Best Practices for Announcing Policy Changes

What makes an effective organizational announcement? What leads to a lousy one? We’ve all been on the receiving end of a company-wide email or sat in a town hall where leadership shares significant news. Some of us have delivered these messages ourselves. These moments are pivotal for an organization. When done well, they mark a turning point that aligns the team and propels the company forward. When mishandled, they create confusion, frustration, and unnecessary complications as everyone struggles to adapt to the newly announced changes. Whether you're communicating a simple transition (e.g., a CEO retiring and a new leader stepping in) or a complex restructuring, how you communicate matters deeply. Here are a few key principles to help with your next announcement: 1. 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞: What’s the critical information your team needs? What is changing? How can you deliver the message as succinctly as possible? Every person in the organization should walk away able to summarize the key points.  In Jassy’s recent Amazon memo, the main takeaways were clear in news coverage: increasing the ratio of individual contributors to managers by 15% and requiring a five-day return to the office. But if you read the 1,400-word memo itself, these points didn’t appear until halfway through. Let’s be real: Employees are likely skimming, asking themselves, “What is this 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 about?” Make it easy for them. 2. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭: Being concise doesn’t mean sacrificing context. People need to know why changes are happening. Whether the change is solving a pain point or capitalizing on a new opportunity, explain the rationale behind it. Without this context, you risk resistance. Help them understand how the changes benefit the organization and, ultimately, them. 3. 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬: If the announcement includes promotions or expanded responsibilities, take a moment to celebrate. Org announcements are a chance to not only recognize key individuals but also reinforce the values and behaviors your company prioritizes. Be specific about what attributes or achievements led to the recognition, as this can signal to the broader team what success looks like. 4. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬: Let’s face it—we’re all the stars of our own stories. People naturally want to know, “How does this affect me?” As a leader, it’s your job to address this head-on. What changes will people experience in their roles, responsibilities, or reporting structures? What shifts in decision-making or core processes should they expect? You may need your direct reports to have more in-depth conversations with their teams, but ensure everyone understands what’s expected of them moving forward. 💁♀️ What have I missed? What’s your experience with organizational announcements—both good and bad? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments! (Bonus: your tip doesn’t have to start with a ‘C’ 😉) #thoughtfulthursdays #executivecommunication

A common communications problem I see in organizations with low-trust cultures: 🔺 Executive team makes a major decision that will change the company's direction or structure, a key employee experience, or a core process/tool. 🚨 All employees are notified at the same time - including people leaders and managers (because "this is HIGHLY sensitive and we can't risk a leak!") ⁉️ Employees instantly turn to their managers: "What does this mean for me?" 🤷♀️ Managers have NO idea because they just found out too. 😣 Employees are anxious, managers are anxious AND frustrated (not to mentioned embarrassed for feeling out of the loop). 👎 Productivity drops, morale suffers, and intent to leave rises. Managers are either your culture's biggest pain point or biggest success factor. The difference is you - not them. The difference is how well you empower them to actively advocate for the company's direction and goals and set them up to successfully lead their teams through these moments. The difference is trust. Here's an alternative way that scenario can play out in a high-trust, high-functioning culture: 🔺 Executive team makes a major decision that will change the company's direction or structure, a key employee experience, or a core process/tool. 💡 Executive team meets with all people leaders and managers a day before the internal company announcement. They inform them of the decision; provide background context that may not be appropriate for a broader audience; share resources to help managers support employees and answer anticipated questions; and give them time to absorb the change themselves and prepare for their team's response. 🚨 All employees are notified and are immediately invited to a team meeting by their manager. ⁉️ Employees instantly turn to their managers: "What does this mean for me?" 🤷♀️ Managers reiterate key company talking points plus add context unique to the team that helps put the change in perspective. They share links and points of contact for additional questions. They provide clear next steps for the team on how they are going to implement the change. 😣 Employees are processing the change, but feel in control. Managers feel prepared and valuable and a part of the broader leadership team. They are invested in a successful outcome. 👍 Productivity holds steady. Trust and morale increase because people feel respected. Empowered managers are sturdy leaders. Better yet, by bringing your managers into the 'room', you increase their self-confidence and deepen their commitment to the company by enabling them to be good at their jobs. Win-win. Again and again. #Culture #LeadershipDevelopment #InternalCommunications #ManagerDevelopment #Trust #Transparency

Some executives inspire action. Others get ignored. Why? Because facts fade. Stories stick. After a 1-minute pitch, Stanford research found: ⟶ 5% recalled a statistic ⟶ 63% remembered the stories Here’s how storytelling can reshape your career: Too often, leaders default to data dumps: ⟶ Dense board decks ⟶ Endless bullet points in team updates ⟶ Info overload in all-hands meetings The result? Information is shared—impact is lost. After a career in corporate communications, I know firsthand how storytelling makes the message stick. Here are four ways to bring your messages to life with narrative: 🟡 Board Meetings ⟶ Don’t just share quarterly results—frame them as a journey: What challenge did you overcome? What shifted? ⟶ When outlining strategy, position it as the next chapter in a larger story. People engage with progress they can visualize. 🟡 Team Communications ⟶ Go beyond status updates—share moments of resilience, creativity, or lessons learned. ⟶ Instead of reciting company values, illustrate them with real team examples that people remember. 🟡 Customer Presentations ⟶ Open with a real customer journey: their pain point, your partnership, and the change they experienced. ⟶ Before/after stories make transformation tangible—more than any stat ever could. 🟡 Change Management ⟶ Paint a picture of the future state so people see themselves in it—not just the steps to get there. ⟶ Share your own experience navigating change to build empathy and trust. ↓ ↓ Want to start? 1/ Look for the human impact inside your metrics 2/ Use a simple structure: beginning, conflict, resolution 3/ Practice with small stories—in meetings, Slack, or 1:1s 4/ Always end with a clear shift or takeaway Facts inform, but stories move people. Try adding one story to your next presentation using these ideas—then watch what changes. P.S. Have you used any of these approaches already? I’d love to hear what worked. ♻ Repost to help your network lead with more story. (Research: Jennifer Aaker, Stanford GSB)

Employees faced 10 major organizational changes in 2024—up from just 2 in 2016. At the same time, their ability to cope with change has dropped from 74% to 43%. The result? Frustration, exhaustion, and burnout. We can’t always control how much change happens, but we can control how we communicate it. Here’s what makes the difference:   ✔ Clarify the WHY—Employees need to understand the reason behind change, not just the what and when. ✔ Simplify communication—A flood of branded initiatives can feel overwhelming. Tie changes back to a bigger purpose. ✔ Acknowledge the impact—Be honest about challenges. Transparency builds trust and helps employees adjust. Change fatigue is real, but leaders who communicate with clarity and empathy will create workplaces where employees feel supported, not just disrupted. #leadership #changemanagement #employeeburnout