In today’s fast-paced business environment, it can feel like the only constant is change.

And there’s data to support it. According to Accenture, the rate of change affecting businesses has risen steadily since 2019, with a 183% increase over the last four years and another 33% jump in the past year alone.

With this ever-evolving landscape, Chief HR Officers (CHROs) have taken a leading role in their organization’s change management initiatives. For CHROs at the helm of large-scale transformations, success isn’t just in the strategy – it’s ensuring that employees understand and buy into that strategy through effective communication.

One of the most critical and often-overlooked components of a change management plan is a “pencils down” period where communications are locked before a major launch.

Here’s why it matters:

Stopping the Swirl

Change initiatives are notorious for endless tweaks and last-minute revisions. There can come a point in the development process where continuous edits can cause stress and misalignment without improving the message, often putting the project timeline at risk. A pencils down period creates a firm deadline to finalize messaging and ensure consistency across channels including emails, town halls, one-on-ones and intranet updates. At KVA, we recommend locking all communications at least one week ahead of launch, outside of material changes, which can often happen right up until the last minute!

Building Confidence in the Plan

Successful change management starts at the top, and a pencils down period ultimately signals that executive leaders stand confidently behind their strategy. With a purposeful pause built into the communications plan, executive leaders are able to shift from a reactive mode to a more strategic focus, anticipating needs and preparing for delivery.

Preparing Next-Level Leaders

If next-level leaders are expected to champion a change initiative, they also need time to get comfortable with the materials. We recommend they have a few days to absorb the information and have the opportunity to ask questions themselves. By empowering next-level leaders with key documents like leader speaking points and FAQs, they can effectively cascade information to their teams when the time comes.

In a time when speed is often seen as a winning metric, a pencils down period may feel somewhat counterintuitive. Yet, for CHROs leading through change, this intentional period can be a powerful tool to enhance messaging clarity, build confidence in a transformation plan and drive toward excellence in execution. Sometimes it takes slowing down to speed things up.

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