The Challenge:
With advancements in AI and robotics, organizations face both unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Automation often brings efficiency, but it can also create fear and uncertainty among employees about job security, roles, and the future of work. Effective communication and engagement become crucial in this context, yet traditional top-down methods often fall short.
Several years ago, we worked with a manufacturing company in the construction materials industry that was automating parts of its production processes. As with many companies undergoing similar transformations, there were worries among employees about job loss, changing roles, and the implications of the new technology. Despite the company’s extensive formal communication efforts, rumors spread, resistance grew, and employees still felt out of the loop. Anxiety set in, leading to a drop in engagement and a worrying increase in employee turnover—an issue already prevalent in the organization.
The Senior Leadership’s Dilemma:
The leadership team realized that the traditional top-down communication approach was not enough to quell the growing uncertainty. They needed to understand where communication was breaking down and identify informal influencers who could help bridge the gap between management and the wider workforce. To achieve this, they turned to our Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) solution, OrgMapper | INFLUENCE.
Uncovering the Hidden Dynamics:
Using ONA, we mapped the informal communication networks within the company. This network analysis revealed how individuals across various hierarchy levels informally discussed changes. Each individual was represented as a node, connected if they communicated about the ongoing changes. This analysis illuminated a critical issue: information flowed well within top management and passed to middle managers, but there was a blockage between middle managers and team leaders. This created a situation commonly referred to as the “Middle Management Squeeze,” where middle managers, pressured by conflicting demands from upper management and their teams, struggled to effectively cascade strategic messages.
This failure in top-down communication left a gap in which informal networks and rumors began to thrive. The leadership needed to identify and engage key individuals within these networks to correct course.
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A Surprising Discovery:
The ONA analysis showed that the most central figure in the network—the one employees most often turned to for information about changes—was not a leader or a member of HR. It was the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Specialist! Known for traveling between sites and having casual conversations with many workers, he had inadvertently become the “super-spreader” of information. While his intentions were good, the gap in formal communication meant that he was relaying unverified rumors picked up during his interactions, unintentionally spreading confusion.
This unexpected finding underscored a key insight: when there are gaps in formal communication, employees naturally turn to those who seem well-connected informally. These informal influencers often fill the information vacuum, for better or worse.
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Creating a Network of Trust:
With this insight, we helped the company identify the top 30 most influential employees across locations and functions. These informal influencers were brought together to form a community, where they were engaged by HR and senior leaders. In these sessions, the influencers were given clear information about the changes, including the reasons behind the introduction of robotics and automation, and how it would affect the workforce and their roles.
By creating a trusted channel of communication, the company ensured that accurate and consistent messages were flowing through the informal network, supplementing the formal communications and addressing employee concerns in a more personal and relatable way.
The Results:
As employees began to understand that the changes would improve their work environment and allow them to focus on tasks that required human skills—tasks that machines were not equipped for—their resistance waned. The workforce began to embrace the changes, engagement increased, and turnover rates significantly dropped.
Key Takeaways:
In a world where AI and robotics are transforming industries, traditional top-down communication approaches need a refresh. Change communication must leverage the power of informal networks to reach employees where they are most comfortable and build trust. Organizational Network Analysis can illuminate the hidden dynamics and provide a roadmap for engaging key influencers in times of transformation.
By understanding and engaging these informal networks, organizations can not only keep motivation high and turnover low but also foster a culture of adaptability and openness in the face of change.