There is more to dialogue than just engaging. In times of change: Talk it; then walk it!
Katrin Schwabe
During organisational change, the foremost task of communication is to guide all people involved through the different stages of the process. Hence, it must go beyond the mere provision of information and messaging to ensure understanding and generate commitment. This is where most change communication fails, and there are many reasons for this: time constraints, limited resources, lack of management involvement, an absence of stimuli for interaction and inapt use of media – to name a few. One effective approach to successful change communication is to create dialogue and engagement with employees within and across organisational levels and borders. In doing so – and with the support of a result-oriented measurement process – it becomes a powerful vehicle for building trust, which is the most important resource for ensuring change takes place and is long-lasting.
The power of dialogue
Dialogue as a change communication tool is not about creating an arbitrary feedback loop from employees to management. It is about communication that provides space for exploration and reflection of content and messages delivered to an audience. Furthermore, dialogue guides each individual through a learning curve. Any facilitator of change dialogue is challenged to be open-minded, to listen to concerns and to argue credibly and honestly, and so steer a relevant and fruitful conversation. Making managers across all levels responsible for facilitating change dialogues ensures they are forced to walk the talk. Dialogue bridges the critical gap between “Do as I say” and “Do as I do”. It puts the key players in the front line.
By its nature, dialogue carries the risk of its getting out of hand and turning into a session of blaming and finger-pointing. Successful and constructive dialogue requires structure, preparation and practice. But which tool is the right one to choose?
A number of effective dialogue formats are available, each fulfilling a specific purpose. The table summarises the dialogue formats with regard to their advantages throughout the entire change process. Common to all these formats is that they ensure a high level of interaction between management and employees. Their purpose, scale, contents and duration, on the other hand, vary.
Start talking
Whether dialogue is part of change communication or not provides an indication of the culture in which change is supposed to take place. Arguments like “We can’t bother management with that” say something about management’s intentions and commitment. Why, then, bother employees? Openness, credibility and commitment support change – and so does dialogue. Dialogue formats as a change communication tool provide a variety of benefits. And each organisation needs to create a suitable mix of activities and formats for every change process. However, it is not the number of dialogues that matters. It is management’s commitment to host dialogues that makes the difference. A task that is not up for delegation!