behavioural change

Space, clarity and safety – the three elements that 44’s Tom Abbott, Managing Partner – Strategy, believes are necessary to help a campaign deliver real behavioural change.

We were recently asked by a client to design a campaign to help colleagues change specific behaviours in the workplace. In developing our response, we started by considering the key components for a good piece of campaign collateral that would illicit the sort of responses that the client was hoping for.

In general, instructing people to take a specific action can only take you so far, and may result in the opposite action being the preferred choice if your workforce tends to reject corporate dictat. Behavioural change requires multiple layers of engagement, as it is rarely a simple or rational decision. The way we behave is linked to our own beliefs and sense of self, but also our connections and relationships with others. Organisational cultures are strong and come with historical weight that can resist the best-intentioned efforts to redirect them or adopt change.

So, when we build campaign collateral, we test our creative against three principles, which we believe begin to answer some of these challenges.

1. Does the material encourage a moment of individual reflection? 

The first step in any behavioural change is to recognise the need for change in the first place, and that the need relates to ourselves. There needs to be an ‘aha!’ moment or challenge that encourages us to reframe the way we see our own behaviour and gives us cause to reflect on how we feel about this. This could be through the experiences or behaviours of others, but it is up to us to consider our own reactions, thoughts and feelings.

2. Is there a clear statement of the desired outcome?

Giving people cause to reflect is good, but what do you expect them to do about that reflection? As ever with internal communications, being really clear on what you want people to do is critical. So, simple things that colleagues can do to shift behaviour need to be clearly signposted.

3. Do I feel safe to do this as part of this organisation? 

This is often the step that gets forgotten – do I feel able to take the action in a way that is safe and will not negatively impact my relationships or career?

Change is a challenging thing to ask people to do, and if you feel isolated or alone, this can be a significant blocker for people to adopt new behaviours. Building a sense of collective support so that colleagues feel that they can take action safely is important. I need to know my friends, colleagues, team, and senior managers are part of this as well in order to feel secure. Establishing a collective accountability as well as an individual accountability is a priority.

Setting the right tone with any piece of campaign collateral is a challenge, so keeping these ideas in mind can help guide your creative thinking. If you need support to make your campaigns really hit the sweet spot, get in touch to see how we can help.