6 Tips for Change Management Communications in Healthcare

Written By

Padilla

Mergers. Acquisitions. Evolving patient expectations. The only constant in the healthcare industry seems to be change.

All of these changes have major implications on the way healthcare system are organized, operate and provide patient care.

“Enacting organization-wide changes can be daunting to the very people who are charged with making them work: employees. And when employees don’t understand or support the changes, patient care can suffer” – Natalie Smith, Padilla

Well-planned, transparent communication with employees helps successfully enact major organizational changes and ensure smooth change management. Padilla offers six tips for healthcare change management with employees to make the transition smoother for them – and patients. These tips can help healthcare clients change organizational culture during these times.

Communicate early and often

Rumors amongst employees spread easily, which can create an environment of fear and disrupt patient care. To prevent rumors from spreading, share information quickly and frequently. When employees see that the organization is being open rather than keeping information from them, they will be less likely to spread false information or assume the worst.

Outline organizational changes

Begin by sharing the big picture then share the specific steps the organization plans to take to achieve the end goal. When employees are able to see where the organization is going and how it plans to get there, they’re more willing to be a part of that journey.

Explain why

Employees need to understand why organizational changes are occurring. Provide industry context along with the specifics about your organization. Ultimately, employees want to know the decisions weren’t made without good reason and were given thoughtful consideration with input from respected experts. Providing they ‘why’ helps employees accept changes even if they disagree.

Learn the other three tips for healthcare change management on the Padilla blog, or find additional Healthcare PR insights from Worldcom PR partners.

Padilla builds, grows, and protects brands and reputations worldwide by creating purposeful connections through advertising, digital and social marketing, investor relations, and brand strategy. Since 1961, the firm has served consumer, agricultural, environmental sciences, financial services, food and beverage, health, higher education, manufacturing, and technology industries. Padilla offers services in the areas of marketing communications, corporate communications, crisis communications, digital marketing, measurement and analytics, media relations and design.