In times of change, employee communication is vital to successful organizations.

In the most basic definition, an employee is a person who works for another in return for wages or a salary.

More precisely, in legal terms, an employee is a person hired to provide services to a company on a regular basis in exchange for compensation, and who does not provide these services as part of an independent business.

In reality, employees are the frontline troops who provide products and services that define corporations, organizations and government entities. They are the lifeblood that allows businesses to grow, and the powerful intellectual capital that gets traded alongside company stock shares in the marketplace. When employees leave the office at the end of the day, they act as their corporations' and organizations' ambassadors in the community.

"They are the most precious assets of any organization," according to Ursula Stroh, senior lecturer at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. "The attitudes and loyalty of employees are directly influenced by their participation in communication efforts, and this has a direct influence on how they treat customers and clients, which in turn leads to growth of the bottom line."

That's why communicating with employees during times of change--and recognizing them as primary stakeholders--is critical to an organization's success and survival. Regardless of the model you choose as a template for managing change--from Johnson's "Who Moved My Cheese?" to a classic like Deming's "Total Quality Management"--communication with principal stakeholders ranks high in the hierarchy of factors that predict success. Communication is second only to the main stakeholders' participation in the process.

SIMPLE TRUTHS

Change management and communicating change initiatives in organizations are a complex area of study. But some fundamentals are universal:

* No one really likes to change. That is, unless you are part of the group that has championed the change in the first place. The buy-in of important stakeholders is critical. Therefore, communicating the need for the change in terms that show a direct connection to stakeholders is necessary.

* No one likes to be changed. The most successful changes come from an internally driven force, whether they arise from one person or a group. Likewise, if a person or a group doesn't embrace change as necessary, then it won't be lasting. Giving stakeholders a role in making change happen encourages that internal force. Involvement happens by inviting participation through a variety of formal and informal communication events within the organization.

* Making a solid case for the change is critical for the change to have a lasting effect. Cynical stakeholders who have seen change initiatives fail in the past are likely to avoid risks associated with change. They become roadblocks when new change initiatives are broached. Communicating meaningful rationales and presenting active plans that include all constituents are the most effective means of creating allies of those who tend to shrug off change.

* The source of information about the change must be credible. Organizations and companies are communities of people with formal and informal networks for sharing intelligence. Within these communities are subgroups of people who are respected as knowledgeable about the ways of the organization. Developing coalitions of support and using these formal and informal networks for communicating change behaviors can lead to the acceptance of change.

IABC RESEARCH FOUNDATION CONTRIBUTIONS Two IABC Research Foundation studies reinforce the value of communicating effectively with employees. One report provides broad foundational support for employee communication during times of change, and the second offers insight into a specific type of change where employee communication is paramount.

* The Impact of Change Communication Management on Relationships With Employees. Research by Ursula Stroh, winner of the IABC Research Foundation 2001-2002 Call for Papers competition, provides the foundation for employee communication in times of organizational change. Broadly speaking, Stroh's study indicates that the participation of employees in organizational change and its communication leads to more positive relationships with the organization and, thus, greater willingness to change.

More specifically, Stroh investigated the perceptions of employees affected by two types of change models: participatory (flexible) models and planned (static) models. Through her research, she found the following to be true about communication during organizational change:

* Although people show confidence in organizations that follow a planned approach, that doesn't mean employees feel these organizations are caring and committed to these organizations.

* Although employees evaluate an organization that follows a participatory change approach as slightly less reliable than an organization that follows a planned approach, they feel more committed and more positive toward an organization that follows a participatory approach.

* The more employees participate in the communication and change strategy, the higher the level of trust between the organization and its employees; the higher the degree of control mutuality between an organization and its employees; the higher the level of commitment between an organization and its employees; the higher the level of satisfaction with the relationship between an organization and its employees; and the more positive the overall relationship between an organization and its internal publics.

According to Stroh, "High participatory communication and change strategy will not necessarily lead to a significantly more positive goal attainment or change behavioral effects between an organization and its employees than with a lower degree of participation and a planned approach.... [A] positive relationship does not imply behavioral change."

* Communication Drives Merger Success. One of the most popular types of corporate change and growth over the last three decades has been mergers and acquisitions. As seen in the research of Patricia Whalen, Ph.D., APR, assistant professor at Northwestern University, culture clashes and poor communication are significant threats to the success of mergers and acquisitions. Whalen's research identifies the main communication factors that affect the success of mergers and acquisitions.

Successful mergers and acquisitions were marked by integration teams that included members of both companies in the deal; the development of an M&A manual; cultural assessments before, during and after the deal; the development of a checklist of potential problem areas; communication strategies that match the M&A motive; a combination of formal and informal communication tactics; the use of professional communicators; and consistency between the initial promises and the implementation of the deal.

Not all mergers and acquisitions are alike. Whalen's research provides evidence of the most successful and least successful plans and tactics for these deals.

These two research studies are available through the IABC Research Foundation (www.iabc.com/fdtnweb).

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Tamara Gillis, Ed.D., ABC, is an associate professor of communication and department chairman at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa., and past chairman of the IABC Research Foundation. She can be reached at [e-mail].