You're facing unexpected operational changes. How do you gain trust with stakeholders during communication?

We should not feed these articles to build LinkedIn’s algorithms and lame attempts at AI assistants. (Now I am making sure I have the minimum character count. Blah, blah, blah, internal communication, stakeholders, two-way. Blah, blippity blah.)

Noch immer versuchen Manager, Probleme totzuschweigen nach dem Motto: "Wenn wir nichts sagen können, halten wir den Mund". Aus Erfahrung wissen wir aber: Es immer besser zu sagen, dass man noch nichts Genaues sagen kann - als einfach den Mund zu halten. Paul Watzlawick hat gesagt, man könne nicht nicht kommunizieren. Und auch wenn er dabei wohl nicht an betriebliche Veränderungen gedacht hat, trifft es doch darauf zu. Wer nichts sagt, sendet damit die Botschaft, dass Kommunikation gerade nicht wichtig sei. Und das ist ja nun der größte Fehler, den man in der Change Kommunikation begehen kann.

As IC practitioners, we're often kept in the loop ahead of announcements, though even if you're not, having a bank of 'contingency' comms to pull from mean you can be ready for the unexpected. You can have templates ready for staffing changes, client/customer changes, new suppliers or equipment and then you can fill in the details as incidents occur. This allows you to respond very quickly, while not being caught out. This also offers the chance to flex your journalistic muscles and hunt down all the details, as quickly as possible, to share announcements before the rumour mill can get started. Use your contacts, ensure you know the 'who, what, where, when, why & how' of the situation, then take control of the message and communicate.

Die rechtzeitige Kommunikation ist für mich das A und O. Ist bereits die Hälfte durchgesickert, lässt sich das Ruder in Sachen Vertrauen kaum mehr herumreißen. Souverän und strukturiert kommunizieren und über den gesamten Veränderungsprozess nahbar sein - das ist entscheidend.

D'apres mon expérience en cas de changements opérationnels il faut etre pro actif. En effet il faut: 1. Contactez les parties prenantes en premier. 2. Communiquez ce que vous savez. 3.Expliquez les actions en cours. 4.Montrez que vous priorisez les intérêts des parties prenantes.

Transparência é muito importante. Muitas vezes somos surpreendidos pelas circunstâncias e não temos todas as respostas também. Mas se conseguirmos mostrar minimamente o que já sabemos, o que estamos fazendo e o que planejamos fazer com as informações que temos até o momento, abrindo espaço para trazer novas informações assim que as tivermos, conseguimos conter eventuais crises causadas pela especulação diante da falta de informações oficiais. É muito melhor uma resposta rápida e honesta, ainda que incompleta, do que o silêncio imediato e uma resposta demorada mais completa quando a crise já se instaurou.

Transparency and minimal fluff is key when there's a crisis. We don't need the colorful feature story approach all the time, sometimes we just need facts, crowd sentiments and to present different options to your stakeholders. Remember, you're in an advisory position you're not the leader so don't overstep boundaries but also, be honest about the outcomes. There are consequences for every approach.

Staying honest makes them feel more connected as if they are a family working towards building something. If you keep them out of important decisions or gatekeep a lot then they'll just feel that they should do what's being assigned to them and get paid for it and go home. They won't have an emotional connection to the organisational goals. This is what I feel about internal conflicts and communication with their stakeholders.

A empatia deve ser uma qualidade que faça parte do nosso dia a dia, pois gera confiança, entendimento e eleva a autoestima das pessoas

The unexpected changes was unplanned so why trying to mince words? One doesn’t need to do that, one need to state it as it is since it is unplanned, but while stating it, one should endeavor to add the solution to the unexpected circumstance

Change can be scary for anyone, but unexpected changes can be particularly jarring. Approach your messaging with the understanding that people are going to feel shocked, concerned, and possibly emotional depending on the nature of the change. As well as providing details of any wellbeing or assistance programmes, be mindful of the language used, and settle as many concerns as possible from the start. Be clear on the things that AREN'T going to change, and be understanding to those impacted by the things that will. These changes will impact you as much as anyone, so be sure to take your colleagues along with you on the journey of change, rather than dragging them behind you.

While IC professionals can weave empathy into how they communicate about changes, it's also important to prepare managers to do the same. Many times, managers find out at the same time as their employees leaving them to either stay quiet or unintentionally share misinformation. Managers are a key stakeholder to incorporate into the comms planning of all major changes.

Ter empatia não é se colocar no lugar do outro, afinal, é possível de verdade se colocar no lugar de alguém? Acredito que Empatia é entender que as pessoas sentem e praticam de formas diferentes e entendendo isto, estar aberto a ouvir e acolher as pessoas em suas diferentes interpretações. Isso gera um movimento de Empatia e em consequência apoia no processo de construção das relações de confiança, pense nisso.

Don't sit on information that needs to be circulated. I recommend putting together a crisis/operational plan for information dissemination. Again, less fluff, less feelings. Facts and execution, in a timely fashion works a treat in these type of scenarios.

The situation must have had a big impact on the organization so there need to be a team work to tackle the unexpected circumstance. For the team work to be fruitful, one need to help others and be accessible

It's essential to align with leadership on when/how to obtain feedback and what will be done with it. Sometimes it is worse to ask for feedback and then do nothing with it.

Be aware of any other communication around the same time. You don't want to publish a carefully considered comms, and then have another message appear to contradict it. e.g. If a client's been lost and you have to reduce spend...you don't want a comms announcing a brand new management conference retreat at a nice hotel. Keep your messaging consistent across all comms to maintain trust and goodwill.

This shies away from the common operational changes this is relevant to. This would be things like: - Leadership change - Business "scandals" - Budget cuts / downsizing / restructures Ironically, in many cases, these aren't "unexpected" to the business (senior leadership will know) but can be unexpected to the workforce and, often, to the comms teams. Whilst you can do your best to get early notification of certain events, you should have some plans in place, assuming you find out at the same time as the rest of the business. See what other organisations are going through and have a short playbook ready if the same happens to yours.