I nearly started off with saying “Happy New Year” …but it is a bit late for that isn’t it?
Anyway. 2020 is here with a bang, so let’s kick off with another segment in my Talent Acquisition Transformation series…
Many TA agendas this year will probably (and hopefully) have an element of transformation involved, whether it be people, process or tech. Organisations looking to change with positive buy-in and impactful outcomes. However as mentioned in part 1, many things can derail this.
As with any transformational change, communication will either make or break it. In TA this is no different to say in Sales, Finance or Marketing. We must take our stakeholders on a journey, we must emotionally engage with them to aid them see our vision and most importantly influence our audience to build credibility and encourage others to believe in our common goals.
The above does not have to be A). painful or B). difficult. Let us not reinvent the wheel. Stick to the basics and everything should fall into place.
- Understand your audience
Create groups and understand their position, their hierarchy and how you will impact them i.e. Group A might be Executive Sponsor, Senior Leadership Team, Key Decision Makers. Group B could be Project Leaders, Project Teams, Support Teams, Vendors, Suppliers.
- What will they expect?
This can be usually broken down into Why, what, who and how. This is where many of their fears will be based. What does the future look like? What will change from today? What might we lose? Like EVP research, this is a critical stage if you are to successfully understand and influence through real awareness of your people and their environment.
- What we will deliver?
Similar to the above this can be broken down into Clarity, commitment, capability and sustainment. This is what we are looking to achieve, what is needed, how we will do it and how long it will last for. Clear, precise and direct influencing is critical here. Understand our stakeholders, build trust, propose our actions and gain acceptance. Build credibility for TA through real conversations resulting in real change.
- How will we deliver?
Finally, the shop floor methods we will use. Illustrate the physical tools and processes we might use (comms, training, documentation, support), discuss frequency, create urgency and respect for our programme. If we are getting real for what we are doing, we need formality. Structure = success.
All simple concepts but equally very powerful. As we discussed last year, many TA change programmes either fail or drag on because we do not properly manage them. Every single step you follow and complete gives you another % chance of success.
To repeat.
Collaborate. Understand. Build trust. Influence. Achieve.
BG
If you haven’t already, you can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 here.
