Be prepared for unexpected reactions when sending change messages

When employees are feeling pressure from a change at their organization, they may not react how you expect them to.

During Ragan’s Employee Experience Conference last month in Nashville, Brooke Wilson, head of Resources for Living at CVS Health, told the audience that comms pros need to account for employee stress when they’re communicating change internally.

“Something that’s really stressful that happens in the workplace is an organizational change,” Wilson said. “Often a reaction, even when there’s communication, is panic. ‘Oh my God, do I have a job? Who’s my leader? Should I keep doing the things I’m doing? What’s the future?’”

Wilson also encouraged communicators to think about emphasizing the importance of humanized messaging.

“Knowing who your audience is, being more personal and thinking about the outcome that we’re trying to achieve is really important,” she said.