Role of Comms & Employee Engagement in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication and Employee Engagement
in Effective Change Management
Module: HR7SL64O - Managing People

Student Number (UWL Registration Number): 21498600
Lecturer Name: Mr Bennett Patternott
Word Count: 1601
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1. Introduction
Due to the current constant variations in the internal and external environments, organizations
are witnessing evolutionary in transitional, transformational, or remedial changes at a global
scale (Proehl, 2001). Entities change course and develop strategies to deal with the effects of
these transitions. Change management is defined as an integrated, structured application of
transition knowledge, methods, and expertise that provides companies with a core principle to
accomplish their strategic vision (McManus, 2006). A successful change management process is
critical for the stability and competitiveness of organizations (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2016).
This theory has evolved over time, with so many models and systems that help organizations
comply with the effects of changes. Employees are viewed as a significant single resource that
determines the success of change management. Effective communication and adequate staff
commitment from management to entry level are two major factors evaluating the success of
change management. This definition can be further described by being used in change
management frameworks used by organizations, such as Lewin's three stages and force field
analysis.
2. The Role of Communication in Change Management

Effective collaboration advises, educates, and motivates workers at all levels to embrace the
corporate approach (Barret , 2002). Employees' productive and encouraging expectations toward
transition are critical to the effectiveness of change programs (Kotter, 1996). Internal
management communication is characterized as the procedure through which representatives
compile relevant details regarding their company and the changes taking place inside it (Kreps,
1990). The required standard and source of communication are crucial at any phase of the change
curve. Employee tolerance to change is reduced where communication is reliable in an internal
change initiative. The change effort results out to be even more effective if somehow the
reluctance against change inside an organization is minimal. The interactive model seems to be
the most widespread and efficient method used in change management by organizations. The
structure of sources of communications is affected by learning experience, including cultural,
social, psychological and circumstance influences and sources (Bajracharya, 2018).
Figure 1: The Interactive model (Source: Internet)
Lewin's change management model is divided into three phases, with communication being
essential at each phase (Husain, 2013). First step of unfreezing necessitates communication to
plan the company for change by sharing the aim and goal. Directly engaging the workforce by
top management would set the standard for the planned change plan to be implemented. X
Company recently reviewed its operational model using McKinsey's 7S concept. The program
was introduced primarily to address revenue-related funding constraints and to optimize the
utilization of corporate resources. The significance and necessity of the task is communicated to
the employees at the start of the project. At an all-staff meeting, the company director
specifically outlined the goals, strategies, and planned results, and he answered all of the
employee's queries. The disadvantage of this practice is that it exposes the project very soon,
causing managers to miss the big plan and not support upper management's vision. At this point,
having the right communication content is important.
Figure 2: Lewin's 3 phase model.
The next step is execution, in which the transition becomes observable and tends to affect staff
both favorable and unfavorable (Husain, 2013). Staff members who've been personally interested
in the transition need knowledge about their approach to the change process as well as the
consequences about their actual job position. Employees who are not personally participating
with the project are entitled to regular reports. The 7S core team, composed of cross-functional
employees, was in position at X company to speed up the process. To maintain employees up to
date on the negotiations and actions, an intranet forum for process management analysis was
developed. A "shout out" tab was developed to allow employees to submit the core team
feedback and improvements. This allowed a double-sided discussion to remove rumors and
uncertainty. The constraint of this contact approach is the duration and time spent sharing
success at any point.
The last step of the refreezing process is to manage and standardize the deployment results. The
dialogue focuses on communicating the good results and successes to create and maintain
systems and procedures that promote innovative ideas (Husain, 2013). At this stage,
accountability for communication is much further cascade into the hands of supervising
management to provide staff with knowledge to enable them to consider their personal
consequences as a result of efforts for improvement. The introduction of the change and its
consequences must be closely monitored. At this organization, senior managers take over
responsibilities from the core team to make sure the system is running in accordance with the
change plan and also to directly report to management. At employees meetings, executives and
staff discuss the consequences. This stage takes the most time because it is very difficult to calm
down and maintain the latest improvements. Communication between departments on
knowledge gained in the process of change would aid in maintaining increasing momentum and
addressing delays.
3. Employee Engagement in Change Management

Employees are always the key elements of change management, so their engagement is crucial
for the implementation of the operation. Employee engagement is characterized as the direct
participation of employees in ensuring an organization achieve its aims and goals by applying its
own ideas, expertise and initiatives to resolve problems and take actions (Bullock & Scontrino-
Powell, n.d.). While employee engagement is not mandatory during change, the extent of
engagement is determined according to the circumstance.
The level of engagement is determined by four factors: decision structure based on problem
uncertainty, origin of decision knowledge, decision engagement based on employee engagement,
and the probability of conflict as a result of engagement (McShane & Glinow, 2007).
Employees react to change in four phases, according to Kübler-Ross' change curve, including
resistance, denial, experimentation, and at last engagement (Tahir, 2019). In order to effectively
initiate and execute the change plan, the resistance and denial phases must be well handled.
Employee resistance can be solved with the right level of engagement (Hussain, et al., 2018).
This would result in positive outcomes in employees and effectively enhance their sense of
empowerment, work fulfillment, creativity, engagement, and encouragement. Information,
discussions, shared decision making, and employee control are examples of employee
engagement efforts (Blyton & Turnbull, 1998; Marchington, et al., 1991).
Figure 3: Lewin's Force Field Analysis.
The Force Field Analysis, developed by Kurt Lewin, describes the change process by defining
the driving and restraining forces which contribute to operational change. Organizations are
driven into their ideal state by driving forces, while restraining forces offer resistance to change.
When all forces encounter a state of equilibrium, stability is accomplished. Staff resistance is one
of least effective restraints. They are morally opposed to change because of the confusion and
potential negative effects. Employee resistance can be enhanced by increasing employee
engagement and sharing the responsibility for achieving change with employees.
Employee engagement must be progressively enhanced from none engagement to influence
during a change management process, as defined in the employee engagement framework.
Initially, upper management makes the decision to make a change, and employees have little say
in the matter. Employees gain information about the company deciding for a change
management approach via one-way communication from upper management after the decision
has been made. Employee feedback and collective decision-making by workgroups, boards, and
employee reviews will follow the development and implementation of the change plan.
Following the effective implementation of the plan, employees have become more supervised
and collaborate in independent working groups and committees This model of engagement
determines the employees' skills training power through to the change process (Gifford, et al.,
2005).
Figure 4: Continuum of Employee Engagement.
The disadvantage of depending on force field analysis is that in a real-world workplace,
employees will alternate between being driving and restraining forces depending on the
situations they face, and this will differentiate from employee to employee. As a result,
dependent on the extent of engagement is complicated.
The ongoing reduction in international funding income at X Company necessitated a transition in
funding strategy, a change from external support to local revenue streams. Since the operational
models for both sources was unique, the change in funding structure has an effect on the majority
of the functions. Employees were resistant to the move because of problems making profits from
local high net worth individuals and corporations, improvements in the operational framework,
shorter performance deadlines, and more overtime. The upper management noticed the pattern,
conducted market analysis, and made the decision to change gears, which was then
communicated to the employees. The process improvements strategies and goals is implemented
with the support of the national process improvements committee and practical leaders.
Employees have already had concerns on potential funding strategies and research reports. They
were able to switch from a restraining force to a driving force sitting by and endorsing the
change process, as a result of their commitment and common goals.
The sustainability of change management is highly reliant on company's employees. To get them
on track with the change management pathway it is essential to provide an interactive style of
communication with the required level of communication at various stages, as mentioned in
Lewin's three stage model. Similarly, employee engagement is critical to successfully executing
the procedure. Employees are empowered and motivated to achieve their best as they share
authority and leverage over the program. Employees that are inspired and committed serve as a
driving force in assisting the company to achieve its desired status through change management,
as described in the force field principle. The importance of communication and employee
engagement are two major complementary principles that enable successful change management.
References
Alvesson, M. & Sveningsson, S., 2016. Changing organizational culture: Culture change. Work in
progress. 2nd ed. London, New York: Routledge.
Bajracharya, S., 2018. Businesstopia: Communication. [Online] Available at:
https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/interactive-model-communication [Accessed 11 May
2020].
Barret , D. J., 2002. Change communication: using strategic employee communication to facilitate
major. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, pp. 219-231.
Blyton, T. & Turnbull, P., 1998. The dynamics of Employment Relations. London: MacMillan
Business.
Bullock, R. & Scontrino-Powell, n.d. What is Employee Involvement?. [Online] Available at:
https://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/pod/leaders/orgdev/alliance/articles/EmployeeInvolvement -
ScontrinoPowell.pdf [Accessed 21 May 2021].
Gifford, J., Neathey, F. & Loukas, G., 2005. Employee invovemement information, consultaiton and
discretion, Brighton: Institute for Employment studies.
Husain, Z., 2013. Effective communication brings successful organizational change. The Business &
Management Review, 3(2).
Hussain, S. T. et al., 2018. Kurt Lewin's change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and
employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(3), pp. 123-
127.
Kotter, J. P., 1996. Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Kreps, G. L., 1990. Organizational communication. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Longman.
Marchington, M., Goodman, J., Wilkinson, A. & Ackers, P., 1991. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN
EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT. Management Research News, Volume 14, pp. 34-37.
McManus, J., 2006. Leadership: Project and Human Capital Management, s.l.: Elsevier
Ltd.McShane, S. L. & Glinow, M. A. V., 2007. Organizational Behavior: Essentials. Abridged ed.
s.l.:Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Proehl, R. A., 2001. Organizational Change in the Human Services. 1st ed. s.l.:SAGE Publications,
Inc.
Tahir, U., 2019. Change Management Insight. [Online] Available at:
http://changemanagementinsight.com/kubler-ross-change-curve-model/ [Accessed 23 May 2020].
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Role of Communication and Employee Engagement

in Effective Change Management

Module: HR7SL64O - Managing People

2. The Role of Communication in Change Management

Figure 1: The Interactive model (Source: Internet)

Figure 2: Lewin's 3 phase model.

3. Employee Engagement in Change Management

Figure 4: Continuum of Employee Engagement.

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