Framework 75 Communications Strategy as a Change Process

Key message template

Context Change strategy WIIFM*i Roles Support
  • What is the change?
  • What is the big picture?
  • What is the rationale/business drivers of change?
  • What are the benefits and challenges of the change?
  • Why the change is important?
  • Change vision
  • What's involved?
  • What are the time frame?
  • How is it aligned with business strategies, etc
  • What's different this time
  • Who is impacted and how?
  • How will its benefits/challenges impact all stakeholders including staff, customers, suppliers, etc?
  • What is the value proposition for each stakeholder group?
  • What are the desired behaviours to support the change?
  • What are role expectations?
  • What needs to be done differently?

(source: Prue Robson, 2010
  • What support is being provided?
  • Encourage stakeholders to find out more details
  • Provide feedback
  • Understand key decision points and project milestones
  • Who are the key contacts?
  • Document everything

Notes

  1. i) WIIFM = What's in it for me or management

A sample change communication plan

  1. Introduction (what is changing?)
  2. Situational analysis (background/rationale/business drivers/context/PESTLEC Analysis/ SWOT, etc)
  3. Change vision
  4. Key messages
  5. Stakeholders (especially target market)
  6. Communication principles (Guidelines to follow when developing the communication strategies and deliverables, etc)
  7. Communications objectives (What communications results do you want to achieve?)
  8. Strategies (How do you plan to achieve that result?)
  9. Tactics (What precisely has to be done? Understand your key audience; develop key messages; develop communication channels/vehicles, etc/importance of timing, etc)
  10. Schedule (Details of when each tactic will occur)
  11. Budget (Allocation of resources with costings)
  12. Measures (How to monitor and evaluate; use feedback; how to measure success)
  13. Risk and mitigation strategies

(source: Prue Robson, 2010)

Some tips

Top tips Details
1. Understand your audience and know best how to engage and influence
  • Develop awareness of your own communication style and how to enhance it
  • Develop effective personal communications to persuade, inspire, motivate, gain information, deliver presentations, soothe and convince
  • Practise active listening, observe body language, monitor reactions, gauge communications effectiveness
  • Learn how to best manage up to gain support
  • Understand stakeholders' impacts and design communications to support people through the change from awareness and understanding to reinforcement
2. Keep communication simple and engaging
  • Take complex situations but communicate simply
  • Learn about and practise writing well, online and in print
  • Create a narrative that can be used and developed across all communications; take your audience on a journey
  • Keep the message consistent across all materials and communication touch points from fact sheets, Internet, intranet, face-to-face communications to training manuals and team briefings
  • Read and read and read to assist you to write well
3. Remain abreast of communication trends and what will work in your situation
  • Learn about digital marketing, especially social media, ie what's new, tools available, etc
  • Discover what social media does well and how to apply it to achieve the desired outcomes
  • Leverage online polling in forums to promote engagement and to find out what stakeholders need to know
  • Watch a good interviewers draw out their subjects and successful politicians communicate their message
  • Be adventurous and try new approaches that makes sense
4. Learn the strengths and limitations of different communication vehicles
  • There is a wealth of different ways to deliver the message - learn what each does best and use creatively to build awareness, understanding and commitment
  • Learn about your audience preferred communications approach
  • Mine the company intranet to learn what is in use and what works for the organisation
  • Visit your internal communications, marketing, brand and external agencies to learn about what they do, how and why
(source: Prue Robson, 2010)

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