“Well, I know there is a programme team assembled to deal with this - I got that email a few months ago - but I am not quite sure what they are doing or what I should be doing to help!” Ever feel like this is the case within your organisation?
Lack of communication in any environment can leave people feeling dejected, unmotivated and simply confused – a massive inhibitor to delivering change at any organisation. It can lead to mistrust, disengagement and costly delays in delivery. So the best place to start is with a strong communications strategy - right?
Wrong! The best place to start is by doing thorough stakeholder analysis. Who needs to be involved right now and over the next few months/years? Even if you don’t know the specific names, you can capture the stakeholder groups that need to be engaged, e.g. Finance IT, Marketing Management, Payroll users. By doing stakeholder analysis, you can “know your audience” a key fundamental in all communications.
The next step is to determine the type of stakeholders. There are a number of ways to do this but we’ve found that the easiest approach is to split all stakeholders into four groups; Programme Team, Decision Makers, Influencers, Interested Parties. This will help determine what type of communication goes to whom. The programme team, for instance, will need more details and specific information, whereas the interested parties should receive information that is more high-level and generic.
Once the initial stakeholder analysis is complete the communications strategy can be formed. This should include a description of all programme communications, including the inputs, benefits, frequency, owner and audience. It should detail the stakeholder analysis completed to support the strategy.
There are several tools that can be used for communication. At the beginning of each programme a key messages document should be circulated to all senior stakeholders to ensure consistent messaging is cascaded to their subordinates. Monthly newsletters to touch base with all stakeholders are crucial to promote the programme and maintain engagement levels. FAQ documents, weekly round-ups and a programme intranet site are all worthwhile to ensure a robust communications management.
Depending on your audience and the stage of the programme many different methods can be used. Email can reach a large number of people and be cost effective but the engagement levels achieved can be low; don’t under estimate the stimulating power of face to face communication, large posters or even flyers.
Finally, it is important to note that stakeholder analysis and the communications strategy are living documents. They will change and develop over the course of a programme. It is good practice to perform regular reviews in order to maximise the effects of your communications and create an earnest interest from all those who need to be involved.
Posted by Áine Carey on the 18th of January 2012
