Communication

Plan
Ruth Phillips
AET 560
Charity Jennings
April 6, 2015

Introduction
Communication plan needed to enact changes
Change needed to increase sales
Presentation will review the communication plan

Communication Plan

Will stop rumors

Will maintain employee morale
Will help employees be invested in change
Will educate employees on how change will affect
them
Will monitor change process
Will inform employees of progress

4 Phases
Prechange approval
Creating the need for change
Midstream change and milestone communication
Confirming/celebrating the change success

Prechange
Phase one
Started with work on new training programs
Approval from Board of Directors
Management must support change

Prechange
Phase One
Presentation to the Board of Directors
o
o
o
o
o

presentation will provide sales figures

presentation will outline a new sales initiative
Presentation will describe the training method
presentation will clearly explain the need for change
presentation will include graphs and charts

Prechange
Phase One
Once the Board of Directors has approved the
change, then a meeting will be held with key
management personnel. These meetings will not
only discuss the new sales initiative but also
stress the approval of the Board of Directors.

Creating the need for change

Phase two

change will be revealed to the whole corporation.

explain the need for change
provide a rationale for change
reassure employees
clarify the steps in the change process

Creating the need for change

Phase two
Management will reassure all employees that
they are up to the task of succeeding at the sales
initiative
This is vital to the employees.
Management will communicate the change
process and how it will affect the employees and
their departments

Creating the need for change

Phase two
The employees will be concerned about their
employment status.
It will be necessary to communicate with all
employees the specific information about the
change process

Creating the need for change

Phase two
Plan will be expanded to the whole company
each and every employee.
Meetings in every sales territory
Weekly emails will be sent to all employees
regarding the change
Plan will focus on communicating the reasons for
the new sales

Midstream change & milestones

Phase three

Employees will be conducting new training

Goals will be given to each employee
Bi-weekly emails will be sent to employees
Monthly email will be sent to employees
Monthly emails will show the overall progress of
the entire corporation
Individual emails will be focused on that
particular employee

Midstream change & milestones

Phase three
If it appears that an employee is struggling in
making their goals, additional training will be
provided.
Emails should stop employee rumors and gossip
Change is positive not only for the corporation
but for every employee
Local supervisors will need to reinforce the
positive aspects of the change

Midstream change & milestones

Phase three
Quarterly meetings in every sales territory
These in-person, face-to-face meetings will show
the employees how the change is progressing.
Special email set-up to allow any employee to ask
a question at any time.

Communicate & Celebrate Success

Phase four
Individual sales goals and department sales goals
Incentive programs
Performance bonuses
o
o
o
o

largest amount of sales

largest quarterly increase
Employee who sells the most Nooks in a quarter
Meeting their goals and exceeding goals

Communicate & Celebrate Success

Phase four
Change is designed to increase the annual sales
Will not succeed without the employees
Vital that the company recognizes goals and
celebrate accomplishments
Company is proud of all the accomplishments
Company is proud of the employees
Celebrations designed to show the employees
how much they are valued
Success of the sales initiative only means more
successes for the employees

Communicate & Celebrate Success

Phase four
last phase of the change process does not mean
that the communication plan is over
changes will continue to be monitored and
evaluated
programs and goals will be adjusted as needed
employees updated on information

Technology needed

Technology that is needed is varied

Power Point presentations
Printable materials
Special phone line and website for employees
Work email addresses for all employees
Program coordinator to handle increase travel
Expanded Information Technology department

Testing the
communication plan
Feedback of each sales territories management
team
Local managers will provide feedback
Third party consultant to come in and review the
plan in the first quarter of the change period.
Changes to the plan will be made as needed.
Secret shoppers in the stores and online
o Score local managers
o Score employees on training

Testing the
communication plan
Ask the employees for feedback
Random employees complete blind surveys once
a quarter
Once this data is compiled it will allow the
corporate human resource department to
understand how the managers are affecting the
change process.

Determining Success &

Failure
Feedback from employees and customers surveys
Employees will provide feedback and critiques of
all training sessions.
Emails will have questions to answer
Data will be compiled to determine how the plan
is working and how the change process is moving
along.

Negative Feedback
Do not take the feedback personally
Remain calm and think clearly before responding
Make sure the negative feedback is understood
clearly
Start a dialogue with the employee
Repeat back to the employee the negative
feedback in form of question

Negative Feedback
Department can gain a clear understanding of the
feedback
Consider the employees perspective
Calmly and respectfully explain the process and
plan.
If the feedback requires more thought, take
concerns back to department and promise to
respond to the employee within 72 hours
It is important to hear and address any employee
concerns, positive or negative

Successful communication plan

Successful Change
If the plan fails to deliver, then the change
process will be hampered and may have negative
results.
Communication plan be conducted in the upmost
professional manner.
The sales figures will not improve without the
employees help.
The employees must find confidence in the
change process and the new sales initiative.
The communication plan will provide that
confidence to the employees.

 Cawsey, T., & Deszca, G. (2012). Action Planning and

Implementation. In Organizational change: An action-oriented
toolkit(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications.
Dealing With Unfair Criticism. (2014) Retrieved April 6, 2015,
from
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/UnfairCriticism.htm
Kotter, J. (2014). Kotter's 8-Step Change Model: Implementing
Change Powerfully and Successfully. Retrieved April 6, 2015,
from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm
UC Davis. (2013). Managing Workplace Reactions to Budget
Cuts. Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/hr/hrdepts/asap/budgetcuts.ht
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