How to Announce a Change to Your Team

To announce a change to your team, tell people what's changing, what isn't, who it affects, what they need to do and by when, what's still undecided, and when they'll hear more. Brief their managers first, pick a format that lets people ask questions, and follow up on the date you gave.

The decision has been made, and you're the one telling the people whose work it changes. Some of them don't report to you, a few details are still open, and the questions start as soon as the message goes out.

What Should a Change Announcement Include?

Connie Wanberg and Joseph Banas followed staff at public housing agencies through a set of changes to federal housing programs (Wanberg and Banas, 2000, Journal of Applied Psychology). Employees who rated the information they'd received about the changes as timely, useful and enough to answer their questions were more accepting of the changes. So were employees who felt confident they could handle the changes. Employees who said they had a say in the changes had a more positive view of them. Lower acceptance of the changes went with lower job satisfaction, more irritation at work, and stronger intentions to quit.

A complete announcement tells people each of these things.

• What's changing, named in concrete terms, such as the system, the process or the team.

• Why it's changing.

• What's staying the same.

• Who it affects, and who it doesn't.

• What each person needs to do differently, and from what date.

• Which parts are decided and which are still open.

• What support people will get, such as training or a named person to ask.

• Where to send questions.

• When people will hear from you next.

Put what's changing and what's staying the same next to each other, so people can see which parts of their work stay as they are. If some answers aren't decided yet, name what's still open and when you'll know, and say what people should keep doing until then. For a new tool, including when you're introducing an AI tool to your team, say which tasks it's for, who's expected to use it, and from what date.

The reasons clear announcements still confuse people include a missing answer, a message that reaches people before they know the reasoning, and a message that changes as people retell it. Check your draft against the list before you work on the wording, because editing doesn't fix missing answers.

What Should You Do before You Announce a Change?

Joanna Goodman and Catherine Truss looked at how two organizations communicated with employees during major change programs, and at the effects on those employees (Goodman and Truss, 2004). They concluded that both how the communication was run and what it said mattered. They singled out the timing of messages, matching the communication to the employees, using suitable media, flexibility, and keeping uncertainty down.

Before the announcement goes out, get these from the person who made the decision.

• What's decided, and what's still open.

• The dates, including the day people start working the new way.

• The reason for the change, in words you can repeat to the team.

• Who will answer the questions you can't.

Decide what you need people to do once they've read it. Some announcements only need people to know about a change. Others need people to act by a date, and for those, put the action and the date in the first lines.

To predict the pushback each group will raise, list each group the change affects, what each will lose or find hard, and what the announcement needs to say to them about it.

Some people need to hear before the rest because they'll have to decide or act on something. Tell each of them what the change means for the decisions they'll make, and by when. A general update can reach stakeholders who later say nobody told them without showing them what the change means for their own work.

In a change communication plan, you put these answers, the groups, the order in which people hear about the change, and the date of each message in one place.

How Do You Explain Why the Change Is Happening?

Larry Smeltzer interviewed people in 43 organizations about how organization-wide changes were announced (Smeltzer, 1991, Group & Organization Studies). Employees reacted negatively to euphemisms and to announcements that were overly positive.

State the reason in plain terms, such as the problem the change fixes, the deadline it meets, or the decision it follows from. If people will lose something, such as a decision they used to make or time in the first weeks, say so, and say what help they'll get.

David Schweiger and Angelo DeNisi tested a program of realistic communication with employees of a company that had recently announced a merger (Schweiger and DeNisi, 1991, Academy of Management Journal). Employees at one plant received the program, and employees at another received limited information. The authors reported that the program reduced what they called the dysfunctional outcomes of the merger, and that the effects lasted through the study. In some cases, the measures returned to about where they were before the merger was announced.

To explain a complex change without losing detail, show how its parts depend on each other and give one concrete example. If the change brings new terms, such as the name of a new system or role, say what each one means the first time you use it.

Who Should Tell the Team about the Change?

Allen, Jimmieson, Bordia and Irmer interviewed employees from a range of organizations about how they dealt with uncertainty during change (Allen et al., 2007). Their findings suggested that people preferred to hear how a change would be put in place, and what it meant for their jobs, from their direct supervisor. Senior managers usually gave the information about strategy. Trust affected which sources people went to and how they judged what they heard. In a follow-up study in a government department about to restructure, employees who rated the change communication they received as good quality were more open to the change. In the authors' analysis, better communication went with less uncertainty about the change, and less uncertainty went with more openness.

When you announce a change to employees across several teams, ask the sponsor or a senior leader to explain the reason and the direction. Ask each team's manager to explain what changes in that team's work.

Brief managers before the announcement with what's decided, what's still open, answers to the questions their teams will ask, and what to say when they don't know an answer. If the managers don't report to you, ask the sponsor to set up the briefing and attend it.

Each manager who retells the announcement adds their own emphasis and drops some details, so the message changes as it passes through managers. Give every manager the same written facts, and ask them to send the questions they can't answer back to you, so every team gets the same answer.

When Should You Announce a Change?

In Smeltzer's study, the less effective announcements went with many inaccurate rumors about the change and with employees hearing about it from someone other than management. The timing of the announcement was what most separated effective strategies from ineffective ones.

Set the timing with these steps.

• Announce once you can say what's changing, who it affects and what they need to do, and can give a date for anything still open.

• Leave enough time before the start date for training and for people to change their plans.

• Brief managers on the same day, shortly before the announcement goes out.

• Tell everyone the change affects on the same day, so nobody hears it secondhand first.

Should You Announce a Change in a Meeting or an Email?

Choose the format by what people need to do with the information.

• Put facts people will come back to in writing, such as dates, steps, links and who to ask.

• Use a meeting when people need to ask questions, talk through what the change means for their work, or agree how teams will work together on it.

Before you book a large meeting, check when a change update needs a meeting by asking what outcome needs those people in the same conversation at the same time. For a change to people's daily work, hold a team meeting and send the written version the same day. If part of the team works remotely, hold the meeting on video so everyone hears it at the same time.

In a change announcement email, put the change and its start date in the subject line, and put who it affects and what they need to do in the first lines. The reasons change emails get ignored include arriving when people can't act on them, saying what's changing without saying what to do, and sending one message to everyone.

How Do You Handle Questions and Pushback When You Announce a Change?

Some questions will be about parts of the change that are already decided. Say that the part is decided, who decided it, and which parts are still open for input. Write down each concern you can't answer yet, say when you'll answer it, and send the answer to the whole team. Note who raised which concern, and follow up with each of them one on one. If a concern shows a problem with the plan, such as a start date that clashes with another deadline, take it to the person who made the decision.

How Do You Tailor a Change Announcement for Different Groups?

To communicate the change to different audiences, write one set of shared facts that stays the same in every version. It covers what's changing, why, the dates, and what's decided. Then add a short part for each group with what changes in their work, what they need to do, and who they can ask.

For senior stakeholders who need to approve or fund something, start with the decision you need from them and the date you need it by.

Prepare answers to the questions of an employee going through an organizational change, such as whether their role changes, what their daily work will look like, and when it starts.

What If People Hear about the Change before You Announce It?

Nicholas DiFonzo and Prashant Bordia interviewed managers and public relations staff at multinational corporations about communicating during changes such as restructurings, mergers and downsizing (DiFonzo and Bordia, 1998, Human Resource Management). They wrote that ineffective change communication is marked by widespread rumors, which grow when uncertainty is high. The campaigns that worked tended to reveal information, reduce uncertainty through collective planning, and take steps to build trust and keep it.

Bordia and his colleagues collected rumors from employees at a public hospital going through a change (Bordia et al., 2006, Group & Organization Management). The largest group of rumors was about changes to jobs and working conditions, and most of those were about job losses. Negative rumors were more common than positive ones, and employees who reported negative rumors also reported more stress about the change. The authors proposed treating rumors as a way employees express their concerns during a change, and advised managers to pay close attention to what the rumors say.

If people have already heard about the change, announce what's decided as soon as you can and give a date for the rest. When rumors keep spreading after that, stopping rumors during an organizational change starts with writing down each rumor that reaches you and answering the ones about jobs and working conditions in your next update.

What Should You Do after You Announce a Change?

In the first weeks after the announcement, do these three things.

• Send the next update on the date you gave, even when it says a decision is still open.

• Talk one on one with the people whose work changes most.

• If the team still seems unsure, work out the questions the announcement didn't answer, send a short follow-up that answers them, and give managers the same answers.

From the start date on, check at set dates whether each team is working the new way, as part of rolling out the change at work.

What If Leadership Reverses the Decision after You've Announced It?

Shaw, Wild and Colquitt combined the results of studies on explanations for decisions (Shaw, Wild and Colquitt, 2003, Journal of Applied Psychology). Giving an explanation had strong effects on whether people judged a decision fair and on how they responded, including whether they cooperated, retaliated or withdrew. Explanations helped more when the outcome was unfavorable to the people hearing it.

When you're explaining a reversed decision to your team, tell them as soon as you know, in the same way you announced the change. Say what was decided, who decided it, and the reason they gave. Say what happens to the work people already did for the change, what they should do now, and when they'll hear more.

Where Do You Start with Your Next Change Announcement?

Before you send your next change announcement, give the draft to one person whose work it changes and ask what they'll do differently on the start date. If they can't tell you, add the missing answer to the draft before you send it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Far in Advance Should You Announce a Change?

It depends on how much people need to prepare. Announce early enough for training and planning before the start date, and once you can say what's changing, who it affects, and what they need to do. In Smeltzer's study of 43 organizations, timing did the most to separate effective announcements from ineffective ones. Tell everyone affected on the same day.

What Should You Say When You Don't Know the Answer to a Question?

Say you don't know yet, and give the date you'll have the answer. Then find out, and send the answer to everyone who might have the same question. If the answer depends on a decision that hasn't been made, say who's making it and when. Ask managers to send you the questions they can't answer, so every team hears the same answer.

Should a Change Announcement Ask for Feedback?

Ask for feedback on the parts that are still open. Say which parts are decided and which aren't, ask for input on the open parts, and give the date you need it by. In Wanberg and Banas's study, employees who said they had a say in the changes had a more positive view of them. Afterward, tell people what you did with their input.

How Do You Announce an Unpopular Change to Your Team?

State the change and what it will cost people in plain terms. Smeltzer found that employees reacted negatively to euphemisms and overly positive announcements. Schweiger and DeNisi found that realistic communication after a merger announcement reduced the merger's dysfunctional outcomes. Give the reason, say what support people will get, and give the date of your next update.

What's the Difference between a Change Announcement and a Change Communication Plan?

A change announcement is one message. A change communication plan sets out every message about the change, including who hears first, what each group is told, the channels, and the date of each update. Write the plan first, because it's where you decide who gets briefed before the announcement and what the announcement needs to say.

If you're planning how to announce a change, The DANCE System gives you 29 tools for planning and communicating it in five phases, from defining the scope to keeping it in place after launch.

Related Blog Posts:

Why Do Clear Announcements Still Confuse People

What Is the Team Asking That the Announcement Didn't Answer?

Why Does a Message Change as it Passes Through Managers?

How Do I Announce What's Changing and What's Not?

How do I Announce a Change When Some Answers are MIssing?

How Do I Brief Managers before a Change Announcement?

Why Is the Announcement Still Confusing after Editing?

How Do I Explain a Complex Change Without Losing What Matters?

Why Do Change Emails Get Ignored?

Why Do Stakeholders Say Nobody Told Them?

When Does a Change Update Need a Meeting?

How to Roll Out a Change at Work

How Do I Predict Pushback before Announcing a Change?

How to Navigate Organizational Change as an Employee

How to Introduce AI to Your Team

References

1. Wanberg, C. R., & Banas, J. T. (2000). Predictors and outcomes of openness to changes in a reorganizing workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(1), 132-142. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.1.132

2. Goodman, J., & Truss, C. (2004). The medium and the message: Communicating effectively during a major change initiative. Journal of Change Management, 4(3), 217-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/1469701042000255392

3. Smeltzer, L. R. (1991). An analysis of strategies for announcing organization-wide change. Group & Organization Studies, 16(1), 5-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/105960119101600102

4. Schweiger, D. M., & DeNisi, A. S. (1991). Communication with employees following a merger: A longitudinal field experiment. Academy of Management Journal, 34(1), 110-135. https://doi.org/10.2307/256304

5. Allen, J., Jimmieson, N. L., Bordia, P., & Irmer, B. E. (2007). Uncertainty during organizational change: Managing perceptions through communication. Journal of Change Management, 7(2), 187-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697010701563379

6. DiFonzo, N., & Bordia, P. (1998). A tale of two corporations: Managing uncertainty during organizational change. Human Resource Management, 37(3-4), 295-303. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-050X(199823/24)37:3/4%3C295::AID-HRM10%3E3.0.CO;2-3

7. Bordia, P., Jones, E., Gallois, C., Callan, V. J., & DiFonzo, N. (2006). Management are aliens! Rumors and stress during organizational change. Group & Organization Management, 31(5), 601-621. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601106286880

8. Shaw, J. C., Wild, E., & Colquitt, J. A. (2003). To justify or excuse?: A meta-analytic review of the effects of explanations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(3), 444-458. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.3.444