PROSCI Checklist - Extended by me - for effective change Communications
Use preferred senders to deliver communications in your organization
Employees prefer to hear messages from senior leaders for organizational messages about change (i.e., business reasons) and from people managers for the personal impacts.
HOW TO
Identify: Choose people with authority and credibility related to the change (e.g., CEO for company-wide strategy, department head for divisional changes).
Consider a second layer of reinforcement through peer champions or internal influencers where appropriate.
Social Network Analysis, originally developed in sociology and communication science, maps relationships and influence patterns within groups. In change management, SNA is a powerful tool to identify informal influencers—individuals who may not hold formal authority on the org chart but have significant sway over their peers. Engaging these connectors as part of the preferred senders can accelerate adoption, build trust, and surface resistance early, making change efforts more effective and resilient.
Prepare and equip preferred senders to effectively deliver communications
In addition to coaching preferred senders to communicate messages effectively, you need to facilitate communications by drafting messages, ensuring consistency among senders, and sequencing and scheduling delivery.
HOW TO
Equip Senders with a Messaging Toolkit:
Key talking points
FAQs and answers
Visuals or slides
Suggested phrasing for different channels
Craft the messages centrally; then tailor collaboratively: Work with the different leaders to ensure they understand the key messages, and make sure they are able to deliver that clearly, aligned with business goals, and with emotion.
Train for empathy and clarity & provide coaching on spotting resistance: Offer guidance on how to handle questions, concerns, and emotional responses. Equip senders to respond calmly and constructively to skepticism or pushback. Provide sample responses and escalation paths for difficult questions. Help managers recognize verbal and non-verbal signs of disengagement or concern.
Ensure that preferred senders answer the right questions first
When people learn about a change, their first question is, "Why is this happening?"
The first communications about a change should always focus on:
Why the change is happening
Why it's happening now
The risk of not changing
Next, answer the WIIFM question
WIIFM stands for "What's in it for me?" It's a question people always ask during change, even when the change seems positive. Because making a change is a personal choice, communications only resonate with the impacted individuals if you address what they care about.
Preferred senders should repeat key messages five to seven times
Having the preferred senders repeat key messages ensures that the messages you want to communicate get heard by your audience as you intended.
HOW TO
Pinpoint the core idea that must be reinforced.
Keep it short, clear, and consistent across all repetitions.
Map out 5–7 opportunities for the preferred sender (senior leader or people manager) to repeat the message.
Use a mix of formats to keep it engaging:
Live meetings or town halls
Email or newsletter
Intranet posts
Team huddles or 1:1s
Video messages
Chat tools (e.g., Teams, Slack)
Resist the urge to communicate exclusively through the project team
Remember that people have preferred senders of messages. One of the biggest and most common mistakes you can make is to have your project team send all the communications.
Find multiple, effective ways to reach your audience
An effective communications plan uses numerous channels such as virtual or in-person meetings, small group forums, one-on-one conversations, newsletters, presentations, brainstorming workshops, focus groups, lunch and learns, intranet Q&A forums, screen-saver messages, etc.
HOW TO
Use a mix of appropriate channels - both rich and lean: Deliver via video message, town hall, email, or intranet post
Emphasize face-to-face communications
Acknowledge! While it is time intensive to meet with someone live-either in person or virtually-the effort delivers far more value than an email message.
Create opportunities for two-way communications
Two-way communications lead to greater support for change, so your communications plan needs to include them. For example, create small-group forums where participants share concerns and feedback, and can ask questions of senior leaders in real time.
HOW TO
Reinforce with visibility: Encourage leaders to be present in follow-up discussions, Q&A sessions, or team meetings to show commitment - not just deliver and go
Evaluate the effectiveness of your communication messages
To understand if your audience is hearing and properly interpreting the messages you send, use a combination of post-communication surveys, focus groups, and individual interviews to assess effectiveness, and then take adaptive actions if necessary.
HOW TO
Set clear objectives for each communication (e.g., awareness, understanding, action).
Identify key metrics: comprehension, relevance, emotional response, trust, and behavioral change.
Create short, targeted surveys with a mix of quantitative (Likert scale) and qualitative (open-ended) questions.
Example questions:
“How clearly did you understand the message?”
“What part of the message was most/least helpful?”
“Do you feel confident about what’s expected of you?”
Distribute promptly after the communication via email, intranet, or internal tools like Microsoft Forms or SurveyMonkey.
Choose a sample of employees for deeper insights, especially those impacted by the message.
Look for trends in understanding, emotional response, and action.
Compare across methods (survey vs. focus group vs. interview) to validate findings.
Identify gaps, misinterpretations, or unintended reactions.
Refine future messages based on feedback (e.g., simplify language, clarify intent, adjust tone).
Update communication plans to better match audience preferences.
Share findings with leadership and communication teams to build awareness and accountability.