Question

what are the key elements required for an effective communications plan, discuss with examples how these are used to develop a communication plan

Answer 1

An effective communications plan is centered around stakeholder requirements. You must start by identifying your stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities, authority levels, interest levels and expectations from the project.

Key elements of the plan include-

1. Audience - Who's eligible to receive what information?
   • E.g. Recent interns on a project or third party vendors need not be privy to its monthly financial performance metrics.
2. Message - What do you need to communicate? Who authors the communication? How? What are the steps involved? Are the specifications/requirements of your message clear?
   • E.g. Let's say you're delivering an annual appraisal on your team's performance. You'll need to communicate their scores on things like lead generation, client engagement, sales volume, customer satisfaction etc. as well as appraise their performances and suggest improvements if any.
3. Intent - Why's the communication needed? What will be the impact? What are its advantages?
   • E.g. Continuing from the previous example, a performance appraisal's required to better manage your team and their expectations. It's an opportunity to discuss problems and focus on developing individuals with a better understanding of strategic needs and objectives.
4. Media - The medium is always strategically motivated. What phase of the project are you in? Are you looking for buy-ins? Do you need to motivate the team? Is it a general notice?
   • E.g. Looking to gain support from a vendor party on some issue? Face-to-face communication's better than writing mails! Looking to disseminate strict requirements/instructions? - Try formalised emails. Only looking to update the higher management of the project's progress - Try weekly/monthly newsletters.
5. Timing - Consider the project schedule - timelines, deadlines, urgencies etc. and take advise from leaders/managers to launch messages
   • E.g. What's the ideal timing of sharing the "minutes of a meeting"? Immediately after it! What's the point otherwise?
6. Frequency - How often do you need to communicate?
   • E.g. Depends on the situation. Let's say you're a primary school teacher - concerned about an ill-mannered, naughty student. You'd need to observe his behaviour and communicate any updates very frequently to the dean as well as his parents (almost weekly)...
7. Responsibilities - Who prepares the communication? Who sanctions it? Who signs it? Who delivers it?
   • E.g. Continuing from the last example, you as the teacher will prepare a status report (sanctioned by the dean), have it signed from the dean and delivered by courier to his parents (example of a formalised communication).