Two things help here:
1) A clear and unbiased view of the challenges and then,
2) an immediate focus on the future course and the associated questions: Are our goals realistic? Does our corporate culture support the change in strategy – or can it not withstand it at all? Do we have the right communication formats and are we and our managers fit for the future?
What issues do organizations deal with?
Communications and HR departments are trying to reposition themselves, even though everything is already in rapid motion – a reorganization at full speed. The topics we hear about most often sound something like this:
- One transformation follows the next. Increased prices for raw materials, supply chains, crises and their consequences, … most companies hardly know where to start first.
- We need structural adjustments: Our communications department realizes that they can hardly keep up with the waves with the team and the existing tools. As an organization, we need to become fit for the future – quickly, please, but of course in a well thought-out way.
- Help, silos from the past are reappearing: During the crisis, some departments move closer together, while old conflicts flare up again in others. How do we reverse this?
- Our management is under constant stress. They are threatened by a tunnel vision in which only functional fulfillment counts. Collaboration is then seen as a waste of time, empathy as a luxury. This has to improve again. What can we do?
- Our employees are afraid. How can we dispel them? Or: How do we prepare ourselves and everyone else for the fact that it’s time to get down to business?
What solutions do we recommend?
There are no simple answers to complex questions. However, there are a few steps to take in turbulent times that we always recommend to our customers or that we apply together with them:
- Zoom out onceA view of the organization from the outside, at a meta-level, helps to keep an eye on the big picture, to identify contexts and trends without getting lost in the operational.
- Set course: Orientation is important for every organization and managers are usually clear about the course to take. In terms of communication, however, it has another unbeatable advantage: it is reassuring.
Let’s ask ourselves: Is there a common goal? Do we have clear priorities? If we know how to proceed, this creates orientation, more clarity and therefore more calm – even if not everything can be done immediately. - Building bridges: Managers must set an example of how collaboration between departments works. Especially when this is no longer the case.
Let’s ask ourselves: What are the chances of everyone mastering their challenges alone? How clever does that sound? In the end, as we often observe, everyone involved would rather work together than solve problems alone. - Strengthen the stress buffer: Managers need resilience. Training, coaching and regular reflection are the lifebuoys against excessive demands.
Let’s ask ourselves: should my managers relax while the storm is raging everywhere? This important question can only be answered by the board and management – and it must be. A resolution to this conflict between economic success and self-care can never come from the team, but must always be given as a “tone from the top”. - Modernize communication: Telling stories instead of spreading empty phrases – authentic communication creates trust, even in turbulent times.
Let’s ask ourselves: what do we remember more – the story the other night around the barbecue or the CEO’s strategy speech? Well, that may sound a bit polemical, but it has a kernel of truth. We remember what touches us.