12 March 2008
Change is "business as usual"
"You're expected to do more, more, more with less, less, less," says keynote at change communication conference.
Melcrum’s Change Communication conference kicked off in London today.
Being held at a venue not unused to change itself, Stamford Bridge, home ground of Chelsea Football team, more than 130 delegates arrived to learn more about what the event's chair Mandy Thatcher, head of content at Melcrum, calls “an evergreen topic.”
Respond to change to survive
Providing the keynote speech was the president of Kinsey Consulting Services in the US, Carol Kinsey Goman (pictured, left).
Only the species most responsive to change will survive.
Delegates were given an overview, not only about the most effective way for organizations to deal with change, but also about how communication itself has altered across the generations.
Referring back to Charles Darwin, Kinsey Goman mentioned the scientist’s belief that only the species most responsive to change will survive.
Change is "business as usual"
Speaking on the notion that as external customers are now more demanding than ever before, the old adage has changed, says Kinsey Goman. Instead of “we need to do more with less”, she says, "companies are now expected to 'do more, more, more with less, less, less'."
But from the point of view of the internal customer, “change”, says Kinsey Goman, “is business as usual.”
The changing face of communication
Looking at how communication styles have changed over the years, 4 groups were highlighted:
- The veterans (1927 – 1945) who were used to cascaded communication as a result of military experiences are satisfied with one-way communication.
- The baby boomers (1946-1964) were exposed to vast social change as a result of “the '60s”. This prompted a wave of face-to-face communication methods being preferred.
- The next generation, “Generation X” (1965-1983) is very techo-savvy owing to the introduction of the PC and computer games. Communicating change swiftly became a game to comply with the expectations of a social group used to this method. “If the baby boomers were face-to-face, generation X was in your face” said Kinsey Goman. It was the first generation to demand information.
- Further to this, the current generation, generation Y, is digital, networked and mobile and expects its communication to work in the same way.
Speak the language of emotion. You’re speaking to people in an emotional state and you won’t get through to them with logic alone.
Kinsey Goman then asked the delegates to discuss amongst themselves the shifts they’ve perceived in cognitive style. This drew out some interesting observations including the fact that generation Y is very group-oriented and organizations will alter as the need to cater for this mentality grows.
The power of storytelling
When it comes to large change situations, “storytelling is a powerful medium,” says Kinsey Goman as there's a much bigger preference for storytelling compared to data.
“Speak the language of emotion. You’re speaking to people in an emotional state and you won’t get through to them with logic alone.” This was backed up by Kinsey Goman believing that we're moving into an era where image is more powerful than text.
Communication is more than words
One of the main points that came across about change is that everything communicates. Not just the spoken messages, but the architecture, leadership behavior and furniture; everything that makes up an organization. These must all correlate with the message that’s being put across in the communications.
If there’s any discrepancy between them, the effectiveness of the message and trust will be lost, says Kinsey Goman.
All change at Heathrow
Tom Everett (pictured, left), T5 live communication consultant, BAA spoke about the complex change program surrounding the introduction of Heathrow Airport’s terminal 5.
We're moving into an era where image is more powerful than text.
Running at 99% capacity, Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world and integrating communication into its change program has been a massive task.
Everett believes that the communication function is a vital tool in mitigating risk that could otherwise jeopardize the program.
Looking at the change program as a whole, Everett is most proud of what has been achieved by and with people. As he says “It’s not just the buildings, but the people that make Heathrow great.” Employees elected to work in the new terminal, which meant that from the word go, there was a high level of enthusiasm and desire to participate.
Spreading the word via print
One of the channels that was used to spread messages about the change program was the in-house magazine Heathrow People. Forward features were published about the terminal developments and photography was used to generate excitement.
Everett spoke of the benefits of Facebook in this project as employees started a group on the site that promoted engagement and free conversation.
Empowering team leaders to take charge
“Inside 5” was a video that was played during a one-day initiation course for 8,000 employees who will be working in the new terminal.
What made this video different was that it was filmed by team leaders who were taught how to make a film, which was shown to staff, and talked about how the terminal will work and what people think about it.
“There’s a palpable feeling of community at T5 which I’ve never experienced elsewhere,” concluded Everett.
Other speakers on the first day of the conference included Russell Grossman, director of communications for the department of business enterprise and regulatory reform (BERR); Fiona Rogers, head of internal engagement and change, COI Strategic consultancy; Susan Jackson, head of internal communications, Parcelforce Worldwide and Bernhard Bachmann, managing partner of Change Champions.
Other recommendations:
The Facebook Friday revolution
A communicator's guide to Generation Y
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