When change fatigue strikes, seize the communication opportunity

It’s rare to find any company today that isn’t undergoing nearly continuous change. 

Change is necessary—to respond to mutating market conditions, take advantage of new technology or embrace innovation—and it can be painful.

Employees often see change management initiatives as signs of trouble or, at the very least, sources of job stress. Internal communication teams worry about employees’ being overwhelmed by change fatigue.

Could change fatigue really be just the stress of employees who feel things are out of control? In employee focus groups and interviews with a wide range of companies and industries, we often hear employees talk about change initiatives as if they’re a fleeting whim of leadership that will shift again before long.

This signals a missed opportunity to engage employees in the change. Communicators can help by linking the change to the company vision or business strategies.

For instance, let’s say the vision is about enabling clients to run their businesses more efficiently, and the change involves moving the value proposition from a software product to consultative service.