In any successful business initiative, support from stakeholders is critical. Employees want to know, though, what the benefits are for them–their hook. As a result, the next step in the CHANGES Methodology is H for Hook.
The most important part of any conversation or presentation is the beginning. You can think of a conversation hook as you would a fishing hook: something that grabs someone’s attention and reels him/her in. There is a very small window to engage people and your hook needs to be personal, effective, and fast-acting to keep others listening to your message. Making an immediate connection with your audience, whether it be an individual or group, is crucial to helping them visualize what success looks and feels like.
Much like trying to reel fish in from the middle of the lake, employees can also resist the pull for change. As a leader, addressing uncertainties and empowering team members is essential to making progress in social business transformation. Answering tough questions and simply asking employees for insight into concerns associated with social tools and processes encourages valuable conversations. Understanding the pain points of individuals and the company as a whole is a critical way to further develop key connections.
Being aware of the common challenges of employees allows you to plan your social business strategy to best address these concerns, while still moving forward in the desired direction. Having employees engaged from the beginning and feeling their voices are heard leads to considerably less resistance down the road and growing advocacy. Creating clear, simple steps and timetables will reinforce employee certainty throughout your social business transformation–hooking individuals and teams in the process.
In the clip on H = Hook below, consider:
- How can social business help alleviate employee pain points?
- As a leader, how are you helping employees visualize what success looks and feels like?
- What will hook your employees to adopt new social tools and processes?
See the first post on the CHANGES Methodology: C = Culture.
