Why communication makes or breaks transformation | Partner Content

In a monthly column called Independents' Day, Earned First is partnering with PROI to explore how independent PR firms are navigating industry disruption while preserving their competitive edge.

In our second instalment, we talk to 24/7 founding partner and CEO Dirk Aarts about PROI's new Transformation Readiness Index, which examines how organisations lead and communicate through transformation. The study includes quantitative and qualitative research from 650 business professionals and 25 senior transformation experts in over 30 countries.

1. While communication is highly valued by business leaders, with 97% considering it important for transformation success, only 27% of transformations are rated as truly successful, indicating a significant gap in effective implementation. What are the most significant underlying reasons for this persistent disconnect in business transformations?

The problem is rarely that leaders don’t value communication. They clearly do. The disconnect comes from underestimating what it takes to turn communication into a disciplined practice. Too often, companies launch transformations without a communication strategy at all – one in three projects starts this way. Leaders have often been debating a change for months, but for employees the announcement is sudden. What feels like a logical step at the top feels like disruption below.

On top of that, communication is still handled too rationally. Leaders explain the 'what' and 'why,' but they fail to create an emotional connection. Storytelling, dialogue, and empathy remain underused. That’s why so many employees feel talked at rather than brought in. 

In short, communication is treated as a support function, when in reality it is the engine that makes transformation stick.

2. The study identifies middle management as an 'underused communication asset' and a 'missing link', noting that their support and communication effectiveness often lag behind. There’s also a disconnect between general management and communication functions regarding middle management’s capabilities. What strategies have you seen succeed in empowering middle managers to become more effective communicators and facilitators of change?

Middle managers are the ones employees look to every day, yet they are the most overlooked group in transformations. Our research shows only half of communication leaders believe they convey goals effectively. In practice, many managers receive a deck of slides and are expected to cascade messages, without training or ownership.

The companies that succeed flip this dynamic. They treat middle managers as co-authors of change, not just couriers. That means giving them toolkits, not just content. Provide conversation guides and answers to tough questions. It means creating safe spaces for managers to process their own doubts before they face their teams. And it means recognition: holding them accountable but also rewarding them as transformation enablers.

Microsoft is a good example. When Satya Nadella reframed the company around a 'growth mindset,' the shift didn’t happen because of slogans, it happened because thousands of managers were coached and empowered to lead those conversations in their teams. That’s where culture really changed.

3. The report repeatedly highlights the importance of human factors such as trust, empathy, and sensitivity to cultural differences, noting they are often overlooked. How can organisations ensure empathy and emotional intelligence are embedded into their transformation communication strategies, particularly when navigating employee resistance, uncertainty, or diverse cultural contexts?

Empathy in transformation isn’t a 'soft' add-on, but it’s a hard success factor. People don’t resist change because they’re stubborn; they resist because they fear loss. In our study, experts described 'competence grief' – the sense of mourning when your skills or role are suddenly less relevant. Unless leaders acknowledge this openly, resistance festers.

The best organizations build empathy into the process itself. They run listening tours before announcing big changes. They tailor messages to cultural realities rather than pushing one-size-fits-all communications. They coach leaders to role-model vulnerability – admitting their own doubts or learning curves.

Some companies create rituals that make empathy visible: regular 'ask me anything' sessions with executives, cross-cultural dialogues before a global rollout, even symbolic gestures of recognition for teams most affected by change. These aren’t side activities — they’re what create trust, and trust is the currency of transformation.

4. A notable finding is the 'transformation paradox,' where internally focused transformations (eg personnel and culture) receive the lowest scores in internal employee engagement, while externally focused ones (eg customer experience) score significantly higher in these internal engagement areas.

Why do you believe this paradox exists, and how can communicators help organisations boost internal engagement specifically for transformations focused on internal aspects like culture and personnel?

The paradox exists because employees instinctively connect with customer-facing goals. 'We’re improving the customer journey' feels concrete and energizing. 'We’re changing our culture' feels abstract, or worse, like a coded message for cost cuts or control. That’s why internally focused transformations so often struggle with engagement.

Communicators can break the paradox by making the internal external. A cultural transformation should never be sold as an HR project; it should be framed as business-critical. For instance: 'To win in digital, we must become more collaborative – our culture is the enabler.' Purpose is the bridge. When people see how culture connects to customer impact, they lean in.

5. The study finds that communication monitoring and metrics are often underused. Yet, continuous assessment and adaptability are crucial for success. What are the most effective ways organisations can implement feedback loops and monitoring mechanisms without overwhelming employees or leadership, and how can these insights be reliably translated into tangible communication adjustments?

Monitoring often fails because organizations either do too much – endless surveys no one reads – or too little. The answer is simplicity and visibility. Short, regular pulse checks combined with qualitative listening sessions are far more effective than annual mega-surveys. Employees should be able to answer two or three quick questions: 'Do you understand the change?' 'Do you trust leadership on this journey?' That’s enough to flag red or green zones.

Crucially, the feedback must be acted upon visibly. If employees give input and nothing changes, fatigue sets in. 

In transformations, data may not be the bottleneck. Willingness to adapt is. The best communicators don’t just measure – they show they’re listening by adjusting the message, the channel, or even the pace.

6. With 'transformation being the new norm' and the increasing 'pace of change' in a 'digital world' where conversations are constant and public, organisations face an evolving landscape. How can communication strategies be designed not just to react, but to proactively anticipate and effectively navigate continuous, unpredictable change in this environment?

We’ve entered an age where transformation is no longer a project with a start and end date – it’s the operating context. That means communication strategies must shift from campaign mode to continuous mode.

Proactive organizations use three levers:

•  Scenario readiness: Preparing narrative playbooks for likely shocks, from regulatory shifts to AI disruptions.
• Always-on listening: Real-time monitoring of sentiment inside and outside, so leaders aren’t surprised by emerging resistance or reputational risks.
• Agile comms teams: Small, empowered groups that can change tone and channel at speed, more like newsrooms than corporate functions.

Grayling’s 2025 trends report makes the same point: speed and agility in communication are now survival skills. If crisis readiness used to be optional, it’s now the standard for all transformation communication.

7. The report points out that while leaders communicate the reasons for change, they often fall short in using storytelling to build emotional connection and clarity. What are some proven best practices for crafting compelling transformation narratives that resonate deeply with employees and stakeholders, and how can leaders be better equipped to utilize storytelling effectively?

Facts explain, but stories inspire. Our research shows most leaders are comfortable explaining the rationale – 76% do it – but barely half use storytelling to bring it alive.

The most compelling transformation narratives follow three rules:

1.         Start with the 'why' – link the change to a higher purpose, not just metrics.

2.         Make it human – show how it impacts a customer, a patient, a colleague.

3.         Show vulnerability – when leaders share personal stories, even mistakes, employees believe them more.

In our survey, one CEO told his company’s story not through charts, but by admitting his own doubts and explaining how he’d changed his leadership style during the process. That authenticity created far more conviction than any formal strategy document.

Communicators can help leaders here by coaching, not scripting. Give leaders the space to find and own stories in their own voice. The result is not polished perfection but authentic connection — and that’s what moves people.