6 Dos of Change Communication: What Really Makes Change Successful

1. Build Communication into Change from the Very Beginning

The most common mistake: Communications is brought in only after the decision has already been made – as a vehicle for announcing a finished concept. This wastes its most valuable potential. When Communications is involved in planning and developing the transition from the outset, it brings the perspective of those affected into the process at an early stage. This leads to better solutions – and significantly greater acceptance.

A typical scenario we see in practice: a company is planning to introduce a new system or implement a major restructuring. The project team, IT and external service providers agree on the timeline and architecture – and Communications only becomes involved shortly before go-live to draft the announcement. The result: the complexity of the transition is underestimated, those affected feel excluded, and rumours and resistance emerge that could have been avoided through earlier involvement.

In practical terms, early involvement means:

• Communications has a seat on the steering committee from the start of the project – not just at the end.

• The communication feasibility and implications of a measure are assessed before it is finally approved.

• A communication roadmap is developed alongside the project plan, not afterwards.

2. Strengthen Leaders as the Backbone of Internal Communication

For their teams, leaders are the most credible and immediate source of information during change – more so than any email from the executive board. If they are not well prepared, a vacuum emerges that is quickly filled by rumours and misinformation. Strong leadership buy-in and involvement in change communication has been shown to improve engagement, commitment and the quality of implementation.

This is also reflected in research: in the Porsche Consulting Change Management Compass, executives from Germany’s 100 largest companies cited inadequate communication (77 percent) and insufficient leadership (73 percent) as the most common reasons why transformations fail to achieve their objectives.

Good preparation does not mean giving leaders ready-made sentences to read out. It means enabling them to become “Change Story Owners” by involving them in shaping the content and securing their support at an early stage. And it means preparing leaders for the central role they play in the change process.

In practical terms, this means:

• Involving selected leaders in developing the master story.

• Reviewing the communication programme in leadership meetings.

• Providing structured advance briefings with relevant information and context.

• Providing talking points and answers to the most likely critical questions.

3. Two-Way Communication Instead of a One-Way Street

In change communication, what matters is not how much information is sent out, but how much reaches people – and what comes back. Dialogue, exchange, listening and responding are at the heart of effective change communication. Pure information cascades – an announcement email, a town hall, an intranet page – merely create the appearance of communication without delivering its full impact.

Surveys of professionals and managers reveal a recurring pattern: the vast majority consider successful change important, while a significant proportion simultaneously rate communication around it as inadequate – particularly when it comes to issues that affect them personally, such as staffing decisions.

• Establish regular dialogue formats rather than relying on one-off announcements: Q&A sessions, office hours and pulse checks.

• Actively gather questions and concerns – including uncomfortable ones – rather than waiting for people to raise them.

• Make the impact of feedback visible: few things are more discouraging than dialogue that produces no discernible results.

4. Targeted Communication Instead of a One-Size-Fits-All Approach

Targeted change communication differentiates according to how strongly different groups are affected by a change and tailors information accordingly. Those most directly affected receive information earlier, more directly and more personally. Relevance comes from tailoring communication to people’s needs – not from volume or a one-size-fits-all approach.

In practice, this starts with a simple but often overlooked exercise: a stakeholder analysis that distinguishes between each group’s level of impact, influence and information needs.

• Identify who is directly affected – in terms of their job, responsibilities or team – and who is only indirectly affected.

• Use personal, face-to-face formats for those most affected, while consolidated updates may be sufficient for broader audiences.

• Stagger the timing: those most affected should hear the news first – never indirectly or through the media.

5. Combine Information with Storytelling

Change raises many questions – and they need factual answers. But facts alone do not create meaning. The tool that brings both together is the master story: a core messaging document that serves as a kind of “bible”, bringing together everything that matters about the change – purpose and information, principles and actions, past and future, scope and values.

Its value lies not only in the finished document, but also in the process of creating it. Developing a master story forces an organisation to define its starting point, objectives and position precisely – and almost inevitably exposes gaps or ambiguities in management thinking or planning that may previously have gone unnoticed. The master story forces clarity before communication begins.

For employees, one thing is particularly important: being able to see their own role in the story. Those who experience themselves merely as objects of change are unlikely to support it; those who can see an active role for themselves can become co-creators of the change.

• Develop a master story that brings together the purpose and facts, principles and actions, and past and future of the change in one coherent narrative.

• Use the development process deliberately to uncover gaps in strategy and planning – before they become visible in communication.

• Use concrete, relatable examples rather than abstract change rhetoric.

6. Think Process, Not One-Off Event: Communication Continues After the Kick-Off

Change communication is not an event; it is a process. The kick-off marks the beginning – not the end. What happens afterwards determines whether the change becomes embedded in everyday working life or simply fades away: ongoing opportunities for information and dialogue, regular updates, progress reports and an active feedback loop. The entire communication programme needs to continue – not just the initial announcement.

This is also one of the factors behind the change fatigue mentioned at the beginning of this article: if communication stops after the kick-off, an information vacuum emerges that employees fill themselves – usually with scepticism rather than confidence, often accompanied by a tendency to remain in familiar patterns and ways of working.

• Develop a communication roadmap for the entire duration of the change – not just for the launch.

• Schedule regular updates and dialogue formats, even when there are no new decisions to announce yet.

• Continuously monitor acceptance and sentiment through pulse checks and feedback sessions – and visibly adapt communication in response.

The 6 Dos at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions About Change Communication (FAQ)

What exactly is change communication?
Change communication is the planned and structured use of targeted internal and external communication to support an organisation through a change process. It goes beyond simply providing information: it creates an understanding of why the change is necessary, builds trust and enables employees to actively help shape the change rather than simply endure it.

Why does change communication fail so often?
In most cases, the problem is not the message itself, but the timing and the one-way nature of communication: communication starts too late, leaders are not adequately prepared, there is no genuine channel for dialogue, and all target groups receive the same information at the same time. The result is rumours, resistance and a noticeable loss of trust. These patterns are well documented: the Porsche Consulting Change Management Compass identifies inadequate communication as the most common reason for failed transformations (cited by 77 percent of the executives surveyed), while the 2025 Communications Heatmap shows that 85 percent of companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are currently experiencing change fatigue among their employees.

Who is responsible for change communication?
Responsibility usually lies with Corporate Communications together with the project or programme team leading the change initiative. However, change communication only becomes truly effective when leaders at all levels actively support it – change communication is a leadership responsibility, not solely a communications responsibility.

When should change communication begin?
Ideally, at the very start of the project – not just when the change is officially announced. Involving Communications in planning and development from the outset helps identify risks early and can significantly increase acceptance of the change.

What role do leaders play in change communication?
A central one: for most employees, their direct manager is the most credible source of information during a change. Well-prepared leaders who are personally convinced of the change can significantly increase engagement and the quality of implementation – while poorly prepared leaders can themselves become a source of uncertainty.

How long should change communication continue?
Longer than most project timelines allow for: it begins before the official announcement and does not end with go-live. It should continue throughout implementation until the change is firmly embedded in everyday working life.