Communicating change initiatives.

AuthorCingoranelli, Dominic A.

CPA firms continually are adapting their organizations to meet clients' needs as well as the demands of many forces in their environment. Currently, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 probably tops the list of outside forces prompting firms to initiate changes. The success of such initiatives hinges on effective communication.

CPA firms are, of course, concerned about the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other new state and federal laws and regulations on their ability to provide various services to clients. For some firms, the implementation of these laws imposes additional duties, perhaps even restricting their ability to provide certain services. On the other hand, these laws have also created opportunities for firms to provide new services to clients.

Have the plans you made in response to these changes--or any other change initiatives--generated the results you hoped for? If not, maybe it's time to renew your communication efforts. Communicating strategic plans and related organizational change initiatives is one of the most important pieces of the change process. Good communication creates a solid probability of bringing the changes to fruition. Lackluster communication, in contrast, will almost certainly bring failure. Based on my experience over the years, I believe that many change initiatives collapse because of inadequate communication.

The rule of seven

Studies have shown that leaders must repeat the message of the change at least seven times before most people will even begin to understand it. This is a challenge for leaders. How many ways can you communicate the message? The answer is, the more the better. These message repetitions could take a while--months perhaps--but this part of the process is absolutely essential. Repetition is not only OK, it is a must.

A state trade association, for example, continually publishes its core philosophy and vision in its newsletter and other publications. It is on its way to realizing the vision. Another organization did some excellent work in mapping out its future, yet their member newsletter failed to mention it, even once. Which organization do you think is getting the results that leadership intended? What to communicate

Typically, leadership needs to communicate what the new vision is, and how it was determined in the first place. The latter is important to show others that it was not something you just dreamed up on a cocktail napkin after a couple of martinis, but that it...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT