Save Money by Testing Business Assumptions BEFORE You Communicate Change

What if your next internal communication campaign didn’t cost you time, budget, and goodwill—but actually saved you all three? This is the power of testing business assumptions before you communicate change.

At L-12 Services, we’ve seen it again and again: Organizations pour resources into communications strategies after change decisions have been made—only to find out they were solving the wrong problem, answering the wrong question, or using the wrong language.

That’s because most organizations communicate before they validate. They roll out new processes, policies, or Return-to-Office (RTO) mandates without pressure-testing their core assumptions.

The result? Resistance, rework, and wasted resources.

The Cost of Communicating Before You’re Ready

Let’s start with what’s at stake.

When companies communicate change before they’ve tested the underlying assumptions—whether it's “employees want to be back in the office three days a week” or “this new tool will increase collaboration”—they’re operating on unverified beliefs.

And those beliefs get expensive fast.

• Productivity tanks when teams aren’t aligned or equipped to execute the change.
• Employee engagement drops when staff feel excluded from the process.
• Credibility takes a hit when leadership has to walk back or revise the message.

Worse still, the cost of regaining employee trust is far higher than the cost of earning it in the first place.

Don’t Just Assume—Test

During a recent roundtable, I had the pleasure of hosting innovation expert David Bland to discuss the critical practice of testing business assumptions. His message was clear: Before we communicate change, we need to validate the "why," the "who," and the "how."

Bland outlines three types of risk that organizations face:

• Desirability Risk: Do employees actually want what we’re offering?
• Viability Risk: Should we even pursue this strategy?
• Feasibility Risk: Can we deliver on this vision with our current capacity?

If you're planning a shift in workflows, processes, or your RTO strategy, but haven’t answered these questions with data—not just gut feelings—you’re rolling the dice with your team’s time, morale, and energy.

Real-World Example: Organizational Assumptions Run Deep

Let’s say a leadership team wants to improve collaboration. They assume bringing everyone back to the office will do the trick.

But when we test that assumption with stakeholder interviews and employee focus groups, we might find:

• What employees really want is structured meeting agendas, not shared physical space.
• The pain point isn’t location—it’s lack of clarity around priorities and process.
• Their trust in leadership is tied to autonomy and flexibility, not visibility.

When you uncover these insights before crafting communications, your message becomes smarter, more relevant, and easier to implement.

Testing Helps You Find the Right Owner, Too

Another overlooked cost of moving too fast? Implementing a change without clearly identifying who owns the process being changed.

As David shared, many internal systems evolve without clear custodians. Policies get layered over time. Processes get tweaked by multiple teams. Eventually, no one’s sure who’s responsible for what.

So before you publish that new policy or announce that transformation initiative, ask: “Who truly owns this process—and can they greenlight a test?”

If no one can say yes, all you’ve done is design in a vacuum.

At L-12 Services, Testing Is the Strategy

Our approach at L-12 Services starts by slowing down just long enough to validate before we broadcast.

In our 4-Phase Operational Excellence and Internal Communications strategy, testing assumptions is baked in from day one:

• Phase 1: Assess Capacity for Change
  We examine disruption resilience and engagement before any messaging goes out.
• Phase 2: Leverage Employee Experience
  We uncover the employee perspective on value propositions through interviews and one-on-one conversations, enabling us to communicate the right message to the right people.
• Phase 3: Align Comms Tools & Environment
  We match the message to the moment, ensuring your internal channels support—not sabotage—your strategy.
• Phase 4: Build Toward Operational Excellence
  With assumptions tested and validated, we scale what works and course-correct what doesn’t.

This isn’t theory—it’s how we helped organizations like SCAI reduce burnout, eliminate inbox overwhelm, and create a single source of truth that boosted collaboration and retention.

Bottom Line: Testing First Protects the Bottom Line

Testing assumptions isn’t a luxury—it’s a safeguard. It keeps leaders from wasting political capital, protects employee trust, and ensures that when you do communicate change, your people are ready to hear it—and act on it.

Because at the end of the day, clarity only matters if it’s built on truth.

Ready to Test Before You Talk?

If your organization is preparing for a shift—return-to-office, cultural transformation, or operational overhaul—L-12 Services can help you validate your assumptions before you spend a dollar (or a reputation point) on messaging that misses the mark.

Let’s talk about building your communications strategy the smart way.

Book a call: https://meetings.hubspot.com/lizabeth
Or message Lizabeth directly on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lizabeth-wesely-casella