There is a robust debate about who is best to do the communicating of major change. Some researchers, such as Dr Laurie Lewis (1999 in the Management Communication Quarterly) and Dr TJ Larkin suggest that the frontline supervisor (or direct report) is best, as they have the stronger relationship with the employee. This is sensible as there is usually an established relationship, hopefully based on trust, and with an increased appreciation of what these changes will mean on day-to-day basis to the employee concerned. Delivery of the change messages can be better tailored to the employees’ interests and needs.In a back issue of Communication World, (May – June, 2006) Shel Holz, ABC, cites research from major consulting firms (The Hay Group & Towers Perrin) to argue that senior management need to be integral in the communicating of change. There are of course very valid reasons for having senior management communicate during change. I know of one change communications manager in a NZ large public service organisation who reported that the employees were so angry about the changes they wanted the opportunity to have the CEO in front of them. For them to move forward it was important for management to hear their voice and take responsibility for the consequences. Other research repeatedly shows that successful change requires clear communication of the leadership vision.If you are looking at the issue from the perspective of managing uncertainty during change, researchers Bordia et al. (2004) in the Journal of Business and Psychology propose that change related uncertainty takes three forms: job related uncertainty (What will happen to it? Will I still have it?), implementation uncertainty (how will the change happen? What timing?) and strategic uncertainty (where does this change fit in the big picture?”). The dilemma of who should communicate change is then a little simpler. James Allen et al. (2007) published in the Journal of Change Management find that the frontline supervisor is preferred for implementation and job related change communication and senior leadership are preferred for strategic change communication.My research suggests you won’t know who should do the communicating until you ask, and further, it is important to understand why the employees have these expectations. A frontline supervisor with a poor relationship with the employees will have little effectiveness in communicating changes, as will a CEO who cannot provide clarity on the outcomes. You need to be having conversations with your employees about what their preferences are for change communication before you can design the program.What works best in your experience? Would love to hear....
