I’ve always had a bit of a problem with the word ‘strategy’. It’s overused (everyone wants a strategy for something right?) and can be intimidating (strategy must be a big, important, complicated thing surely?).
by Victoria Ford
It’s a debate I’ve had with myself and with others over the years and I now advise people to think of it as an approach. What is your approach to this piece of work going to be? In our comms world, how will comms support the outcomes of the organisation/initiative/change programme? Set the word strategy aside for a moment and think about your approach to the comms to support the change that is needed.
Supporting successful change delivery
Thinking about our approach is key to our role in supporting change delivery. At Perago we integrate comms roles into change projects and programmes from the outset. We form part of the ‘multi-disciplinary teams’ described in agile change delivery. This means you can get under the skin of the project from the beginning, engage with the organisation, understand its people and its customers and have the opportunity to create a comms approach that adds value from the beginning of the project, rather than wait to be engaged at the point of go live.
There’s lots of good advice out there on developing comms strategies, including here on the comms2point0 site, but what about when you get involved at the start of a longer-term programme of change? How do you create a comms approach for a 2, 3, or even 5 year programme when it’s in its infancy?
Six steps to a change programme comms approach
1. Start with the purpose of the programme and the outcome it’s been set up to achieve – unless the programme is clearly defined and linked to organisational outcomes creating a comms approach is going to be a struggle. But it’s okay to call that out and work as a team to get that definition in place and that’s where our role can actually come into its own where we move resoundingly from tactical to strategic. You may find yourself challenging colleagues to clearly define the programme’s purpose. Remember, we’re not about sending out stuff, we’re about supporting business outcomes and creating change.
2. Be clear what you can set out when – creating a comms approach at the outset of a big programme can be a real challenge. Things can be a little hazy, ideas are being formed so be up front that your approach won’t be a fully formed document with activities mapped out over 3 years+. This may get some push back initially as it may not align to the thinking of change sponsors and leaders about what a comms approach needs to be and who want reassurance that a comms plan exists. Managing expectations of the team and stakeholders from the outset is really important. But my experience is that when you take them through that process, working openly and sharing as you go it can add value to the shaping of the wider programme.
3. Think about your approach in phases - it’s useful to talk about the programme in phases and how you will align the comms to each phase. It’s likely the first 6 months will be clearer than the second 6 months, and the 6 months after that. It’s also likely that your activity will shift over phases so set your approach out in that way. Consider any individual workstreams and what is known about each of those. Break down your approach into phases, set out what you will achieve in each phase and how you will measure that. That way you can provide a plan and timeline around your first phase in more detail and use what you learn in each phase to inform the next.
4. Look at what you know, what you need to know and talk about how you will get from a to b – for example it’s likely you’ll know that you need to engage a certain audience but it maybe you don’t have any insight about that audience so the first thing is to do some audience insight followed by mapping, followed by planning etc. The initial phase is likely to be more of an approach to the comms in the first instance that will lead into the more detailed strategy and associated delivery plan.
5. Your approach is nothing without delivery - you’ll need a plan that sits alongside your approach whether its in the first or final phases. It’s just that those initial phases are likely to be more about getting the information you need to support the programme through effective comms than direct communications. But you can, and should, still create a plan, a means to deliver against the first phase of your approach.
6. Remember, whether you want to call it a strategy or an approach, this will be a living document - it’s not something you’ll draft, get signed off and put on a shelf. It’s something you should refer back to, make sure you’re achieving what you need to at each stage and report on progress against it. As time goes on the phases of the programme will evolve and your comms approach will evolve with it.
As you set out on the programme remember that developing your comms approach is part of an ongoing conversation and ongoing engagement. So work in the open, share your thinking and challenge yourself and the programme team to get the clarity the programme will need.
Happy change comms!
Victoria Ford is managing director of Perago. You can say hello on Twitter at @torfordy
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