Most people working for a national organization dread seeing people fly in from headquarters and hearing them say, “Hi, I’m from the national office and I’m here to help.” They often bring a video featuring the chief executive officer who’s outlining a radical or sophisticated change initiative.
Most change initiatives fail. There are a number of reasons why departments and organizations fail to adopt or accept new a method, system or process that leads to better outcomes or results. When some initiatives succeed, they often take longer than expected.
With the odds stacked against the change initiative, leaders often face the daunting task of breaking through the clutter that prevents people from learning or understanding the benefits of the change. One tactic that captures people’s attention is a video showcasing how a similar department or organization successfully adopted and maintained a new method or approach.
1. Feature Real People, Real Solutions
Many people quickly tune out executive leaders preaching the necessity of change in corporate videos.
But credibility and authenticity can be quickly established when the people who are on the front lines of your organization are given an opportunity to tell a success story in their own words. These people are doing the work in new or different ways. They’re often eager to share how they overcame obstacles or struggled when work first began. They can show their responsiveness to the rapid and necessary change that’s being required.
Change can be led from corporate headquarters. But hearing a success story from one of the facilities hundreds of miles away from headquarters provides an almost critical separation. A well-produced video can show how improvement to products, processes or services was driven by the desire to provide a higher quality experience for customers. People will make changes more quickly and efficiently when they understand how the initiative will help someone they are serving. Making drastic changes to improve products or services can be achieved when employees focus on how their teams function and what their customer desires.
2. Show, Explain Processes
Many teams go through various stages of team development while working on a change initiative. In 1965, Bruce Tuckman published a model of team development. He believed all teams progressed through the stages of forming, storming, norming and performing. He also believed all phases were necessary and inevitable for teams to grow, face challenges, solve problems and deliver results.
Keep these stages of team development in mind as you develop the outline for your video and determine who will be interviewed and the questions they will be asked. Discover and know the challenges of the project and how victory was attained.
Find the person who was the champion for the project. Show the various ways they modeled leadership and influenced their teams as they implemented the change.
Your video story will be authentic if it includes struggles, analysis of data, unexpected obstacles, conflicts or other notable challenges. Stories are best told by the people who lived through the experiences. Stories will be stronger if they are told by multiple sources who give their unique perspective.
Here’s an example of a corporate video that tells the story of a change initiative at Alexian Brothers Health System near Chicago. It was used by Ascension Health during a system-wide meeting of chief medical and chief nursing officers. After the video was played for the group, key people featured in the video spoke to the group to reinforce the importance of their work.
Is your organization struggling with a change initiative? Would a video of a success story help your organization more quickly and effectively change?