A communication manager wants to improve employee feedback during change. Which method is MOST effective?

Effective change communication requires establishing robust two-way communication. Creating multiple feedback channels (e.g., surveys, town halls, anonymous suggestion boxes) ensures accessibility for all employees. Crucially, demonstrating that feedback is heard and acted upon—closing the feedback loop—builds trust and encourages continued participation. This approach transforms communication from a top-down broadcast into a collaborative dialogue, which is essential for mitigating resistance and fostering buy-in during organizational change. Ignoring, restricting, or discouraging feedback creates an environment of distrust and disengagement, undermining the change initiative.

B. Asking for feedback but never responding erodes trust and guarantees that employees will stop providing it, creating cynicism.

C. Limiting feedback to senior managers creates an echo chamber and ignores valuable insights from frontline employees directly impacted by change.

D. Discouraging questions signals a lack of transparency and respect for employees, increasing anxiety and resistance to the change.

1. Argenti, P. A. (2017). Corporate Communication (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 6, "Internal Communications," discusses the importance of upward communication channels and employee feedback for engagement.

2. Goodman, M. B., & Hirsch, P. B. (2010). Corporate Communication: Strategic Adaptation for Global Practice. Peter Lang. In Chapter 7, the authors emphasize that effective internal communication involves listening and responding to employee concerns to build a culture of trust.

3. Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Press. In Step 7, "Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change," Kotter implicitly supports listening to feedback to identify and fix problems, preventing regression.