We live amid great change and disruption to our markets. Many businesses respond to these changes by embarking on business transformation.

These transformations are laudable and often necessary. Yet most of them fail, not because the changes aren’t sound but by the simple fact that the companies involved often fail to communicate well what these changes are, what it means to their employees, what’s expected of them, and what they need to do.

We’ve all witnessed the familiar pattern: Company decides to change and announces it through a bunch of emails or town halls—followed by a deafening silence. Momentum stalls, employees disengage, and promising initiatives often fail to deliver, not due to flawed strategy, but because the message simply doesn’t land.

Often, the cause of failed organizational change isn’t the change itself, but it’s how that change is communicated. It was one-way, generic, and disconnected from what employees needed. It didn’t address their needs and concerns, daily realities, or questions about what the change meant for them.

This isn’t uncommon. According to McKinsey, around 70% of transformation initiatives fail, not due to poor strategy, but because of poor communication and low engagement. People didn’t understand the change, didn’t feel included, or didn’t trust the intent. In our experience, success hinges not only on what changes, but also on how we communicate the changes.

As communication professionals, we’re trained to think about audience, clarity, and timing. But with internal change, the stakes are deeper. Employees aren’t just receiving information, they’re processing what it means for their roles and stability.

Change communication isn’t just about explaining what’s changing. It’s about making people feel seen, involved, and supported. That’s why a good change communication plan doesn’t start with “what do we want to say?” It starts with “what do we want people to know, feel, and do?”. Do they feel clear? Safe? Do they understand why it matters? Do they know what’s expected next?

We’ve supported companies through policy shifts, reorganizations, and culture changes—not by pushing messages, but by building understanding. One of our clients introduced an efficiency policy to stop providing bottled mineral water and shift to internal tap water. Awareness was low. Perception of hygiene was even lower. So we listened first. We ran a survey and focus group discussions to understand employee concerns. Based on those insights, we crafted messages, selected the right internal communicators, and rolled out a campaign. After six months of the campaign, awareness rose 30%, and bottled water consumption dropped 70%.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s this: successful change doesn’t start with a strategy deck. It starts with people—listening to them, speaking to what matters, and guiding them through the change relevantly. Because the way we communicate changes can be the difference between confusion and clarity, between resistance and momentum. And those are differences worth making.

Written by Iyos Kusuma, Senior Consultant