Change Communications

According to an article in the International Herald Tribune on 27 July 2006, the French are now some of the world’s most intensive bloggers.

“Sixty percent of French Internet users visited a blog in May, ahead of Britain with 40 percent and little more than a third in the United States, according to Comscore, an Internet ratings service. Likewise, French bloggers spent more than an hour in June visiting France’s top-rated blog site, far ahead of the 12 minutes spent by Americans doing the same and less than 3 minutes for Germans, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.”

From a cultural point of view it is interesting to note the following comment made by Laurent Florès, chief executive of CRM Metrix, a company that monitors blogs and other online conversations on behalf of companies seeking feedback on their brands: “Bloggers in the United States listen to each other and incorporate rival ideas in the discussion [whereas] French bloggers never compromise their opinions.”

Original article:
France’s mysterious embrace of blogs
By Thomas Crampton International Herald Tribune
Published: July 27, 2006

Information plus technology does not equal communication. Emails and power points don’t change people’s behaviour.

I recently stumbled across an interesting quote by Clay Shirky:

“Process is an embedded reaction to prior stupidity”

Clay goes on to explain:

Web users form first impressions of web pages in as little as 50 miliseconds (1/20th of a second), according to Canadian researchers. In the blink of an eye, web surfers make nearly instantaneous judgments of a web site’s “visual appeal.” Through the “halo effect” first impressions can color subsequent judgments of perceived credibility, usability, and ultimately influence our purchasing decisions. Creating a fast-loading, visually appealing site can help websites succeed.

The Halo Effect

The speed at which users form value judgments of web pages precludes much cognitive thought. The users tested had an emotional reaction to home pages that they could not control. This pre-cognitive “affective reaction” is a physiological response to what they see on the screen – a gut reaction. This carry over of first impressions to other attributes of products is sometimes called the “halo effect,” or cognitive “confirmation bias” where users search for confirming evidence and ignore evidence contrary to their initial impression. People want to be right, and tend to look for clues that validate their initial hypothesis.

“…the strong impact of the visual appeal of the site seemed to draw attention away from usability problems. This suggests that aesthetics, or visual appeal, factors may be detected first and that these could influence how users judge subsequent experience…. Hence, even if a website is highly usable and provides very useful information presented in a logical arrangement, this may fail to impress a user whose first impression of the site was negative.” – (Lindgaard 2006)

Source: WebSiteOptimization.com

Personal thoughts on the role of change communications in major IT deployments:

Create an image of the future:

• From what to what? What will change exactly? Prevent rumours.
• Present the bigger picture, strategy? Why are we doing this, spending all this money?

Aid the transition phase:

• Ensure all actors have the information required to change: training, timings.
• Reassure about technical worries and uncertainties.

Set expectation:

• Scope will invariably change. Descoping, prioritisation. Big impact on user acceptance.
• Provide workarounds and temporary solutions.

Source: Nicholas Ranken, Lawson Project

According an independent survey, we are constantly bombarded with messages, and of around 2000 a day, we will only remember some 65 – hardly a good average.

Source: Peter Drucker in a foreward to a book by Parkinson & Rowe, 1978

Another completely independent survey confirms this very low rate of retention, but goes a step further in looking at the retention for the various means of communication:

• Reading 10% retention
• Hearing 20% retention
• Seeing 30% retention
• Hearing and seeing 50% retention

Source: Warner (1981)

The 10/20/30 Rule for PowerPoint

A PowerPoint presentation should have no more than ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.

Source: Let the Good Times Roll, by Guy Kawasaki

Tips on making the connection

Intranet owners and developers don’t necessarily need to immerse themselves in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). There are many basic design principles that any intranet developer can apply to make technology more human-friendly. Being conscious of fundamental human behaviors and their users’ specific needs will go a long way towards promoting positive user experience:

• The human mind works linearly, so organize content structures by context. Don’t spread related information all over the screen, bury it under multiple levels, or interrupt it with other, less relevant content. This causes users to break their train of thought.
• Arrange content to promote at-a-glance absorption. Layout should be arranged so that users can understand the context of the page with only a cursory glance.
• Don’t clutter up screen real estate. Humans aren’t good at absorbing large amounts of information at one time, so keep screens clean.
• Navigational systems must be self-explanatory even for casual users. If instructions are required to show users how to navigate an intranet, it’s too complicated. These types of complex interfaces are often found in purely Flash-based sites where design takes precedence over functionality.
• Never use technical jargon or obscure acronyms unless the primary audience is also in a related technology-based discipline.
• Don’t forget to edit content that originates from within the organization. Poorly written content will affect the comprehensibility of the message and/or topic.
• Blogs, podcasts, and discussion groups can be used to give an intranet a more human voice
• A virtual assistant (also referred to as a “chatterbot”) can be used to interact with users and to answer the most commonly asked questions. The Web site for home furnishing giant, IKEA, for example, offers “Ask Anna.” Anna serves as an interactive FAQ, capable of answering common customer questions. Anna even has enough artificial intelligence to respond to questions such as “How are you?” Even though Anna isn’t a live person, it provides a comfort level to those users who aren’t as technically inclined. This helps tone down technical interaction and bolsters more natural, conversational interaction.
• Flashy gimmicks will adversely affect users’ interaction with an intranet so keep it simple. Don’t include non-spec features, or features that don’t contribute to positive user experience. These can unnecessarily complicate the system and be intimidating for some users.
• If contact information is provided on an intranet, always respond to it so that users know there’s actually a person behind the system. Users will feel further disconnect if they take the time to write an e-mail only to be ignored.

To speed up a major change in your company, think about how your intranet, paper and face-to-face communication contribute to the process.

In an in-depth report on managing major change called “Communicating Big Change Using Small Communication,” authors Dr TJ Larkin and Sandar Larkin explore the idea of using “thousands of small face-to-face conversations between managers and employees” to bring about big change in large companies. Drawing on various research findings, the report outlines the effectiveness of each of the main communication channels and when and how they should be used in a major change campaign. This can briefly be summarized as follows:

1. Intranet: best for short, quick information retrieval Internet is the best channel for searching and retrieving factual information. This implies that the company intranet is most useful during the implementation phase when employees need to quickly find small pieces of information located within large data sets. It’s wrong, however, to rely on the intranet as your major communication channel during the planning phase of the change. Using intranet instead of face to face is a mistake. Intranet is not employees’ preferred choice and does not change behavior. It’s also a poor choice for sensitive information.

Don’t rely on the intranet as your major communication channel during the planning phase of the change.

2. Paper: best for learning complicated informationWhen ideas on a computer screen become complicated — employees hit “print.” Research shows that employees prefer paper as soon as new material becomes difficult to understand. Although less certain than employees’ preference (i.e., face-to-face communication), many studies also show improved comprehension. With difficult topics, employees often learn more when reading from paper than from a web page. This means paper plays an especially important role during implementation when there may be many new and complicated ideas to communicate. Paper also plays an important supporting role in face-to-face communication. It’s wrong, however, to rely on paper as your primary communication channel during the planning phase of a big change.

With difficult topics, employees often learn more when reading from paper than from a web page.

3. Face to face: changes behavior If your change means employees must change the way they behave, then face to face is the best channel for communicating the message. “Diffusion of innovation” is the study of how groups adopt new behaviors. The leading expert of this approach is Professor Everett Rogers. Surveying 50 years of research and 4,000 studies, Rogers concludes that mediated information (print and electronic) creates awareness of new ideas but rarely adoption. On the other hand, face-to-face communication with a respected member of your own group (opinion leader) delivers the most new behavior.

A study by the Hay Group, Key Driver Analysis, also examined different ways to communicate and the associated amount of employee support forthe change. The correlations discovered by the Hay Group show most support when employees learn about the change from their own managers.

Why communications are just as important as equipment in technology change

The Challenge

If your agency or business is involved in a major Information Communication Technology (ICT)upgrade, the last thing you want is staff circling the wagons and resisting the changes.

Yet getting the new hardware, software and cables in place may be the easy part of your job.The technical challenges may be daunting but the toughest part could be the people issues.

After two decades of constant change in the corporate world and many unfulfilled IT promises, staff are often wary or even cynical when management announces new ICT arrangements.

ICT upgrades are as much about communications as they are about engineering. It seems that changing mindsets, negotiating turf wars and telling staff what is happening are just as important as sourcing, buying and installing new systems.

Professional communicators warn of programs that will be stuck in second gear unless managers and project teams address the so-called ’soft’ people issues involved in a technology transition.

The Roller Coaster of Change

When employees face new technology they climb aboard a workplace roller coaster. At the top of the ride there is excitement at the prospect of a new system solving all their problems. Then comes the descent with the realisation that change is a complex process and cannot happen overnight. At the bottom of the ride there may be despair or cynicism until the climb upward begins and the new systems are installed and accepted.

For a major roll-out to succeed, a good communications plan needs to sit right in the same roller coaster trolley as a good network plan. It needs to be robust and thorough so it flattens out the highs and lows in people’s expectations and wins support for the new program.

Use the Power of Research

Successful staff communications begins with identifying all the groups in the organization with interests in the new arrangements. Upfront research is an invaluable investment because it will uncover competing objectives, unrealistic expectations, what information people need and how and when they should receive it.

On-line surveys are useful for identifying the opinions of overseas or remotely based staff while one on one interviews and focus groups are good at tapping into the mindset of high priority groups. But however you manage this research, collect information in a low key way to ally concerns and ensure expectations are not raised.

Key Elements for Successful Communication

A successful ICT communications plan has four key elements:

• The commitment of the person at the top.
• Persuasive messages that show how the new setup will lead to an improved organization and better outcomes for staff. These are just as important as the “what is happening” messages.
• A system for people to feed in their concerns so they do not feel threatened and a way to
  provide information closely linked to their concerns.
• Someone who is responsible for the plan. Even if you engage outside help, some-one in
  the organization needs to own the communications process.

Choosing Who to Tell

A logical place to kick off communications is to inform senior executives across the organization. These are the people who write the cheques, control the business processes and set the service standards.

And don’t forget to include the HR managers especially if the new arrangements lead to job changes.

The most important people however are not on the top floor but on the shop floor. They are the front line managers who oversee the business processes on a day to day basis, supervise employees and deal with clients. They are the hands-on people and they can make or break a change because they a re also the most credible and authoritative figures for everyone they deal with.

Their support is critical to a successful roll-out.

Tactics Tools and Tips

Communicating change will differ from organization to organization but proven techniques include:

• Recruiting and supporting influential people who can act as “change champions”. These will be the people who others turn to for comment or advice during the technology transition.
• Continually supporting front line managers, getting and using their input and arming them with information.
• Cascading project briefings throughout the organization at the start and offering regular
  updates.
• Providing simple materials that let people absorb the whole project at a glance.
• Posting information to the Intranet and, during the implementation phase, also including self help functions .
• Getting staff involved through demonstrations and case studies that illustrate how things
  will improve in future.
• Regular updates through e-mails, electronic and printed newsletters and staff magazines.
• Deploying an onsite help team to help people during the early stages of mplementation.

Succeeding in the End

You climb a mountain when you introduce new technology into your workplace. Everyone wants to arrive at the top fast, and enjoy the view of a better organization and smother work processes. To get there with your team and technology intact, effective communications must be part of the process from the base camp to the summit.

Copyright: Maine Street Marketing www.mainestreet.com.au