This document discusses aligning employees with organizational change through effective internal communications. It emphasizes communicating an organization's purpose and strategy to both inform employees' mindsets and engage them by helping them understand their roles. This ensures consistent delivery of the strategy and strengthens employee engagement. The document also discusses assessing different employee subcultures, balancing top-down and bottom-up communication, considering both mindset and skillset when facilitating change, using a variety of communication tools to both inform and inspire employees, and involving employees in the change process to gain their support.

1. ALIGNING
EMPLOYEES
WITH CHANGE
A Communicator’s Point of View
Bill Faust
Managing Partner
@ologie
@williamfaust

2. Internal Communications
Every year, organizations spend millions to
extend their messages through external
media like advertising and public relations.
Strong brands, however, also communicate
from the inside out. Because what good is
a strategy or brand if your associates don’t
know how to deliver on it? Or why they
should care?

3. Working from the Inside Out
A strong brand is grounded by a clear purpose
and a strategy that translates it to internal and
external audiences.
The strategy:
• informs employees about the
purpose (mindset)
• engages associates by helping
them understand their role (skill set)
• inspires associates by making
the purpose tangible and
meaningful (motivation)
This approach ensures consistent
delivery of the strategy and
strengthens employee engagement.
EXTERNAL AUDIENCE
INTERNAL AUDIENCE
STRATEGY
PURPOSE

4. A Word about Purpose
To make life easier
and more fun
through innovation
To be hospitable
To be a relentless
ally for every
investor
To be a place to
meet, work, relax,
and enjoy
To enable people to
experience the joy
of driving
To give people the
freedom to fly
To create happiness
for people of all
ages
To save people
money so that they
can live better
To fuel the athlete
in everyone
To provide choices
for nurturing
the body, the
community,
and the planet

5. Creating Alignment
Above all else, internal communications create alignment
across all segmenta of the employee population:
Philosophical
Alignment
(Mindset)
About the strategy
Purpose
Vision
Values
Behavioral
Alignment
(Skill set)
About their actions
Experience
Brand
Story
Emotional
Alignment
(Motivation)
About their role
Engagement
Inspiration
Incentive

6. Creating Alignment
Bottom line: Strong internal alignment is closely linked to
business performance. And associates want it.
High associate engagement can improve
employee performance by 20%.
A global survey on employee engagement shows that:
• 33% of employees feel satisfied with their level of
engagement today
• 92% say they want to improve their performance
• 82% want to better understand their company’s vision
• 87% want to know what role they can play in helping
the company realize its vision

7. Employee Value Proposition
Some internal communication programs include a
promise to employees. That promise is the Employee
Value Proposition (EVP). It defines the commitment
between employee and company, and strives to balance
the needs of both.
EVP
Balance the
needs of
company and
employees
Create a great
place to work
What’s in it for me?
(The reason I work here)
Deliver the
experience
externally
What’s expected of me?
(My role in delivering the brand promise
and executing the business strategy)

8. But is interpreted as:
• Reorganization
• Streamlining
• Business as usual
Change Communication
Tends to focus on:
• Technology investments
• Process changes
• Structure changes
TOP-DOWN BOTTOM-UP
mentality reactions
Most common question: Is my job safe?

9. When We Listen To Our Teams
We Learn Some Interesting Things:
+ –
• Most people want
to change
• They crave collaboration
• They are open to
new ideas
• They want to
be proactive
• But they don’t feel
empowered
• But they are siloed
• But aren’t used to
being customer-driven
• But are used to
being reactive

10. We Also See Some Common
Subcultures Within Companies:
HAND-RAISERS
FENCE-SITTERS
SKEPTICS
“We can do this.
Let me help.”
“I'm going to wait
and see.”
“We will never
change.”
+
+–
–

11. The Big Takeaway
Don’t
over-emphasize
And don’t
under-emphasize
SKILL SET + MINDSET
To create meaningful change, we need BOTH.

12. Communicating Internally
Through a systematic approach, a strategy can be reinforced
at every turn. Over time, it grows stronger, even more
authentic, and self-reinforcing as it’s translated to:
1 FUNCTIONAL TOOLS
2 BEHAVIORAL TOOLS
3 INSPIRATIONAL TOOLS

13. 1 FUNCTIONAL TOOLS
PNC brand video
(embedded)

14. 1 FUNCTIONAL TOOLS

15. 2 BEHAVIORAL TOOLS

16. 2 BEHAVIORAL TOOLS

17. 3 INSPIRATIONAL TOOLS

18. 3 INSPIRATIONAL TOOLS
univita brand video
(embedded)

19. In Summary, Internal Communicators
Need to Consider:
THE BIG 4
1. Top down and bottom up
2. Mindset and skill set
3. Inspire and inform
4. People support what they help create

20. thank you