We all want to get change communications right because we recognise the impact they have on our people – but with fewer and fewer resources coupled with more and more change, most of us can feel the streeeeetch.

So, how can IC professionals support subject matter experts, traffic-manage a busy calendar AND make sure employees are engaged through change?

Introducing the Hershey Company…

They asked us to upskill their change communication capability through the development of a best-practice toolkit. Flexibility was key – it needed to work alongside their established change management process and help them quickly and efficiently communicate nearly any change headed their way. The primary audience was the comms team, but the toolkit was also to be used by the business, helping project teams to ‘self-service’ without waiting for central communications resource to become available.

We love a bit of research, so started by pulling together the very best tried and tested tools we could find. We then used a range of business scenarios to tailor them especially for Hershey.

The toolkit focused on four areas

Vision and guiding principles

Advice to help communicators define objectives and develop a rationale for change, with a ‘how to’ guide designed to help get the vision across to their audiences.

Planning and tactics

There’s nothing better than a plan! We created simple tactical communication guides, backed up with our top tips for getting the message across.

Messaging

A step-by-step approach for developing key messages, including workshop materials, facilitators’ guides and activation plans.

Measurement

Ideas about how to approach reporting, with a sample dashboard to use across different channels and campaigns.