In my last blog post, I outlined the many reasons why I prefer communications systems over plans. Systems keep you flexible and able to adapt and shift your organization to meet the needs of your community.
Adaptability is a great strength, but big changes can be jarring for your community. Your organization may have started a new program only to close it a few years later. Maybe a new hire didn’t work out. Or maybe your board has even made the tough decision to close your doors.
The only constant is change, and the only guarantee is that your organization will go through a Big Change. The Big Change may mean chaos for you: emergency board meetings, late-night phone calls, and uncertain staff updates. But it doesn’t need to mean chaos for your community.
Here’s how to communicate your way, authentically and effectively, through a Big Change.
Get your house in order
First things first. Write an internal memo about key facts: the things that cannot be disputed. This is about the “what” and not the “why”. Ensure your board and staff are 100% on the same page about what is, and is not, changing.
Once you have the basics down, you can start crafting how you explain the decision. There is no right way to do this, but there are approximately 8,000 wrong ways. The best advice I can give is to be direct, brief, and honest.
A final note on this: please, please, please include your staff in this step. You do not want your staff to find out about the Big Change from a mass email to donors. This happens far too often, and it is truly horrible to be on the receiving end (I say this from experience).
Consider what information needs to be shared immediately
Some Big Changes will precipitate serious shifts in the next few days. Are weekly substance use meetings ending? Is there no longer a place for people to find shelter from the cold? Will your organization not show up in a core organizing space? The immediate effects of the change will be what your community deems an emergency. Having a plan, even a short-term one, will be critical to managing the first wave of questions.
If there isn’t an immediate effect, take this time to consider whether a public announcement is even necessary at this stage. If you have a longer runway, consider what the path to an announcement may look like. Perhaps the first message is an invitation to a community meeting. However, only do this if the community’s comments will actually be considered–don’t waste people’s time with fruitless requests for feedback.
Provide someone who will listen to the community and answer questions
When people are frustrated, they want to talk to a human. This is why you’ll find me yelling “REPRESENTATIVE!” when I’m in an unending phone tree with Comcast. Don’t ask people to contact info@ or fill out a form–just give them a human person to talk to about this change.
Identifying this point person will depend on a few factors. They should be in a leadership position and capable of speaking on behalf of the organization, know enough about the Big Change to answer questions, be able to handle tough conversations, and have the capacity to respond to community members. Managing people’s first reactions is more than half the battle. Don’t drop the ball.
If the Big Change is particularly controversial, I highly recommend announcing a follow-up discussion in the announcement itself. This is different than a community meeting to get feedback; this is a space for community members to grieve, express frustrations, and ask questions. It is a critical piece of holding yourself accountable to your community–the reason why your organization exists.
Resist the urge to congratulate yourselves
This is out of character for us! We’re usually really stable! Look at this news article from two years ago!
When you’re announcing a big change, you can feel pressure to show all the good work leading up to this point. Resist it. There will be time to prove your greatness–this isn’t it. This announcement is the first in a long line of communications; it does not need to answer every question or assuage every fear. The purpose of this first announcement is to start a conversation and manage expectations. Everything else, at this point, will come off as you making excuses. Own the change and own the process.
Don’t focus on how this affects you emotionally
Big Change is tough. You had expectations, and they weren’t met. Unfortunately, that’s not what your community wants to hear right now. When people hear about things that are affecting them, they want to focus on just that: the effects on them.
Think about it this way: if someone is breaking up with you, you don’t want to hear how agonizing it’s been to make the decision. So keep the examples of long discussions and stories of late nights out of the equation.
To sum up: be direct, be brief, and be honest.
The most you can do is connect with your community, own up to what they should expect, and look forward.
Good luck out there, my friends!
Allison Carney Consulting 
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