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Topic Summary
Change management and
communications
The Topic Summary covers:
Page
Change management and communications (Topic Summary)

What does Change management and communications mean? 2

What is Change management and communications ?

Change management and communications methodology

Change and communications management key activities

Change management and communications sample tools

Change management and communications

The purpose of this document is to give you an overview of
what change management and communications is all about
and what it involves

Once you have read this topic summary, please read through the following
documents to further learning and development:
Transform, Making Change Stick and how these help us to deliver a best fit change approach
Change management and communications methodology, which will introduce you to change impact
assessment, stakeholder engagement and best fit change approach
Change management and communications tools quick reference guides, which introduce you to the two
most common approaches that we use; the change curve and know/think/feel/do

Topic summary Change management and communications

PwC

What does change management and

communications mean?
Did you know?...

Change management relates to the activities involved in :

1.

Defining and instilling new values, attitudes, norms, and behaviours within an organisation that
support new ways of doing work

2. Building consensus among customers and stakeholders on specific changes designed to better meet
their needs
3. Planning, testing, and implementing all aspects of the transition from one organizational structure
or business process to another

75%
of change
projects fail 9
out of the top 10
reasons are
people related

Change management is a wide and far reaching area, consideration of which is critical to
the success of many of the projects we work on in Consulting and across the other Lines
of Service.
Did you know?...

When thinking about change management and the people impact of large
organisational changes, its important to bear in mind the following key
principles:
1.

People react differently to change

2. Everyone has fundamental needs that have to be met

3. Change often involves a loss, and people go through the "loss curve"
4. Expectations need to be managed realistically

CEOs identified the

ability to adapt to
marketplace change
as a vital concern for
their companies and
a major source of
competitive
advantage

5. Fears have to be dealt with

Topic summary Change management and communications

PwC

What is change management and

communications?
Change management and communications represents a significant
challenge to many organisations, as businesses constantly need
to change in some way to remain competitive
How can organisations successfully
manage their change initiatives?

What are some typical project

characteristics?

Organisations can achieve financial and operational

improvements by supporting the people impacted by
their organisational change. This can be done by
focusing on several areas, including:

Defining the vision and outcomes of the change

Change diagnostics to inform the planning and
implementation of the change initiative
Communicating the right messages to the right people at
the right time
Transition management

These areas provide the framework for everything an

organisation should do to successfully provide its people
who are impacted by change with the right skills and
knowledge to deliver real and tangible outcomes within
their business.

Why is Change Management and

Communications Important?
Delivering successful change management and
communications will help organisations realise
business value (financial and operational) from their
transformation through sustainable behavioural change.
This behavioural change can also support and reinforce
process and technology changes to realise even greater
value.

Misalignment in stakeholder vision and understanding

for the case for change
Strong need to engage the business to build buy-in
Resistance to change within a business
Projects within an organisation where the employees
are change weary

What are common client challenges?

In our experience there are a number of areas that
prevent tangible outcomes from occurring on large scale
transformation programmes:

Lack of clarity on what successful change will look like

on the shop floor
The project often lacks real qualitative and
quantitative evidence reagarding the levels of
engagement within the business
The go-live period is often IT or process led and fails to
give enough focus to the people element of change
Change, training and communications teams operate
as separate units and often give conflicting messages
to staff
The system or process changes but the behaviours of
the people dont.

Did you know?...

90%
of CEOs have made
up to eight major
kinds of changes in
the last three
years
Did you know?...

48%
of CEOs say that
lack of change
management skills and
experience at more
senior levels are
serious barriers to
success.

Topic summary Change management and communications

PwC

Change management methodology and

communications
Change management and communications is critical in turning the potential failure of a change
initiative into success, accelerating the delivery of benefits and helping to ensure the
sustainability of the planned changes.

Change and communications

management and Transform
To help us support our clients in the delivery of large
change programmes, we use the Transform
methodology. A significant part of the methodology
focuses on change and communications management
and the specific activities steps which need to be
undertaken to deliver a successful project.

Making change stick

An important point about Transform is that it is
embedded within it are a set of principles under the
heading 0f Making Change Stick. These principles
focus on accelerating delivery of benefits long after a
programme has been completed so that the change is
sustained, long after PwC complete a project with a
client. Making Change Stick focuses on benefits,
involvement and sustainability and building the best fit
change approach to ensure projects have a successful
outcome.

Change management and communications and the stages of Transform

In the Strategy and Assess Stage, the best-fit
change approach is diagnosed and an Integrated
Change Strategy is developed which describes the
change management activities to be undertaken.

In the following stages, the change management

activities required to support the achievement of the
intended business outcomes and benefits are
designed, constructed and implemented.

Topic summary Change management and communications

PwC

Change and communications management

key activities (Core X2)

Topic summary Change management and communications

PwC

Change management and communications

sample tools
We can use these tools to help us manage and drive change
The Change Curve

Know/Think/Feel/Do

This model can be used to help us understand reactions and perceptions to change,
of individuals or groups of people, over a period of time.

This model builds on Kolbs learning cycle and work around learning styles. It is
useful when planning stakeholder management and communications to help
identify the response that you need from you various stakeholder groups and what
they will need from you to get there.

It is used to plot where specific people sit on the curve so that we, as consultants,
can manage their reactions effectively.

The model has been further developed by other researchers to describe 7 stages:
1.

Shock

2. Denial
3. Anger

We use the Know/Think/Feel/Do approach to clarify the purpose of our

communications to key audiences in order to balance the communications and
address the audiences seemingly incompatible needs around ownership,
reassurance and gravity of situation.
An example of how this may be used is shown below.

4. Bargaining
5.

Depression

6. Testing

7.

Acceptance

The model may be used by the Programme Leader or Change Manager, to map key
stakeholders and address specific groups in certain ways. The model can help
identify both positive and negative behaviours and therefore potential change
agents.

Stakeholder
group

Know

Think/Feel

Do

What they need

from us

Employees

There is going to
be a change in
organisational
structure

Feel well
informed,
understand how
they will fit into
the new structure
and excited and
positive about the
change

Continue business
as usual and
maintain
productivity and
efficiency, help
and support the
transition as it
progresses

Honest and
accurate
information about
any resulting
redundancies,
information about
new reporting
lines

Topic summary Change management and communications

PwC

My notes

Related resources

Memory jogger
Change Management and
Communications

For the change and communications

management section of Transform: Go to the
Competencies Navigator and look under
People and Change.

Change management includes:

1.

Defining and instilling new values, attitudes,

norms, and behaviours within an organisation that
support new ways of doing work and overcoming
resistance to change

2. Building consensus among customers and

stakeholders on specific changes designed to better
meet their needs

Change management and

communications topic summary

3. Planning, testing, and implementing all aspects of

the transition from one organizational structure or
business process to another
Change management and communications represents a
significant challenge to many organisations, as
businesses constantly need to change in some way to
remain competitive.

90%

75%
of change
projects fail 9 out
of the top 10
reasons are
people related

of CEOs have
made up to eight
major kinds of
changes in the
last three years

How can organisations successfully

manage their change initiatives?

Why is Change Management &

Communications important?

Organisations can achieve financial and operational

improvements by supporting the people impacted
by their organisational change. This can be done by
focusing on several areas, including:

Effective change management and communications

helps an organisation deliver successful outcomes
and realise the business value (financial and
operational) from their transformation, by creating
sustainable behavioural change. This behavioural
change can also support and reinforce process and
technology changes to realise even greater value.

To help us support our clients in the delivery of

large change programmes, we use a methodology
called Transform. A significant part of the
methodology focuses on Change Management and
Communications and the specific activities steps
which need to be undertaken to deliver a successful
project.

What are some common barriers to

organisational change ?

The activities contained within Transform are

organised into a number of Stages and Phases.
There is a specific Phase called Change and
Communications Management which lists all of the
activities required to support a change initiative,
through identification and application of a number
of change activities and evaluation techniques.

Defining the vision and outcomes of the change

Change diagnostics to inform the planning and

implementation of the change initiative

Communicating the right messages to the right

people at the right time

Transition management

These areas provide the framework for everything

an organisation should do to successfully provide
its people (those who are impacted by change )
with the right skills and knowledge to deliver real
and tangible outcomes within their business.

There are a number of areas that prevent real and

tangible outcomes from occurring on large scale
transformation programmes. For example:

What are some typical change project

characteristics?

Misalignment in stakeholder vision and

understanding of the case for change

Strong need to engage the business to build

buy-in

Resistance to change within a business

Projects within an organisation where the

employees are change weary

Lack of clarity on what successful change will

look like on the shop floor

The project often lacks real qualitative and

quantitative evidence regarding the levels of
engagement within the business

The go-live period is often IT or process led and

fails to give enough focus to the people element
of change

Change, training and communications teams

operate as separate units and often give
conflicting messages to staff

The system or process changes but the

behaviours of the people dont.

Change and communications management is

critical in turning the potential failure of a change
initiative into success, accelerating the delivery of
benefits and helping to ensure the sustainability of
the planned changes. Because the Change and
communications management phase cuts across
the life cycle of a project, the tasks are not one off
or one time only activities. Most of them can be
conducted at any time throughout the change
initiative.

www.pwc.co.uk

2.10 Change management

and communications
methodology

The Transform methodology helps to deliver successful change and

communications programmes
To help us support our clients in the delivery of large change
programmes, we use the Transform methodology. A significant
part of the methodology focuses on change and communications
management and the specific activities steps which need to be
undertaken to deliver a successful project. It is a cross-lifecycle
element see Core X2.

In the Strategy and Assess Stage, the best-fit change approach is

diagnosed and an Integrated Change Strategy is developed which describes the
change management activities to be undertaken. This can be described the
change approach which fits the context and nature of the change in the best
possible way, thereby increasing 'stickiness' and sustainability of the change. It
describes how benefits, involvement, and sustainability issues should be
addressed to deliver the desired business outcomes and benefits.
In the other stages, the change management activities required to support
the achievement of the intended business outcomes and benefits are designed,
constructed and implemented.
One important point about Transform is that embedded within it are a set of
principles under the heading 0f Making Change Stick. These principles
focus on accelerating delivery of benefits long after a programme has been
completed so that the change is sustained, long after PwC complete a project
with a client. Making Change Stick focuses on benefits, involvement and
sustainability and building the best fit change approach to ensure projects
have a successful outcome.

The activities contained within Transform are organised into a number

of Stages and Phases, listing all of the activities required to support a change
initiative, through identification and application of a number of change
activities and evaluation techniques.
Change and communications management is critical in turning the
potential failure of a change initiative into success, accelerating the delivery of
benefits and helping to ensure the sustainability of the planned changes.
Because the change and communications management phase cuts across the
life cycle of a project, the tasks are not one off or one time only activities. Most
of them can be conducted at any time throughout the change initiative.

Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

i Link to Transform home page:

http://transform.pwc.com/Method/Transform
Link to Core X2:
http://transform.pwc.com/Lifecycle/Module/Transform/CoreX2

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Change and communications management activities within

Transform

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Change and communications activities practical application

Taking the key change and communications management activity groupings which are mentioned on the previous page, the following
pages explain what each of these steps involve and how we might undertake them with our clients.
Activity

Design

What

Construct

How

The Change Vision describes why the initiative is being undertaken and
what the intended outcomes are. Its purpose is to increase understanding
amongst those that will be impacted by, or make the change happen.

Change impact and

readiness assessment

The purpose of this activitiy is to analyse the capacity of an organisation to

change by assessing change history, potential risk and readiness issues
associated with the change and the ability of the leadership to successfully
deliver the change.

Complete the change impact and readiness assessment through either interviews,
surveys or focus groups
Document the change impact and readiness findings to summarise the
organisations readiness, willingness and capability for change

Assess stakeholder
engagement needs &
develop comms &
engagement plans

It is necessary to assess stakeholder communication and engagement

needs to gain commitment and buy in to the change initiative. Once the
assessment has been undertaken, a communication and engagement
strategy can be developed along with a communications and engagement
plan.

Assess culture alignment

with change vision

The purpose of this activity is to understand whether the organisations

current culture acts as a barrier or enabler to the change initiative, also to
identify change levers that can be pulled to help close the gaps between the
current and desired culture to support the organisations strategic
direction.

Select an appropriate culture diagnostic approach

Run the culture diagnostic and write up the outputs of the diagnostic in a culture
assessment report which summarises findings and the extent that the culture
supports/does not support the change vision.

Best fit change approach

and change strategy

The activities here are used to define the most appropriate change
management approach and activities required to deliver business
outcomes and sustainable benefits. The best fit change approach and
change strategy are specific to each engagement and there is no one size
fits all solution.

Identify the type of changeby running a joint exercise between the project team
and the key client sponsors
Define the best fit change approach based on the context and nature of the change
Develop integrated change strategy and identify some quick wins

Organisation impact
assessment

The purpose of this is to examine the effect of the change initiative on the
organisation from the perspective of people, process, technology and
structure. An organisational impact assessment is undertaken after the
target operating model has been developed.

Select an appropriate organisational impact assessment approach (e.g. research,

1:1 assessments, workshop or interviews)
Analyse outputs and use data to support the change plan, as well as training,
communications and other plans

Develop the change vision

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Research how the business works and why it is that way

Run interviews to understand and define the benefits
Run workshops to build the case for change
Develop the change vision perhaps using a rich picture

Undertake a stakeholder mapping exercise to list and group stakeholders

Review success of current communications mechanisms
Develop communications and engagement strategy
Develop a communications and engagement plan

PwC 4

Typical change and communications management project

activities
Activity

Define culture and

behaviours

Deliver change network

activities

Implement change
leadership activities and
plans

Monitor change and

provide ongoing support
and coaching

Assess the success of the

change

Complete knowledge
handover

Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

What

How

This tasks looks at defining the desired culture and behaviours needed to
support the Design
change initiative and identify requiredConstruct
cultural changes to
reinforce future desired behaviours. The outputs of the cultural assessment
are used to design future behaviours and assess the gap with current
behaviours.

Identify future desired behaviours by facilitating either a visioning workshop,

focus groups or wider workstream activities
Undertake a gap analysis between the future and current behaviours with
interventions required to close the gap
Identify any unintended consequences of the new culture

The Change Network is a group of people or change agents from the

organisation who serve as a two way conduit from the project to the impact
stakeholders. The Change Network provides a framework for regularly
engaging the organisation and embedded change capabilities.

This task aims to provide leadership with the tools to effectively drive
behavioural change and achieve change initiative goals by developing an
aligned and compelling vision and sponsoring the change initiative.

Obtain commitment from leaders for the role of change leader

Undertake an assessment of leadership competencies required and those
currently available
Undertake action planning to create alignment of leadership and plan for effective
development of individuals/the team

This set of activities intend to support the execution of all strategies and
plans, coach stakeholders, monitor their collective performance and where
necessary refine planned activities.

Continue to execute and monitor all previous change tasks and assess
effectiveness by measuring against the indicators set out in the change plan, and
base lined against the change impact and readiness assessments.

A post implementation assessment is often undertaken to measure the

effectiveness of the transition management and change management
activities post go live. Lessons learnt should be captured and shared with
the wider organisation as part of the hand over process.

Facilitate a lessons learned workshop and write up the agreed outputs

Undertake a formal review of completed change management activities and assess
if they have achieved benefits expectations

Knowledge handover is a formal process which should provide the

organisation with all the tools and formal documentation used during the
project . The handover should comprise sufficient knowledge and
capability to continue to operate on a standalone basis once the change
initiatives have concluded

Complete a knowledge handover checklist containing all tools and materials on

the project
Schedule a meeting with key stakeholders to formally handover all key documents
and sign off the knowledge transfer process.

Define Change Network strategy, roles, structure and governance

Agree Change Network participants and engagement principles
Design Change Network toolkit, materials and training
Create a knowledge transfer plan to upskill the network by transferring change
management knowledge

PwC 5

Project example where Transform has been applied throughout

PwC (UK and Middle East firms) has supported the design and set up of a
new finance function for an international energy company in partnership
with a Chinese and a state company in Iraq.

The change approach for the Finance organisation was developed to

address the following people needs and tailored to fit local needs (tailored
for Middle eastern audience, consultation of local respected leaders etc).

In addition to the instability of the country, there were complications related to cultural
differences and language barriers. The partnership did not have legal entity status,
which added complexities like people reporting to legacy organisations instead of
reporting to the new partnership, vested interests from the legacy entities, etc.

1.

What is the new partnership and Finance organisation?

2.

How do I fit into this new organisation? What am I expected to do?

3.

Will I be able to fit into this new organisation? What are the skills required and
expected? Do they match my competencies?

4.

Will I be trained for this new role? Will the new leaders want to invest in up skilling
us?

5.

Will my leaders be able to guide us through this? Will they support us?

6.

Will I be kept in the loop of information? What is going to happen next?

For a change programme to succeed in such a challenging environment it needed to be

very simple, scalable & direct. The underlying methodology used was Transform.
The change management aims of this project were to support an effective transition of
the people from the legacy entities into the new joint venture organisation. The
objectives were to;

Design and implement simple and scalable finance processes, with clear roles,
responsibilities , interdependencies and governance structure to attract and retain
the best talent available;

Provide timely and meaningful communications to key stakeholders and joint

venture partners; and

Build up their capabilities with technical and behavioural training.

For more information about this project and the relevant deliverables, click on
the following link or copy and paste into browser:
https://knowledgecurve.com/global/gkg/energyutilsmining_gwy.nsf/(search_g
kg)/dd642ecda4ee974a8025777c002d60b7?OpenDocument

The diagram below demonstrates the key activities undertaken during each phase of the project, aligning to the Transform
methodology.
Strategy and Assess

Understand what type of change

the organisation would need to go
through
Collect further information from
other parts of the business
(mainly HR and communications)
in order to define the change
management risks and issues
Draft the change approach

Design

3 weeks

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Share the change approach

and detail the individual
communication initiatives
and training plans with all
key stakeholders
Work closely with the client
to define the individual
change, communication and
training activities;
Draft the key interventions

3 weeks

Construct

Refine training and

communications
content, test with
stakeholders;
Review work-shadowing
experience and align to
formal training
Align with workshadowing experience
and new roles identified
(map roles to training
courses

6-8 weeks

Implement

Deliver the training and

communications
Supervising the end to
end processes
implementation

4 weeks

Operate &review

Map out and implement

plans for where
refinement of the
organisation design is
required.

Continuous

PwC 6

Examining some of the key change and communications

management activities in detail
Going back to the change and communications management activities listed within Transform, there are a number of these which are really crucial
in supporting the delivery of a successful project. We will examine three of these in more detail now.

1
2

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PwC 7

Change management activities

This document summarises

1
2
3

3 key change management activities:

Change impact assessment

Stakeholder engagement and communications plan

Define best fit change approach

It also links these to Transform where you can see where the change management activities fit within an engagement plan.

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PwC 8

1. The change impact assessment

This document helps you to identify what impact a change will have on an organisation.
What?
Impact analysis provides information about the level of impact of the proposed changes. The type and extent of changes in the areas of strategy, the
organisation structure, people, processes, systems and facilities (locations) are set out clearly. Based on this information we can determine the necessary
interventions to prepare people for the coming changes. A change impact assessment is used at the beginning of a change initiative to capture the impact the
change is likely to have on an organisation and offers a relatively quick assessment which can be conducted periodically through the change initiative.

How?
There are six areas where high level impacts of the change are assessed. These are listed below along with examples of the kinds of questions which are posed as
part of the change impact assessment.

Strategy: What are the most important changes to the

strategy? To what extent will the commercial strategy, the
customer segmentation and targeting, the product, pricing and
channel strategy be changed?

Processes: What processes are changing and to what extent?

How critical are the processes to the day to day running of the
organisation? What are the interfaces and handoffs with
different parts of the organisation?

Organisation: What are the most important organisational

changes? What main departments/functions will be affected?
e.g. structure, roles & responsibilities, competencies, payment
structure?

Systems: What are the most important system changes? Are

there replacement, modification or building new systems?

People (incl. culture & performance): What is the most

important impact on the people in your organisation?
Approximately how many people are affected by the outcome of
the projects ? To what extent will your organisation hire, retain
or lay off people? How does the change help to achieve a
common winning performance culture?

Facilities: What are the most important changes in facilities /

locations? e.g. centralising, opening new locations, closing
locations?

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PwC 9

Example change impact assessment template

The change impact assessment should be completed by facilitating a workshop with the
people most affected by the change, subject matter experts of the current processes and
the other key stakeholders. The information from the workshop should be tested with
specific interviewees, to avoid any misunderstanding. It is important to note that some
projects will need particular attention due to the sensitive nature of people impacts (for
example, outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions).
Once a change impact assessment has been undertaken you will be able to determine
the most appropriate change approach and implementation strategy.
Choosing the Right Change Approach
Having understood the dynamics of the situation and the impact of the proposed
change, it is important to answer the following questions:

Strategy
change

Illustrative question

Illustrative topis
Indicate the most important changes

What are the most important

changes to the strategy?

e.g. Change in competitive landscape/

changes to external stakeholders/ change
in regulatory environment/ change in
degree of innovation?

Organisation What are the most important

change
structural changes?

e.g. Changes to department structure,

leadership team, number of employees,
tasks/ competencies/ responsibilities,
payment structure?

People
change

What are the most important

people changes?

E.g. Cultural changes; extent of hiring,

retention and lay-offs?

Process
change

What are the most important

process changes?

e.g. Modifications to existing processes,

implementation of new processes?

System
change

What are the most important

system changes (replacement,
new, interface, changes or
removal)?

e.g. Modification of existing systems,

implementation of new ones?

Facilities
change

What are the most important

facility changes?

e.g. Is there a planned relocation/ will

activities be centralised?

Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

How much buy-in do we need to deliver this change?

How complex is the situation?

What resources will we need?

What is the most appropriate communication strategy?

What are leader and sponsor behaviours to support the change?

What training and development will support new behaviours?

How do we make the change stick?

Choosing the Right Change Implementation Strategy
The change approach will be made up of a number of building blocks demonstrating a
clear line of sight to the business case.
The factors identified in the change strategy need to be developed into actions that can
be implemented by the client and PwC team.

Impact Description
Describe how the listed
changes will impact the
ways of working

Impact level
High =>60% job changes
Medium= 30-60% job
changes
Low=,30% job changes

Impact on
department

Impact on
function

PwC 10

2. Stakeholder engagement and communication plans

The second key activity relates to the stakeholder

engagement and communications plan. Without
appropriate, tailored and timely communication,
stakeholders are more likely to be disengaged,
unsupportive and resistant to change. Morale tumbles,
behaviours dont change and objectives are rarely met.

What?
While we know that the involvement of people impacted by a change project is
the key, the scale and approach you take will vary depending on the nature of
the change. How you involve people will vary from project to project,
depending on:

speed of change required

complexity of change

history

how it will affect them

Define the
Comms
scope

Scope
Monitor &
Review
Comms
Plan

Identify &
map
stakeholders
Review

Design

Implement

We need to determine which communication approach is appropriate for the

audience.
Thinking about the best way to engage with your stakeholders is key to
achieving the programme aims. Change communication takes place over a
number of phases and, depending on the complexity of the project, you may
need to go round the cycle a number of times. The scope is likely to change
frequently so you should review your strategy and plan after each phase.

The Change
Programme

Deliver
Comms
Plan

Develop
Comms
Strategy &
Plan

The diagram gives a high level view of the flow of communications and
engagement activities which need to be undertaken on a change progamme.

Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

PwC 11

Whats in the communication plan?

How?

Firstly, as part of the communications activities, its important to clarify

the scope. To do this it is important to understand the business strategic
intent, outline the communications objectives and clarify key roles and
responsibilities
The communication plan will need to be the umbrella which sits across the
change strategy and will be developed using outputs of the change
readiness and change impact assessments
It is important to review existing communications activities and processes
to identify what works well and what doesnt
Once the scope has been defined there should be a good view of the
various stakeholder groups that will be impacted by, or have an impact on
the change. It is important to map these stakeholders on a similar
template to the example below, to understand where they currently are
and where they might need to be
Example of a simple stakeholder map for a change in HR
Practices

High

Influence
Investors/
JVs

Partners

Media

Retired
members

Trustees

Power

Some typical steps to take to complete are:

a. Identify an initial list of stakeholders. Think about external as well

as internal groups. Useful information might be available in the business
case, the change vision and strategy, organisation charts, corporate plans,
discussions with senior management, project sponsors and process
owners.
b. Assess the stakeholder list. Think about the role each person has to
play, their power and influence, the impact of the change on their working
lives, the level of support required from each, the scheduling or timing of
their involvement and the actions to be taken. You can then begin to group
them e.g. senior managers, media, staff, trade.
c. Map the stakeholders. You can do this on a simple chart (shown on the
left) which maps their level of influence and power. In this context,
influence relates to the level of impact the stakeholders can have on the
successful implementation of the change. Power relates to the ability of
the stakeholders to shape opinions and make critical decisions within an
organisation.
d. Manage the stakeholders. The Communication Strategy maps out
what stakeholders will require in terms of communications. You will also
need to think about how often you need to update certain people or
groups, setting up and conducting update sessions, maintaining such
things as stakeholder maps, records and email lists and preparing reports
to outline your communication and engagement activities.

Regulators
Unions

Inform

Involve

i More information can be found on this in Transform Core X2, for

HR
HR leadership
Low

Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

example in X2.3 and X2.9.

Employees

Local
working groups
Influence

High

PwC 12

Example of communications plan

Below is an illustrative example of a communications plan for a HR change programme that has been completed to show different stakeholder
groups, their role and what communciations they are likely to need. Having undertaken the stakeholder mapping exercise we have an understanding
of the different groups and levels of influence and power. We can then use this to work out what information they will need and the ways to deliver
the messages effectively.
Stakeholder

Whats their
role?

What will they be interested

in?

Local working
groups

Immediate follow up
communications and
dialogue

Employees
(active
members,
including
management
roles)

HR business
partners

Who else must

contribute?

What channels will we

use to reach them?

Ensuring sponsorship for the

Regular, consistent direction and support from global
programme and support to minimal
leadership
disruption to BAU
Core pack of key messages, templates and deliverables
Understanding how to get support
that can be easily tailored and rolled out to local
with tailoring communications plans audiences
and materials in their area

HR Leaderhsip Team
(HRLT)

Briefing meetings / calls with

Workstream Management
Office
Tailored briefing pack
including FAQs document

Interested party
(recipient)

Knowing what this means for them

as individuals what will change
and their options
Understanding how this impacts
their perception of the employer
brand.

Timely information at the point of announcement and

beyond
Personalised communications about the specific impact,
actions required, timescales and next steps
Full understanding of their choices and the financial
education available
Assurance on communication/consultation process
Reassurance that the third party pension provider is
secure and equally creditworthy

Local working group

Approval by VP Corp
Comms

Email, posters, intranet,

written communications
Management or other cascade,
townhalls

Local sponsorship

Understanding affected stakeholders

and likely impact (on business and
HR)
Understanding the role theyre
required to play in the change, how
to meet obligations and the support
and guidance given to them during
activities
Understanding timescales and tools
available

HRLT and local

Regular, consistent direction and support from global
working groups
leadership
Detailed briefing from HR leadership and communication
network
Core pack of key messages, templates and deliverables
that can be used to equip them for change and to
communicate with business
Mechanism to ask questions and give feedback around
process

Unions / works
councils

Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

What will they need?

Working together to ensure they feel Clear union and works council communication strategy
change is delivered effectively with a with central coordination around approach and
fair deal for union / works council
messaging, but ability to customise and deploy locally
members in consultation process
(where relationships lie)
Briefing statements / calls

Briefing meetings with HRLT

(through existing
infrastructure)
Briefing packs

Legal, HRLT, local HR Local relationship owners via

written and/or verbal briefing

PwC 13

3. Defining the best fit change approach

The final area for us to explore in more detail is how to define the
best fit change approach. Our view is that for every change
situation, there is a best fit change approach. Defining this
approach, while challenging, makes it more likely to achieve
successful and sustainable change.

What?
Change initiatives are unique and require different change management
activities to be successful. Determining the most appropriate approach to
develop and implement these activities depends on the type, size and
complexity of the change programme and requires experience and judgement.
But there are some broad approaches that will help you.
The identification of the type of change is a joint exercise between the
programme/project team and the programme's key sponsors. It will be based
upon the Change Vision, the change impact and other assessments so that
they can describe:

The context of the business and its high level receptiveness and ability to
change
The expected outcomes and benefits of the change, as described in the
Change Vision; and the culture of the organisation and its alignment to
the Change Vision

The programme sponsors should approve the key change attributes that have
been decided based on:
1. Understanding of the problem. To what degree has the problem been
analysed and have root causes been understood by all involved?
2. Level of complexity. How many and to what degree will business units,
geographical locations, processes, systems and people be impacted by the
change?
3. Predictability of the solution. The type of change may be
unpredictable and difficult to define; will changes require different
behaviours or depend upon more than one part of the organisation?
4. Leadership capability. Does the leadership team have the skills,
capability and experience required to lead the change and operate new
ways of working?
5. Cultural context. To what extent will the change impact existing culture
and ways of working?
The Best-Fit Change Approach is the approach which best fits the context and
nature of the change and should be a collaborative activity.
The Best-Fit Change Approach should ensure that there is an appropriate
focus on benefits, involvement and sustainability which, in turn, determines
which change activities should be selected over others (e.g., long term vs.
short term, flexible vs. standardised).
Change approaches are predominately directive or inclusive:
Directive change: When change is predominantly directive, the benefits
and requirements of the change are defined from above, before the
programme starts. A directive change approach may be appropriate when the:

Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

Change is straightforward (e.g., it affects one business area in one

geography and has little interdependency with other systems, processes or
behaviours)
Solution and implementation plan are tried and tested in the organisation
Speed of implementation or rapid communication of new procedures
matters more than the benefits of inclusion.
Examples of situations where directive change may be appropriate include
financial rescues or turnarounds, the first 100 days of a post-merger
PwC 14
integration or the implementation of SAP into a single business unit.

Inclusive change: Where the change is more inclusive, those impacted by the
change will help to shape its purpose, direction and implementation. In most changes,
an inclusive approach is better than a directive one. Stakeholders that are included
upfront are more likely to adopt new business-as-usual practices that are required to
make change sustainable. Inclusive change takes two main forms, pre-planned and
enquiring:

Diagnosing the best fit change approach

Has the problem been fully and
clearly analysed and understood?
Yes

Inclusive, pre-planned change. For this type of change, leaders are able to
diagnose the basic change strategy and plot the course for change but they
recognise that early and ongoing inclusion will accelerate and sustain the delivery
of change. This approach works particularly well on outsourcing, functional
redesign, supply chain and large ERP implementation programmes
Inclusive, enquiring change. The enquiring approach is taken when
leadership cannot predict at the outset of the programme, the detail of the changes
required. Programmes requiring significant local tailoring e.g., establishing a new
customer experience, organisation-wide complexity reduction or shifts in culture
e.g., moving from silo cultures to a one-firm model, often fall into this category.

Yes

Complexity increases across Bus,

geographies, processes, systems,
and where impact on multiple
audiences is high
Predictability reduces where
behaviours need to change, there
are external dependencies, or
where the problem is new or
challenges the culture

Is the solution
predictable?

Yes

No

Take a
directive
approach

Take an
inclusive
approach

No

Directive
standardised
approach

No

Yes

Take an
inclusive
approach

Take an
inclusive
approach

No

No

Build skills &

commitment

Do leaders have
change skills &
commitment?

No

Directive
localised
approach

Is the solution
predictable?

Is change
urgent?

Is organisation highly
centralised?

Yes

Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

Challenge the
definition of the
problem again

Is the problem complex?

No

For inclusive, enquiring change the main aim is not to gain buy-in (as is the case in an
inclusive, pre-planned approach); but to shape, direct and create the change. Large
group workshops can be used to combine communications which detail the need to
change with 'workout' sessions where local teams can start to identify interrelated
issues with processes, systems and behaviours and create their own change plans.
For non-complex change initiatives, you can use a decision tree (see Figure O6.1) to
define the type of change and draft the Best-Fit Change Approach. This approach can
also be used during early diagnosis of larger programmes or during initial
conversations with the sponsor. More complex change initiatives will require a deeper
level of analysis. For further information, see Transform Core X2.5.

No

Inclusive
enquiring
approach

Yes

Inclusive
pre-planned
approach

PwC 15

Designing the best fit change approach Commitment or

compliance?
Below is a diagram which is helpful to explain the two distinct ways to engage employees in a change, either by commitment or
compliance, It is clear that if you engage and involve people in any change being undertaken they are much more likely to accept.
However, do we always need commitment? There are sometimes examples where compliance is a necessary route. Whilst many may
want to do things differently it is essential they comply with the certain standards.
When employees perform out of compliance, rather than commitment, they do it because more often than not they are told to so, not
because they want to. However, it is difficult to be positive and enthusiastic about something which you do not feel or believe.

Compliance
"I have to do it this new way"
Reaction
"I will react to this change -if I must"
Testing
"I must absorb this change
Negative perception
"I feel threatened by this change"

Commitment
"I want to do it this new way"
Action
"I will act to achieve this change"
Testing
"I will put myself at stake for this change"
Positive perception
"I see the opportunity in this change"
Engagement
"I see the implications for me / us"
Understanding
"I know why and what will change
Awareness
"I am being told about something"

It is difficult to be positive and enthusiastic about something of which you do not feel or believe.
Consulting L&D 20130711 1700

PwC 16

Quick reference guide

Tool: The Change Curve

Explanation

Demonstration

This model can be help us understand reactions and perceptions to change, of

individuals or groups of people, over a period of time. The model can be used to plot
where specific people sit on the curve so that we, as consultants, can manage their
reactions effectively and develop interventions to counteract any feelings of resistance
or despair.
The original model described five different stages and some examples of the types of
reactions are shown below;
1. Denial total non-acceptance of the change, proving to oneself that it is not
happening
2. Anger frustration that this is happening to them and looking for someone or
something to blame. Still not accepting the change
3. Bargaining looking for some way of avoiding the inevitable, with individuals
often verging on panic and trying to find anything to remedy the situation
4. Depression a feeling that nothing seems to work, responding with apathy and
sadness
5. Acceptance Here the reality of the situation is accepted and individuals tend to
decide what works and what doesnt.

Select an individual/ group of people to map onto the curve. Consider the traits and
behaviours or reactions they have shown to determine which stage on the curve they are at.
It is important to take into account that individuals will not move along the curve at the
same time nor will they necessarily move through each stage in order. Once it has been
determined where key stakeholders sit on the curve, interventions and quick wins should
be developed to help move them further along the curve towards acceptance of change.

Application

Notes
This model was developed by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1969) as part of her work with
terminally ill patients to describe the grieving process. The original is shown below. The
model has since been developed by other researchers, principally Adams, Hayes and
Hopson (1976).
Holding on

Letting Go

Moving On
Acceptance

Turbulent time

Shock

Self

Anger

Loss of
focus

Integration and
new meaning

Blame
Others
Euphoria

This can be used by a Programme Leader or Change Manager, potentially with a client
Programme Sponsor, to map where key stakeholders or groups of individuals sit on the
curve. The results can then be used to address specific groups in certain ways (e.g.
communications) in order to move them further along the curve and also to develop
quick wins and interventions. The model can help identify positive, pro-active
behaviours to change as well as negative, adverse behaviours, therefore enabling us to
determine potential change agents.

Coping
Denial

Bargaining
Minimising

Pining

Discovery and
learning
Testing/
Experimenting

Feeling of
satisfaction

Testing
Renewed
energy

Denial
Numbness
Daze
Depression

Fighting

Disintegration

Feelings of panic, dread,

helplessness, apathy

Re-integration

Quick reference guide

Tool: Know/Think/Feel/Do

Explanation

Demonstration

This model builds on Kolbs learning cycle and work around learning styles. When
planning stakeholder management and communications, use the Know, Think, Feel,
Do approach to help you to identify the response you need from your various
stakeholder groups and what they will need from you to get there. The outcome of
this will help to inform the answers to the following key questions:

This approach was used recently at D.C. Thomson to really understand the objectives of
our communications to stakeholder groups regarding a highly sensitive review of their
loss-making print production operations. The purpose of our review was to help them
identify how to bring their core business back into profit (subtext: = downsizing). The
culture of the company has been one where the private owners (a selection of whom
make up the Board and Senior Management) see themselves as benefactors of the
communities within which they employ people they are proud of their century-long
track record of never having made anyone redundant. This review has been their first
step towards thinking the unthinkable and becoming leaner in their core operations.

What are the objectives of communication and engagement? What response do

you want?

Who needs to be communicated with? Who are your priorities? And what level of
involvement is needed from each individual or group?

What are the key messages and how will they be tailored for each group?

What is the appropriate vehicle for conveying that message? What characteristics
of that audience might drive your choice of media?

What (significant) communication challenges/risks do you face?

What are some ways to maintain stakeholder interest in the project / initiative
throughout its duration?

How will you measure whether you are getting the right response?

Application

If your client wants employees to feel a sense of ownership for the project, what
does that mean for the way you communicate with them?

Communication is about outcomes, not input. Always think about the response
you want.

In order for us to carry out the review, we needed to involve a senior group in making
key decisions about the future of DCTs Print Production operations, and another layer
down in providing information to us so we could understand the organisation and its
operations accurately. We also wanted both groups to feel they owned the outcomes of
the review, and critically to keep the findings and their implications confidential.
We used the Know/Think/Feel/Do approach to clarify the purpose of our
communications to key audiences in order to balance the communications and address
the audiences seemingly incompatible needs around ownership, reassurance and
gravity of the situation.
Stakeholder
group

Know

Think/Feel

Do

What they
need from us

Employees

There is going to
be a change in
organisational
structure

Feel well
informed,
understand how
they will fit into
the new
structure and
excited and
positive about
the change

Continue
business as
usual and
maintain
productivity and
efficiency, help
and support the
transition as it
progresses

Honest and
accurate
information
about any
resulting
redundancies,
information
about new
reporting lines

Self-check
activities
2.10 Change management and
communications

Core Consulting: Change

management and
communications
Introduction
This document contains a series of self-development activities that will allow you to practice
and confirm your knowledge and skills as well as your ability to apply them in the workplace.
The initial activities are simple, easily achievable and mainly self-reflective. The second set of
activities includes generating evidence, which you can discuss with your People Manager.
The final set of activities combines outcomes into more substantial tasks.
These activities will assist you with the application of your knowledge by working with
colleagues and applying what you have learned on the job. They support the 70:20:10
principles - 70% learning on the job, 20% learning from colleagues and 10% formal learning.

Self-check activities
The following activities can help you to check your understanding of Change Management
and Communications:
Required outcome and
output

Development activity

Describe what kinds of Change

Management & Communications
activities might feature on a
client project and include some
typical project characteristics.

Think about and then talk through a 60 second elevator pitch to a

collegue summarising the key Change Management and
Communications activities that could feature in a client project. You
can then ask an experienced change practitioner about further client
opportunities that you could support or get involved with.

Describe some of the key Change

Management and
Communications challenges
which client organisations often
face

Develop a strong benefits-led statement that demonstrates how

Change Management and Communicatons can really make a
difference to a current or recent client of yours or a colleague.

Describe the change

management and
communications activities which
are undertaken with our clients
on projects.

Explain to a colleague how we use Transform to support the delivery

of large change programmes and highlight the key Change
Management and Communications related activities which need to
be undertaken during the life cycle of a project.
The relevant Transform link is given below:
http://transform.pwc.com/Methods/Transform/Cross%20Life%20C
ycle/O

Use the change curve to

understand the different
reactions and emotions people
can have in response to change.

Consider a client stakeholder who has just heard that her company is
going to be reorganised which means that her role could potentially
be relocated 80 miles away. Using the change curve consider what
her reactions might be and the stages of the model which are relevant
to her over time.
Self-check activities: Change management and communications
Page 2 of 3

Also consider what interventions you could employ to support this

stakeholder to move along the curve towards acceptance.
Print out a version of this model and plot or write on what activities
or skills PwC could offer to assist with these challenges.
The Change Curve Model can be found in the quick reference guide.
Understand how to undertake a
stakeholder mapping exercise to
gain an awareness of what
information they need and to
understand the level of interest
and power each has.

Consider a current or recent project you are working on and the main
stakeholders you were dealing with. Follow the steps listed in the
topic summary to map the stakeholders and agree what actions or
next steps you would take after assessing the stakeholders, to ensure
they have the information they need.
Explain the outputs of this exercise with a colleague and talk through
the outcome of your stakeholder assessment and the actions you
would take.
Again, information on stakeholder analysis can be found in the
Change Managemement and Communcations topic summary pack.

Self-check activities: Change management and communications

Page 3 of 3