Talking through the tough times: Communicating change with stability

No comms pro wakes up in the morning and wants to draw up a layoff memo or any other sort of negative news. But when communicators can nail tough comms tasks in trying times, they can instill a sense of calm and stability across their organizations.

At Ragan’s Employee Experience Conference earlier this month, Lauren Stephens, executive director of internal communication at MGM Resorts International, said that change-related stress can hurt performance — and that’s where comms can help.

“There’s no employer out there that wants unhappy, low morale, unproductive employees,” she said.  “It is critical that we have communications during times of uncertainty and change. The bottom line is that communication helps employees remain focused and also encourages dialogue with leaders during times of uncertainty and change.”

Stephens told the audience that communicators need to think in advance about who will be impacted by change – and not just the obvious ones.