What are the most effective IT change communication strategies for remote employees?

1 Assess your audience

Before you design your IT change communication plan, you need to understand your audience. Who are your remote employees, what are their roles, how do they use technology, and what are their expectations and concerns? You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or other methods to gather this information. By assessing your audience, you can tailor your messages, channels, and formats to suit their needs and preferences.

2 Define your objectives and outcomes

Next, you need to define what you want to achieve with your IT change communication and what you want your remote employees to do as a result. For example, do you want them to understand the benefits and rationale of the change, to adopt the new technology or process, to provide feedback or suggestions, or to act as change champions? By defining your objectives and outcomes, you can craft clear and relevant messages that align with your IT change goals.

4 Engage your stakeholders

One of the best ways to ensure effective IT change communication is to engage your stakeholders throughout the change process. Your stakeholders include not only your remote employees, but also your managers, sponsors, leaders, customers, partners, and suppliers. You should identify and segment your stakeholders, map their influence and interest in the change, and involve them in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the change communication. By engaging your stakeholders, you can build trust, commitment, and collaboration.

5 Provide training and support

Another key element of IT change communication is providing training and support to your remote employees. Training and support can help them learn the new skills, knowledge, and behaviors required by the change, as well as address any issues or challenges they may face. You can offer various types of training and support, such as online courses, tutorials, manuals, guides, FAQs, webinars, coaching, mentoring, or help desks. You should also monitor and evaluate the training and support outcomes and adjust them as needed.

6 Celebrate and reward

Finally, you should celebrate and reward your remote employees for their participation and contribution to the IT change. Celebrating and rewarding can help you acknowledge their efforts, recognize their achievements, and motivate them to continue the change journey. You can celebrate and reward your remote employees in different ways, such as sending thank-you notes, giving shout-outs, sharing success stories, offering incentives, or hosting virtual events. You should also celebrate and reward yourself and your team for your IT change communication work.

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?