Communication

Good communication cannot compensate for ‘poor change’ initiatives but conversely poor communication can severely affect the perception and feel of ‘good change’.

Communications planning should be started at the project outset and continued throughout. It can be used to support targeted and timely communications to engage stakeholders groups. It will help shape the appropriate levels of information to meet the needs and address the concerns of all stakeholders identified. A communication plan encompasses objectives, goals, and methodology for all communications.

Effective communications need to be planned and can be used to:

• Set and manage expectations
• Provide updates on what you are doing
• Build ideas and participation
• Improve adoption of change and ultimately its success.
• Celebrate successes!

A Communications Plan is an excel template which can be used to record key information about stakeholder communication requirements for an initiative. The questions below suggest different elements  to consider.

 

Who is the target audience?

Using the stakeholder identification and analysis you can target specific groups to ensure the appropriate information is shared.

 

What is the purpose of the communication?

Having a clear understanding of why the communication is needed and what it is looking to achieve will increase the clarity of the content and support consistent messaging.

 

What is the key message?

Outline what information needs to be included, if any action is required and how stakeholders can respond to create two-way communication.

 

How will it be communicated?

Using a variety of communication methods will increase the levels of engagement. Including face-to-face, email, social media, telephone.

 

How often and when?

Some communications are stand alone, whilst others may need to be in place throughout. It is also important to agree who is responsible for the communication.

 

DOWNLOAD the communication plan