One of the best tools at your disposal for sharing and supporting your digital transformation strategy is also one as old as office work itself—the informal hallway conversation. Although informal conversations might look different in the remote and hybrid work era, it is still possible to leverage this tool in a way that drives buy-in and adoption of digital transformation.
First, let’s look at what a hallway conversation is. When most people hear the phrase, they think of the casual interactions we might have with a co-worker as we pass each other in a shared space. These are often the surface conversations of strangers or acquaintances—the “how are you, fine, have a good day” conversations. These conversations are valuable for the human connection they promote.
But there’s another layer of hallway conversation that can be valuable for supporting and promoting long-term initiatives—a more structured dialogue that provides a valuable exchange of information. This kind of structured internal communication doesn’t have to be stilted or scripted; instead, putting some structure around a hallway conversation ensures that both parties come away with new information.
A valuable hallway conversation about an upcoming organizational change should look something like the following:
- Here’s what the change is about (Share a Charter or define the project)
- Here’s why it’s essential to do (Share the benefits and urgency)
- Here’s what success looks like (Share the vision)
- Here’s what we need you to do (share the responsibilities, commitments, or project plans)
- Here’s what you can count on from me (share your commitments)
This format can easily adapt to a variety of initiatives across the business. Here’s an example of what a conversation might look like around the adoption of a new contact center tool:
Bob: Hey Joe, how’s it going?
Joe: Pretty good! Getting ready to roll out the new contact center. Have you heard about it?
Bob: I heard something, but I don’t really know much about it.
Joe: Oh, it’s going to really help us connect with our customers better. This tool gives our agents more channels, like chat and text, and with the real-time scheduling, we can support customers with additional agents if we hit a peak.
Bob: Really? Do people have a hard time reaching us?
Joe: Our customers have told us that they want more options. They aren’t always able to call, and sometimes, a quick chat or text is easier than a call. And we sometimes find that our static schedules don’t fill peak hours very well. Plus, with more agents working from home, we want to give them more scheduling flexibility. This system will let them put in the hours they are available and let them pick up extra time if we need help.
Bob: That sounds like a great improvement!
Joe: Yes, we think it’ll really improve our NPS and customer engagement. And it will also likely improve employee satisfaction among our agents.
Bob: Sounds like it. Is there anything other departments need to do?
Joe: Not directly. Just watch for more details. And share when we launch these changes. We should go live in about a month after training is done.
Bob: Great! I’ll be watching!
Joe: Thanks, Bob, appreciate the support! I’ll be sending out communications soon. And if our team needs anything from the other departments, I’ll let you know soon.
Of course, this is a conversation that takes place in response to the visual cue of seeing someone in person. It could also potentially occur over video conferencing or a phone call during the “small talk” that often occurs in meetings or calls.
But what if there’s little opportunity for visual interaction? Try initiating something over instant messaging when you see someone available:
Joe: Hey Bob, do you have a minute?
Bob: Sure, what’s up?
Joe: I just want to give you a couple of updates on our new contact center initiative. I think you might be interested in hearing what’s happening so that you can share it with your team.
Bob: Sounds good.
Another option might be to extend another instant message conversation to share more information about digital initiatives. While it’s tougher to have a casual discussion over instant messaging, it is possible.
Now that you have an idea of the format for a productive hallway conversation think about the topics you can cover to support your digital transformation strategy. Here are six examples of conversation starters that can support your initiatives:
6 Conversation Starters to Support Your Digital Transformation
1. The “Here’s what we’re doing” starter
“We’re working on some really exciting projects with AI and machine learning in manufacturing right now. A lot of those employees are going to be able to move up into more highly skilled positions.”
2. The “Have you heard?” starter
“Have you heard about our omnichannel project to improve customer engagement? This is great stuff that’s really going to improve sales.”
3. The “I need your help” starter
“We are getting ready to implement some new collaboration apps for remote and hybrid workers, and I wonder if I could get your help sharing this with your team.”
4. The “This is going to be great for you” starter
“Our cutover to the new fiber network is happening next week, so you’re going to see some great Internet improvements that should help us get a lot more done.”
5. The “Moving into the future” starter
“Hey, did you know we’re making a lot of changes to our phone systems? Finally getting rid of those old analog phones and moving up to unified communications! It’s going to lower our costs and improve our ability to connect with all our remote employees.”
6. The “We’re trendsetters” starter
“There are some exciting self-service customer engagement apps out there that are going to put us a step ahead of the competition. In fact, we’re launching our self-service kiosk in ten test sites next week.”
As important as your digital transformation initiatives are, they aren’t just about technology. Adoption is a key part of the process, and digital transformation is as much about sociology as it is about new tools. As you move your digital transformation initiatives along, these hallway conversations can be a valuable tool in helping encourage adoption and support throughout the process.
