentations and workshops that the Change Manager will need to be a willing participant of, or if these meetings and workshops have already happened, then the Change Manager may need to get across them by doing their research.

There are a number of reasons that Lessons Learned Workshops may be undertaken. Here’s some topics you may want to discuss or dis-count with your Project Director and Project Team next time you are starting your Change Program:

1. REVIEW OF DESIGN AND LAYOUT OF EXISTING SPECIALIST FACILITY

If you are coordinating this workshop you will check with your Project Director who needs to be invited.

Your communication will reference ‘why’ the discovery workshop is being organised and the opportunity for co-creation of the new facility.

You will start the communicate with the backstory of how your organisation is looking to co-locate/merge/grow etc this facility. Is this facility to be a replication of the current facility?

Who is required to attend, for example: What key stakeholder/leaders from the current facility/floor should take part in the lesson learned finding sessions?

Check with your Project Director who should be canvassing some of the people

There may be a requirement for some pre-reading material for the attendees, if so, the Change Manager may send this through with some direction for a bit of reading beforehand so everyone can contribute actively.

2. REVIEW INDUSTRY WHITEPAPERS

Not all Lessons Learned come from getting your staff or suppliers in a room.  Some come from Industry White Papers and Industry events.

There may be many reports provided to the Change Manager by members of the PCG and PWG for reading upon engagement.

They may not want you to do anything with the information but simply to get on the same page of what they have been reading about.  Often these reports will be available as some members of the Property team have been to industry conferences and as part of their registration, they have been provided discussion papers on the future of workplaces, agility, neighbourhoods and districts.

Note to self only!

3. TRANSFORMATION DISCUSSIONS & IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

Not specifically about a custom facility but definitely about what impacts your staff, the Change Manager may sit in on transformation discussions and lessons learned about when the last fit out was completed for any custom space.  In addition to understanding what the Issues may be, Understanding how the space works and should work in the future, What is absolutely critical for the new design, and where improvements can be made, is an essential thing for the Change Manager. The Change Manager is working hard here to 'try to get the relationships'. 

Try to capture the relationships!  It may be the relationships that we need to solve whilst identifying the priorities.

Try to capture the relationships!  It may be the relationships that we need to solve whilst identifying the priorities.

4. INTRODUCTION TO ERGONOMICS

The Change Manager may be invited to the lessons learned or ‘in-focus’ sessions centering on ergonomics.

There may be some pre-reading material for the attendees, although from a high-level perspective the intention is to:

Undertake lesson learned sessions with the user groups of the space in review of the existing ergonomic design. This session may be led by the previous designer of the space and co-led by special ergonomists.

Things to be explored.  Well …. perhaps …. minor tweaks and adjustments to improve on the current design in the new premises?

5. STAFF FORECASTS - ACCOMMODATION FORECAST SESSIONS

The Change Manager should get their head around the planning and negotiations being undertaken with the business on staff forecasts and block and stack.  Meetings are occuring regularly to discuss how the space is working for the teams.

The Property Work stream Lead are working on forecasts to determine the space to be leased.  Once the space is leased, the Workplace Services team will work to block and stack the space most effectively taking the forecasted models now known and entering them into Serra view or other space optimisation software.  The Change Manager needs to understand that forecasting is a fluid thing and should expect neighbourhoods and departmental groupings to change time and time again before they relocate.  

The Change Manager should check out with the Workplace Services Work stream Lead and their Project Director what the experience will look like in validating numbers with the business once business engagement commences.  

A heads up of a demanding or noisy Business Unit can be appreciated so the Change Manager doesn’t walk into any difficult on the spot situations about space allocations etc.

A heads up of a demanding or noisy Business Unit can be appreciated so the Change Manager doesn’t walk into any difficult on the spot situations about space allocations etc.

6. ATTENDING ANY DESIGNER & WPS SESSIONS ON NEIGHBOURHOOD SIZES AND BLOCK & STACK

The Project Director will need to update the Design team with neighbourhood size breakdowns and indicative targets i.e. 70(+/=25) size neighbourhoods.  This information will be informed from the Final forecasting numbers of teams. The final neighbourhood breakups will be determined by affinities and adjacencies discussions with the business that will commence at the time the Change Manager commences Business Unit Requirements in month 4 or 5 of the project and translates these findings into a master database for review with each work stream lead.  The WPS lead and their space team will work with the Change Leads and Strategic Leads to finalise neighbourhood sizes and any other information a little later in the project.

Although you may not be gathering this information in Month 2, you are certainly preparing for it!

7. LESSONS LEARNED - REVIEW OF SPACE FUNCTION

The Project Director will provide the project team the Design and Workplace Principles Process pack.  The objective of this pack is to detail the project’s process in developing and finalising the workplace’s design and detailed agile principles. 

The background of the pack may include the strategic aspirations of the organisations new workplace and how it was shaped through consultation with the business.  This pack may possibly cite experience that the Executive Leadership Team and Project Team have shared and include industry White Paper benchmarking in good workplace practices.

8. CONSOLIDATION OF RELOCATION PROJECTS

The Change Manager may undertake or participate in a Relocation Lessons Learned session with project stream leads.

The source documents used for this session may include a lesson learned repository from previous relocations around the country and be delivered to the Project Working Group (each Workstream) to review in detail.  The Change Manager may provide a ‘rolled up’ lessons learned repository for all work leads to review early in the project to incorporate best practice and to ensure that any previous risks in their work steam are understood.

Prototype/Pilot/Work Lab

There is a lot that goes into making the Pilot or Work Lab space for the project team and wider staff community a practical experience.  It should be understood that creating such spaces cost money and if you have a tight budget then this may not be the initiative for you to promise at the start of your Change Program.  

If you and your Project Team are considering living the new world yourselves, then you may consider setting up a Project Pilot space where you all work in the new ways. This could be enough for your personnel to visit and observe in order to get the idea of how things may work in the new workplace, but if you have the budget, a Work Lab or Display Suite may be the way to go. We are going to talk a little about what goes into a Pilot space and Work Lab space in this topic.

Regardless if you are setting up a small Pilot space or modest Work Lab space for staff to drop in and try, or whether you will be running a yearlong rotation experience for staff, there are many considerations for the Change Manager and Project Team. 

 

There is no doubt that the Change Manager is paramount in bringing a whole lot of people and pieces together.  They will lobby, extract, filter, gather, socialize, and undertake discovery to become knowledgeable on what will be rolled out under this new project.