Employees often perceive periods of change—no matter how warranted or beneficial—as crises, exhibiting both cognitive and emotional reactions including feelings of insecurity and uncertainty, even fear, chaos, stress, betrayal, grief, and anger. Management must have a clear strategy for communicating with employees through change, as employee expectations for open and honest communication are increased in times of shift and uncertainty. Open, honest, and regular communication is essential to keeping employees motivated and productive. Benefits of effective communication in times of change include higher employee satisfaction and engagement, lower turnover, and stronger long-term commitment. Solid internal relationships also strengthen ethics-related outcomes such as fraud reduction and reputation management.
FrandsenF.JohansenW.(2011).The study of internal crisis communication: Towards an integrative framework.Corporate Communications,16,347-361. doi:10.1108/13563281111186977
7.
FrenchS. L.HoldenT. Q.(2012).Positive organizational behavior: A buffer for bad news.Business Communication Quarterly,75,208-220. doi:10.1177/1080569912441823
GoodmanJ.TrussC.(2004).The medium and the message: Communicating effectively during a major change initiative.Journal of Change Management,4,217-228. doi:10.1080/1469701042000255392
JoS.ShimS. W.(2005).Paradigm shift of employee communication: The effect of management communication on trusting relationships.Public Relations Review,31,277-280. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2005.02.012
12.
JohansenW.AggerholmH. K.FrandsenF.(2012).Entering new territory: A study of internal crisis management and crisis communication in organizations.Public Relations Review,38,270-279. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.11.008
13.
Jordan-MeierJ.(2011).Straight talk is best strategy for dealing with bad news.MWorld,10(4),38-40.
14.
KornC.EinwillerS.(2013).Media coverage about organisations in critical situations: Analysing the impact on employees.Corporate Communication,18,451-468. doi:10.1108/CCIJ-04-2012-0036
15.
MengJ.BergerB. K.(2012).Measuring return on investment (ROI) of organizations’ internal communication efforts.Journal of Communication Management,16,332-354. doi:10.1108/13632541211278987
16.
MoonB. B.RheeY.(2012).Message strategies and forgiveness during crises: Effects of causal attributions and apology appeal types on forgiveness.Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly,89,677-694. doi:10.1177/1077699012455388
17.
NelissenP.van SelmM.(2008).Surviving organizational change: How management communication helps balance mixed feelings.Corporate Communications,13,306-318. doi:10.1108/13563280810893670
ScheinE. H.(2000).Sense and nonsense about culture and climate. InAshkanasyN. M.WilderomC.PetersonM. F.(Eds.),Handbook of organizational culture and climate(pp.xxiii-xxx).Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.
20.
ShimoffM.(2008).Happy for no reason: 7 steps to being happy from the inside out.New York, NY:Free Press.
21.
TilleyE. N.FredricksS. M.HornettA.(2012).Kinship, culture and ethics in organisations: Exploring implications for internal communication.Journal of Communication Management,16,162-184. doi:10.1108/13632541211217588
22.
TourishD.HargieO.(2009).Communication and organizational success. InHargieO.TourishD.(Eds.),Auditing organizational communication: A handbook of research, theory and practice(pp.3-26).London, England:Routledge.
23.
TourishD.RobsonP.(2003).Critical upward feedback in organisations: Processes, problems and implications for communication management.Journal of Communication Management,8,150-167. doi:10/1108/13632540140807628
24.
VeilS. R.(2011).Mindful learning in crisis management.Journal of Business Communication,48,116-147. doi:10.1177/0021943610382294
