Authentic Communication: The Catalyst for Culture Change

“Successful transformation needs clear vision from leadership,” Francesca Sorrentino, client partner, Publicis Sapient said. “Leaders are responsible for painting a really clear picture of what choices the firm will make, what that will feel like, and what everybody’s responsibilities will be to make that happen. It’s a really tall order from leaders to stay relentlessly focused on their vision despite headwinds and distraction, because it’s hard to motivate people to go into the unknown.”

And according to Matt Hopgood, global vice president, strategy and consulting, “successful leaders and role models don’t just communicate change efforts—they strive to live them, too.”

“You can't stand in front of people doing the same thing you've always done,” Hopgood said. “If you're going to talk about change, you have to role model the change and demonstrate the change by tackling communications in a way that's different than you would have done before.”

Fostering Change

Today’s workforce spans close to five different generations, each with their own sets of values, skills and ways of communicating. In order for culture change to be successful, employees of all backgrounds must feel that the work they do aligns with their own values.

When it comes to creating a connected workforce, organizations must tailor programs to meet the needs of the existing employees, while looking ahead to attract and retain valuable new talent. According to research from people success platform Glint, almost half of professionals cited positive company culture as one of the main reasons why they were proud to work for their company. As organizations move to embrace more digital ways of working, how can the organization provide training needed to upskill workers, while providing soft benefits that will stand out from the competition and retain new hires?

According to Christian White, senior manager, OCM & project management, Publicis Sapient, Houston, change is an ongoing exchange with personalized messaging that ties organization together at every step of the transformation journey—with DBT teams, HR and leadership working together in lockstep to ensure continuity. Change initiatives should be framed in context to individual working imperatives, with employees better understanding the role they play in transformation efforts and how their behaviors help drive overall business outcomes.

“While each generation has their own belief systems and opinions around what constitutes effective communication, our experiences show they all have a common bond—they simply want to be heard,” White said. “We have to know who we're communicating with, what the message is, reinforce it and really drive awareness of what's going on across the organization.”  

Effective communication is a two-way street. As transformation projects continue their prevalence among large organizations, employees should be invited to share feedback throughout the entire DBT process.  This enables organizations to operate with agility and more effectively connect with employee needs along the way.

“When you're embarking on a broader transformation program, specifically around cultural change, there's going to be experiments that are outside of anybody's direct experience. Some are going to work and some are not—but you need to be more open to feedback that is constructive,” Hopgood said. “Even though the experiment itself might have failed, focus on what you've learned.”

A New Way of Working

Change is inevitable, and when harnessed correctly, can act as a springboard for organizations to effectively reach deep into their organic assets. The innovations impacting the future today are budding quickly. By creating a work culture ready to embrace change, leaders can better navigate disruption and quickly adapt processes to overcome challenges and consistently deliver better customer experiences—while creating an environment employees are proud to be a part of.