ABSTRACT
As a general rule, open, clear, timely and relevant communication is imperative to effective staff engagement. A well-researched communication strategy and plan is a vital element for any successful workplace change project. A range of media and mechanisms can, and should, be used to support planned activities. In the workplace change context this rationale and motivation might exist at a personal, team and/or organisational level, and even where the rationale is fairly hard and blunt linked perhaps to cost cutting and organisational survival. There is also a thin line to tread between educating and patronising staff when dealing with the introduction of new workplace concepts, so another important factor, and equally applicable to the pitch or interview scenario previously described, is doing your 'homework'. Ideally attention to the ongoing monitoring, management and development of the workplace should be a permanent process and securing resources for this is a critical step that ideally needs to be made for any organisation.
