Communications Plan

We use a communications plan to consciously direct the flow of information about a project. The plan covers:

• Who we communicate with.
• What is communicated.
• When we communicate.

What is a Communications Plan?

A communications plan can be as simple as a spreadsheet. It contains all the communications you plan to make about a project.

It includes the following information:

• Medium: The medium that you’ll be using to communicate. This might be an email, a face-to-face meeting, a video, or a written report.
• Audience: Who needs the information? For example, you might present the results of a project to the company’s upper management but give weekly updates to the project manager only.
• Reason: What you’re trying to achieve. For instance, a kick-off meeting typically introduces the key aims of a project to stakeholders and sets expectations. On the other hand, a ‘lessons learned’ meeting aims to codify information obtained during a project for later action.
• Timing: When the communication will be made. This might be a specific date, a milestone, or a contingency. For example, “If the project is delayed more than one week” could be a contingency timing option.
• Method: Go into more detail about the type of communication. For example, you might require a presentation, a time-boxed stand-up, or a visual dashboard.
• Responsible party: The person ultimately responsible for organizing and/or presenting the information.

Medium

There are lots of different communication types. Which of these you choose will depend on:

• The audience.
• The information you’re presenting.
• What you want to achieve from the communication.

Some of your options are:

• In-person meeting
• Online teleconference
• Email
• Video.

Audience

Your audience will depend on the purpose of the communication and what you’re trying to achieve. For example, if you’re trying to convince your company to try a new project strategy, your first port of call probably won’t be your existing team members. Instead, you’ll want to talk to the company’s CXOs and other influential people.

Reason

Having a clear objective for each communication is vital. Ensure that you know the following:

• What you’re trying to achieve.
• The information that you want to impart.

For example, your primary objective might be to convince your audience of a project’s suitability. So your communication will be centered on the company’s business objectives and how the project will meet them.

Timing

The timing of communication will depend on the medium and the method you’ve chosen. For example, kick-off meetings are typically held before a project actually begins. Stand-up meetings are held regularly–often daily–during a project. Milestone reviews, on the other hand, are held at the end of each project stage.

Method

Once you’ve selected the medium for your communication, the next step is to decide on the method. Here are just a few:

• Visual: Good for reporting progress and presenting snippets of objective data in quick succession.
• Presentation: Often combines the aforementioned visual method with talking. They’re typically used for kick-off meetings and often product launches.
• Written report: Best for complex information.
• Webinar: Useful in disseminating education. For example, if you want to teach other teams how to follow a new procedure.
• Stand-up: A quick meeting, typically face-to-face and often with all participants standing. These are handy for quick progress reports within a team.
• Milestone review: These meetings look at the progress to date. See also DMAIC tollgates.

Responsible party

Setting a responsible party for each communication ensures that someone takes personal responsibility for making it happen. This person doesn’t have to do the whole thing alone; they’re just the catalyst. They ensure that the information is transferred and objectives are met.

Differences between organizational communications (Top-down and Bottom-up)

Organizational communication may have different forms and directions; two of the most common approaches are top-down and bottom-up communication.

Top-down communication:

• In a top-down communication approach, the information flows from the top of an organization’s hierarchy to the bottom.
• It is typically used to convey policies, instructions, and guidelines from management to employees.
• The top-down communication is characterized by a centralized decision-making process, where the leadership controls and directs the communication flow.
• Top-down communication can be fast, but it can also be slow because the leadership has to communicate with all employees.

Bottom-up communication:

• In a bottom-up communication approach, the information flows from the bottom of an organization’s hierarchy to the top.
• It is typically used by employees to communicate with their supervisors and managers to share ideas, feedback, and concerns.
• The bottom-up communication is characterized by a decentralized decision-making process, where employees are encouraged to participate in decision-making.
• Bottom-up communication encourages feedback and suggestions from employees

Why is Communication Important?

There are a few reasons that communication, in general, is so important in Six Sigma projects:

• Communicating regularly and effectively helps to keep stakeholders engaged and supportive.
• Your team needs quality information to understand and deploy the project successfully.
• Inter-team communication helps to ensure that your team keeps the big, company-wide picture in mind.
• You build confidence in your project when you’re transparent about its goals and progress.

Why Use a Communications Plan?

Use a communications plan to ensure you’re talking to the right people at every project stage. It’s easy to lapse because communication isn’t typically part of the project itself. But your quality of information can make or break your project. For example, if you fail to clearly communicate your project’s progress and current game plan, you can disappoint key stakeholders and lose their support. Lost support tends to equal canceled or downgraded projects. On the other hand, clear progress reports and contingency planning can improve support for a project as stakeholders gain confidence. If your plan is public, it also gives stakeholders a sense of surety–they know when they’ll receive updates and what they’ll look like.

Team communication norms

Team communication norms are the standard approach to how team members communicate with each other. The team communication norms can help teams to collaborate more effectively, avoid misunderstandings, and build a positive team culture.

The team communication norms are:

• Team members should actively listen to each other and focus more on what the speaker is saying and avoid interruptions.
• It is necessary that team members should show respect towards each other, avoiding derogatory or insulting comments.
• Team members should be prompt in responding to messages or requests and communicate promptly to avoid delays.
• Organization expects team members to be transparent and honest in their communication, avoiding hidden agendas or withholding information.
• Every member should provide constructive feedback, focusing on improving performance rather than criticizing.
• Work together to achieve common goals, support each other, and avoid competition or conflicts within the team.
• Respect each other’s privacy and maintain confidentiality.
• Flexible to different communication styles and willing to adapt to the needs of others.

Team communication norms should be agreed upon by the team and periodically reviewed to ensure they are still relevant and effective. By establishing clear communication norms, teams can improve their effectiveness and build a positive team culture.

Raising Stakeholder Commitment

One of the key purposes of a communications plan is to build commitment to a project. Your project’s stakeholders will be more engaged and confident if they understand what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how everything is going.

There are a few different tools that you can use to analyze and boost the support that you’re getting from your stakeholders.

Stakeholder map

A stakeholder map is a way to group and prioritize people who have a stake in your project. It’s based on:

• How much power they have.
• How much interest they have.

A person with power can affect the direction of the project.

A person with interest cares about the outcomes of the project.

See Stakeholder Analysis for more information.

Stakeholder commitment scale

A stakeholder commitment scale is a useful tool. Using it, you can record the base commitment level of each stakeholder in your project.

The scale has eight commitment levels:

• Hostile: I don’t like it. This project won’t work. I want someone else in charge.
• Opposed: We’re going to lose money on this. I can’t see how it’s useful.
• Uncooperative: What was wrong with the old way? Why do we have to have a new project for this?
• Indifferent: Well, you’ve clearly decided this is the way you want to go. Fine. On your own head, be it.
• Hesitant: I can see some merit in this project. I’m just not sure we’re going about it correctly. What will this mean for my workload?
• Compliant: OK, I guess we can see what happens. Alright, I’m in – I suppose.
• Engaged: Right, I can see where we’re going with this. This seems like a good project.
• Enthusiastic: Woohoo! Let’s get into it! I’m convinced, and I’m ready to work!

Stakeholder commitment matrix

A stakeholder commitment matrix uses the scale mentioned above and maps it to each stakeholder.

In the example table above, the asterisks (*) represent the commitment level that the project needs from each stakeholder. The Xs represent the current commitment levels.

Say you’ve mapped the current commitment levels vs. what you need for each key player. Your next step is to tweak your communications plan. You need to come up with a strategy to build the commitment level of each stakeholder who isn’t sufficiently on board.

Responsibility Assignment Chart

RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. These are four levels of stakeholders who might be involved in your projects.

• Responsible: Performing a task.
• Accountable: Overseeing the task.
• Consulted: On hand to provide assistance or information for the task.
• Informed: Wants to keep up to date on the progress of the task.

Unlike a commitment matrix, the RACI chart tells you the type of stakeholders that you’re working with. It helps you to figure out what sort of information they need. (Also see stakeholder analysis)

The RACI chart also breaks down stakeholders per task within a project. Here’s a simplified example:

Use a RACI chart with a commitment matrix to decide the type of information that each stakeholder needs in order to boost their commitment level.

Example of a Communications Plan

Communications Checklist Excel Template

You can also download a sample communications checklist in Excel spreadsheet format.