The 3 people every comms team needs during organizational change

Before drafting a change comms announcement, teams need people who can identify risks, help employees understand the change and challenge weak spots in the plan.

Elizabeth Whittington, senior director of executive communications at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, recommends building that group around three roles: partners, champions and critics.

“Communication should not be expected to assess every risk alone or prepare for those risks in a silo,” Whittington said during Ragan’s Communicating Change from Strategy to Impact webinar, now available on Ragan Training.

Here’s who Whittington says are best people for the job.

Bring partners in early enough to shape the strategy instead of just as final reviewers, Whittington said.

Partners are the people communicators consult for expertise before they start writing.

That may include HR, legal, government affairs, managers or outside advisors. Each sees the change from a different angle. HR understands workforce impact. Legal knows the guardrails. Government affairs may spot policy or regulatory concerns.

“Everybody’s protecting something different,” Whittington said.