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Andrea Greenhous is the founder of Vision2Voice, an internal communications agency that helps global organizations grow, navigate change and improve performance.
Change management books fill the top shelf of my bookcase. John Kotter’s classic Leading Change (1996) and Prosci’s ADKAR framework are among the many resources I’ve used to support communication and change for large-scale business and technology transformation projects.
Today, when I speak to leaders about change, I hear one thing: change is the environment in which they operate. In response, many are shifting from change management as a series of isolated projects to an always-on capability. The goal is no longer to manage change but to build a workforce and a culture that can continuously adapt – where change isn’t a clunky eight-step process but part of how organizations are led and managed.
As a communication professional who has spent more than 25 years at the centre of major transformation projects, I see this shift as both necessary and overdue. After all, it seems like we’ve been saying change is a constant for several decades now.
But there is one element of building an adaptable and resilient organization that is at risk of being left behind: employee communication.
Employee communication, or internal communication as it is often called, is the strategic discipline that drives culture, performance and change. At its best, it creates clarity, a united focus and shared understanding of priorities. According to a recent Axios study, it is what separates the top performers from the rest by 40 percentage points.
Yet, many organizations continue to approach employee communication as a channel for distributing information rather than a strategic function. This matters because adaptability depends on trust, and trust can’t be built when employees feel that leaders are hiding something behind all that corporate speak. Moreover, organizations can’t move quickly when employees are confused about priorities or uncertain about what comes next.
Interestingly, some of the strongest advocates for employee communication today are not communication leaders. Our best clients have been CEOs, COOs and CFOs who understand the link between strategic internal communication and improved alignment, execution speed and agility in their organizations. They see strategic internal communications as a core capability.
If you are a leader who wants to build change as an always-on capability, here are five ways you can modernize employee communication to support a more adaptable and resilient organization:
Develop a communication strategy: Communication to employees should not be a series of disconnected messages, campaigns and announcements. By developing a strategy, you’ll take a deliberate approach to helping employees understand where the organization is going, why it matters and how they can contribute to its success. A strategy aligns communication with organizational goals and reinforces the behaviours and mindsets to fuel performance and support change.
Consider an organization adopting AI. A communication plan focuses on announcing the new tools and providing training. A communication strategy looks at the bigger picture: building trust, reducing uncertainty, encouraging learning, involving employees and reinforcing the mindset that change is part of how we work.
Create a narrative that helps people make sense of constant change: Facts and updates are important, but they are rarely enough. Employees need a story that helps them understand where the organization is going, why it matters and what role they play in getting there. A strong narrative creates meaning amid uncertainty, creates an emotional connection and provides a consistent thread that helps employees make sense of constant change.
Consider your ecosystem: At my agency, we think of communication in organizations as an ecosystem rather than a collection of channels, with each channel playing a distinct role. Yet many organizations continue to use them interchangeably rather than intentionally. Routine updates should not consume valuable town hall time, email shouldn’t be the default for every message and organizations should consider whether purpose-built employee communication platforms such as Staffbase, Appspace or Haiilo can better support personalized communication can better support personalized communication.
Build continuous listening capabilities: Organizations that create meaningful opportunities for employees to share ideas, concerns and feedback gain access to valuable insights. Listening is also a powerful signal because when leaders seek input, employees feel valued and respected. Over time, this helps build trust and psychological safety – two critical ingredients for innovation, learning and adaptability.
Equip managers as communicators: Managers are the most trusted source of information but also the most time crunched. Supporting their role as communicators creates consistency while helping employees make sense of news, information and change. We’ve had incredible success with several clients by creating simple materials, such as a manager’s briefing pack, that take the guesswork out of delivering for their teams.
If organizations operate in an environment of nonstop change, leaders can no longer afford to treat communication as a support function. Companies that modernize the way they communicate won’t just manage change more effectively; they’ll build the trust, clarity and adaptability needed to build strong, future-ready organizations.
This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about the world of work. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab.