How do you communicate and manage the expectations of the affected parties during a process change?

1 Identify the stakeholders

The first step is to identify who will be affected by the process change, both directly and indirectly. These are your stakeholders, and they may include customers, employees, managers, suppliers, regulators, and competitors. You need to understand their needs, concerns, motivations, and preferences, as well as their level of influence and interest in the process change. You can use tools such as stakeholder analysis or stakeholder mapping to categorize and prioritize your stakeholders.

4 Manage expectations and resistance

The fourth step is to manage the expectations and resistance of your stakeholders during the process change. This means setting and aligning the expectations of your stakeholders with the reality and feasibility of the process change, and managing any gaps or discrepancies that may occur. This also means anticipating and overcoming any resistance or objections that your stakeholders may have to the process change, and addressing their concerns and emotions. You need to use strategies such as change readiness assessment, stakeholder commitment plan, or change management plan to manage expectations and resistance.

5 Monitor and communicate

The fifth step is to monitor and communicate the progress and results of the process change to your stakeholders. This means tracking and reporting the performance, quality, and impact of the process change, and comparing them with the baseline and targets. This also means celebrating and acknowledging the achievements and contributions of your stakeholders, and providing them with recognition and feedback. You need to use tools such as dashboards, scorecards, or reports to monitor and communicate the process change.

6 Review and improve

The sixth and final step is to review and improve the process change after its completion. This means evaluating the outcomes, benefits, and lessons learned from the process change, and identifying any gaps, issues, or areas for improvement. This also means implementing any changes or actions that are needed to sustain or enhance the process change, and ensuring that they are embedded and adopted by your stakeholders. You need to use tools such as surveys, interviews, or audits to review and improve the process change.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?