Change breeds uncertainty, and uncertainty, left unchecked, brews anxiety among your advisors and staff. Straight up, nobody loves a reorg announcement. However, strategic, planned communication can make the difference between a smooth transition and total chaos. Here’s how to approach it without losing your team or your sanity.
Before you send a single memo, check that you and all of the firm's leadership know the why, the what, and the when of the restructuring. What questions will advisors, ops staff, and client service teams inevitably ask?
Create a communications plan for rolling out the restructuring and associated communication deliverables. For assistance creating a change communications plan, send us a note.
Once the plan is solid (really solid!), tell your team. Don't wait for whispers and "water cooler" speculation to take over – that's how misinformation spreads like wildfire.
Make it obvious that questions are welcome – even the tough ones. Foster a two-way street by explicitly inviting questions in all communications and creating safe channels for people to voice concerns. Prioritize answering honestly: if you know the answer, give it straight. If you don't know the response, commit to finding out and follow up.
If the question points to private information that cannot be shared, be transparent about why rather than dodging the issue. And remember, no sugarcoating: While maintaining a positive outlook on the firm's future is important, truthfulness builds essential trust during turbulent times. Honesty ensures the narrative comes credibly from leadership, as the truth is bound to come out anyway.
Sometimes restructuring means layoffs. It’s tough, impacts morale, and there’s no easy way around it.
Getting your internal team aligned is absolutely a top priority. But remember, the people on the outside, your clients and key stakeholders, need to hear from you too. Make a list of anyone who might be impacted by the changes. Then, reach out and clearly explain what’s shifting, how it will affect their experience with your firm, and why this is ultimately a good move for them. If it makes sense for your situation, think about sending out a press release to share the news, the reasons for the restructuring, and the positive outcomes you're aiming for.
Though you don’t need to repeat what the initial change was, build in follow-up communications with customers in your communications plan to let them know about your early successes to further demonstrate you made a change with your customers top of mind.
Team restructures require a great deal of work, and you can't treat this like a sprint. Planned, purposeful action is your best bet to ensure the reorganization delivers the positive outcomes you intended, without completely demoralizing your team or confusing your clients. If mapping out a clear communication plan for your RIA's restructure feels like one task too many, Craft Impact can help.