Organizational Change Management: A Test of the Effectiveness of a Communication Plan

In a climate of continuous change, organizations must constantly adapt to survive even while unceasing demands to adapt can create change fatigue and resistance among personnel. A theoretically grounded change management communication plan that was hypothesized to ease accommodation was tested in a large public sector organization as it underwent major restructuring. Findings indicate that personnel beliefs supporting the restructuring that were targeted in the communication plan accounted for 66% of the variance in receptivity to the new structure, 57% of the variance in motivation to make the new structure a success, and 42% of the variance in pessimism about the change.