If you work in projects you’ve probably heard people say that there is no such thing as over-communication.
I certainly used to believe that. I’ve had plenty of experience of people looking at me in wide-eyed innocence and saying they have no idea what I’m talking about, after I’ve sent multiple messages via multiple channels about whatever we’re discussing. I’ve also been the person who does the innocent staring! When it comes to executing successful communications strategies, it’s safe to assume that people most likely won’t hear your message the first time (or probably the next few times after that!). Equally, the more communications channels and outbound communications you have in your organisation, the less likely it is that your message will be heard over the noise. Thus, it’s very important to reiterate your message consistently over weeks and even months, leading up to the point where you need the person to have understood and absorbed it.
The trouble is that there IS such a thing as over-communication, and I’ve also seen that first hand. It’s not so much a case of communicating too frequently (although this is possible too – depending on which stakeholder you are addressing) but more that the volume and detail of the information needs to be carefully considered. Is your message clear and concise for the audience, or are you building in unnecessary layers of detail? I remember vividly in my first job, standing behind my then managing director to follow up on an email I had just sent him, to see him casually move it straight to trash… I was mortified! Was I the sort of person whose emails were too boring and long to even bear reading!? It’s safe to say that my communications style has come on a long way since then, but it was a useful lesson for me about how to engage senior stakeholders. If you inappropriately over-communicate on the detail then people, at best, start skimming or, at worst, stop reading your messages entirely.
Well crafted communications and communications plans are a fine art, so here are some tips for making sure nobody bins yours without opening them!
1. Map your stakeholders
One of the most important preliminary activities when communicating a change is to identify your stakeholders carefully. It’s worth getting the wider project team involved in doing this so that you make sure you really do cover everybody and, most importantly, that you understand all stakeholders’ investment in the change. Why do they care? How close would they want to be? How close SHOULD they be (beware of people with vested interests derailing you!)? Once you understand what each person needs to get out of your communications, you can tailor accordingly.
2. Choose your channels carefully
There are many routes you could take to get your message out there, but which ones are the most appropriate? Perhaps you use existing company meetings, chat apps, email, intranet, workshops, 1-1s. Usually, a combination of these will be the most effective, and the channels you pick will vary for each stakeholder. Think about the nature of your channels – are they one-way (e.g. mail shot) or interactive (e.g. workshop) and what best suits each stakeholder group in terms of what you need from them and vice versa? You might engage the senior sponsor in a fortnightly 1-1, whereas the wider business might keep informed via updates posted on the intranet. If you need more increased engagement from a stakeholder or group then two-way communication channels are the way to go, even if they’re more time consuming.
3. Decide on the frequency with care
Don’t wait for all the information to be there before you communicate a change. It’s important to communicate early and with integrity. However do bear in mind that it can also be dangerous to communicate a change too early – if you end up with months of inaction you erode people’s faith in your change. It’s a delicate balance! It’s okay not to have all the answers, and with the right communications strategy you can encourage people to be part of the solution. Once you begin communications, tailor the frequency to the stakeholder groups. Perhaps the whole company receives updates every 3-4 weeks, but managers with a vested interest in the change receive weekly status reports. If you churn out information too regularly, it might feel overwhelming to certain stakeholder groups.
4. Details, details
This is key. Make sure that you are communicating only the most salient details to each stakeholder group. Less can definitely be more. A useful exercise can be to challenge yourself to cut out 50% of your message before you send it. Usually I find you can cut at least 50% (if not much much more) and still retain the most important messages. Remember too that people absorb information in different ways and many don’t learn most effectively from reading words alone. Try fixing up the format by using videos, charts or graphs. Even use of colour and formatting in your emails can make a big difference. The more complicated your message is, the less likely people are to remember it. For your highest level of audience (entire department or entire company perhaps) you should keep your key messages to a max of 3. Any more than that, and they are unlikely to remember them in the long term. Of course, it’s great to provide a link to more information, so it’s available if they do then want to access it.
5. Feedback & verification
It’s worth verifying with individuals from each stakeholder group how you’re doing on communications early. Do they feel they are receiving enough information, too much? Check in and make sure you’re nailing it before they become weary of your messages! It’s always a good idea to verify how much of the information is being absorbed as well – you could do this via a survey, workshop or simply by spot-quizzing people in the office. That is one of the reasons that having a simple and clear mission statement for your change can be so useful – if your wider stakeholders remember nothing else they should at least be able to remember one clear statement about why the change is needed.
In essence – when successfully implementing a change communications plan you should identify interested parties early, design a plan that tailors style, channel and frequency of comms to their needs, and then start communicating as early as possible. Above all, you can feel free to over-communicate your vision statement and a few key messages, but avoid over-communicating on low level details if it’s not appropriate to the audience.
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