Channeling motivation through better middle management communication
SKAT, the Danish Tax Authorities, has been through a couple of turbulent years. That has put a lot of pressure on middle management to keep employees motivated as employees have witnessed the public severely criticize the organization. How do you keep up the spirit of the employees when you don’t even know answers about the organization’s future yourself? That was the critical question we were brought in to help answer.
The solution we designed together
In collaboration with organizational leaders we identified core messages designed to create stability and a shared direction for the organization to follow. Our training focused on delivering these messages in concrete situations in a way that respected the worries of the employees and signaled authority. We worked with presentations, meetings, 1-on-1’s and written communication and gave special attention to repetition, credibility and empathy. The training varied between inspirational presentations, group discussions and individual training with feedback.
The outcome
The middle managers in SKAT now have a better understanding of their essential role in the transformation of SKAT and how they can navigate between different communication venues. They now know the core story at heart and are able to use it in their everyday leadership communication which helps the sensemaking of their employees.