An organisation is about to embark on a major process improvement programme, such as increasing productivity or improving quality within a specific business unit or commodity. Whatever it may be, there will be a level of inconvenience for the employees, as in most change projects.
But, when it comes to launching the software, what does administration do first? They send an e-mail far too often. The manager might think that the job has been done and the plan will be a big success because the employees will understand what is going on.
Columnist Jeff Cole initially commented about the dangers of introducing change via e-mail pretty early this year, where senior executives think they’ll conserve time and be more effective by blasting the entire workforce with a single mass email detailing what’s going on – only to be forgotten about.
Someone named Veronica Apostolico is credited with the following quote: “It’s poor etiquette to communicate changes via email or voicemail, just as it’s bad practice to end a partnership that existed. It leaves the receiver perplexed and enraged, and it makes the person delivering the response look bad.”
Jeff Cole suggests using a “cascading sponsorship” strategy, in which the primary stakeholder gathers his or her immediate documents and explains what’s going on. Those reports will then contact their supervisors, and so on, until the message has reached everyone in the company. “The proper way of announcing a transition, like many aspects of life, takes more time but ensures efficiency,” wrote Cole.
See full story on processexcellencenetwork.com