Picture this: You're rolling out a new security policy that will change how everyone logs into their systems. You send out a carefully crafted email announcing the change and... crickets. Two weeks later, your inbox explodes with confused and frustrated messages when the change goes live.
If this scenario feels familiar, you're not alone.
In IT, implementing change is as much about people as it is about technology. While technical execution might be straightforward, getting users to embrace and adapt to changes is often the bigger challenge.
A system administrator on Reddit sums it up perfectly here.
So how do you get end-users to notice and adopt the changes you rolled out? We've summarized key takeaways from a recent discussion among IT administrators that revealed some tried-and-true tips that can make all the difference.
Before we look at the clever strategies, let's get the basics right while communicating organizational changes.
The success of a change often depends on how well you communicate its purpose. Beyond just announcing what's changing, take time to explain the why behind it.
Involving stakeholders early in discussions about goals and timelines can significantly reduce pushback.
Create clear documentation that outlines the benefits, timeline, and potential impact on daily workflows. This transparency helps build trust and understanding rather than leaving users feeling blindsided.
Before rolling out major changes across your organization, test the waters with a pilot group. Several administrators shared success stories of selecting tech-savvy users and regular employees for initial deployments.
This approach serves two purposes: it helps identify unexpected issues before they affect everyone and creates a group of users who can champion the change to their colleagues. Their firsthand experience and positive feedback can be invaluable when convincing others to embrace new systems or processes.
When users face challenges during a transition, knowing exactly where to turn for help can make all the difference. Rather than leaving them to navigate general support channels, establish dedicated points of contact for change-related issues.
Having department-specific contacts helps address concerns quickly and prevents minor issues from escalating into significant frustrations. This personalized approach shows users they won't be left struggling alone.
Beyond establishing the basics, here are some proven strategies curated by seasoned IT professionals to communicate changes across an organization effectively.
Change champions are more than just technically savvy employees; they bridge IT initiatives and day-to-day operations. The ideal champion combines technical understanding with strong interpersonal skills and departmental credibility. These individuals can interpret technical changes in terms that resonate with their colleagues, making complex updates feel more approachable.
They serve multiple crucial roles:
Most importantly, champions can transform the narrative around change from an IT mandate to a collaborative improvement effort, significantly boosting adoption rates and reducing resistance.
Modern workplaces require a sophisticated approach to communication that leverages multiple touchpoints throughout the organization.
A powerful change management strategy should incorporate:
The goal isn't just to inform but to create an environment where the upcoming change becomes part of the organizational conversation. Successful implementations often occur when the change message becomes nearly unavoidable across various communication channels.
Pro tip: You can automate these change announcements on digital channels with an automated service management platform like Atomicwork. You can set up specific journeys for the pre, go-live, and post change rollout stages across email, Slack, or Microsoft Teams.
Whether on collaboration tools or emails, one common struggle for IT teams is to get end-users to actually READ the message.
One way to get your employees' attention is by showing them exactly how the change will impact them in the flow of their work.
For instance, here's an infographic we built for one of our customers to onboard our AI assistant, Atom, in their organization.
Rather than relying purely on text, notice how the image impersonates an employee using the AI assistant for different requests and use cases, centered heavily around the employee, Jane.
For maximum impact, ensure your message has:
Sometimes, text-based or even image-based communication isn't enough. Videos are another way to grab your employees' attention.
Take the subscription platform Zuora, for example. Zuora recently rolled out their AI assistant, Zoe, built with Atomicwork. The company went beyond traditional announcements by creating engaging video demonstrations that showed employees exactly how the AI assistant would transform their daily work experience.
The launch video focused on demonstrating practical use cases across IT, Workplace Services, Finance, and HR, helping employees understand how Zoe could assist with everything from instant help requests to automated ticket handling.
This approach worked because it made abstract changes tangible; instead of just telling employees about new features, they showed how these changes would make their work lives easier.
Ensure to update your centralized knowledge hub with comprehensive documentation regarding the change. You need to include the implementation timelines, step-by-step guides on how-tos (if any), video tutorials, and curate frequently asked questions regarding the process change.
Having a single source of truth helps maintain consistency in messaging and provides users with a reliable reference point throughout the change process. Make sure to regularly update the hub to reflect the latest information and user feedback.
Effective change management requires active engagement through practical, hands-on experiences. Modern training approaches combine live sessions, recorded tutorials, and interactive workshops, allowing users to experiment with new systems safely.
The key is to make these sessions valuable and convenient for your employees.
To make this possible, you can offer:
Executive support can transform how organizational changes are perceived and adopted. When high-level leaders champion IT initiatives, they shift the narrative from technical changes to strategic business decisions. Having C-suite executives announce and endorse significant changes sends a clear message about their importance and helps prevent pushback.
Encourage leaders to join change-related training sessions and share key takeaways with their teams to help everyone get on board smoothly. This top-down approach legitimizes the change and demonstrates that it aligns with broader business objectives. Teams that secure executive backing often find that user resistance diminishes significantly as employees understand these changes are part of a larger organizational strategy rather than isolated IT decisions.
Creating two-way communication channels is crucial for successful change adoption. In-person training sessions, focus groups, and feedback workshops are valuable platforms where employees can voice concerns, ask questions, and gain confidence with new systems.
You can also encourage users to share anonymous feedback on the change processes, to make them less intimidating. Regular interaction opportunities help IT teams identify potential issues early and adjust their implementation strategies accordingly.
While communicating change will always be challenging, the right approach and tools can make it smoother. As organizations increasingly embrace digital transformation, having a structured yet flexible change management process becomes crucial.
Modern ITSM platforms like Atomicwork offer comprehensive change management solutions that go beyond basic change tracking. It provides customizable templates, automated approval workflows, and integration with communication tools like Teams and Slack to ease end-user or stakeholder announcements.
The next time you roll out an organization-wide change, give these steps a try and let us know how they worked for you :)
