Create an effective one-page plan to meet any internal communication effort
Remember the #1 Rule of Communication
Know your Audience!
The steps outlined below will give you an effective process for creating an internal communications plan, but like all messaging and presentation, please remember to always Know your Audience!You must tailor everything according to who you are communicating with and be acutely aware of how they will receive and perceive the information. Only then will you truly be effective in getting your message across.
If you are new to internal communications planning, I invite you to visit my blog at http://employeemessenger.com for random insights and musings on the world of internal communications.
How do I begin?
Glad you asked! Incorporate all the elements below to build a simple and useful plan
But wait, are you sure this planning stuff is necessary?
YES!!! Read on...
Step 1: Define your Business Objective
One of my favorite expressions is "If you don't know where you're going, how will you ever get there?" Every plan should start off with a clear objective. My objective for creating this lens reads as follows:Inform and Engage the Squidoo community on
how to craft a one-page internal communications plan.
Once you have a simple and clear objective, everything else can fall into place.
Step 2: Formulate a Strategy
Your strategy is the overall methods of how you're going to deliver on your defined objective. More than just a list of messaging and pr tactics, each action has a defined purpose on moving your objective forward. Here are some aspects of my strategy for this lens:
Launch a new lens on the topic of "Crafting an Internal Communications Plan," link it to other lenses on the topic, and socialize it within the SquidU community...
Feature this new lens on all other relevant lenses by corteeze... Blog about this topic on http://employeemessenger.com and provide backlinks to the squidoo lens...
Reach out to the Squidoo community, invite participation and gather feedback. When possible, provide interactive elements (polls, surveys, guestbook, etc.) to encourage participation...
Good strategies are what effectively turn ideas into reality.
Step 3: Determine your Key Messages
In each piece of communication -- email, newsletter, intranet post, poster, etc. -- you should ensure that you are touching upon one or more of your key messages. Here are some of the key messages I came up with for this lens:
- The plan is your guiding light. New ideas, approaches and tactics will come up along the way, but stay focused on the overall plan to achieve success.
- Failing to plan is planning to fail. Sound cliché? Yes! But is it the truth? Yes! The plan doesn't need to be long or exhaustive, but every campaign should begin with a plan.
- One page is enough. A "one-pager" keeps your plan concise, to-the-point, and easy to share with others.
Step 4: Identify any Supporting Content
Most communication plans will require various assets and content to help deliver the key messages. These can be in the form of digital assets -- good photos, logo artwork, audio and video recordings, etc. -- or come in the form of tangible products, such as tchotchke items, pamplets and posters.One of the great things about Squidoo is that it offers plenty of supporting content to help you out. Here are some of the things I listed that can help support this lens:
- Image to include with introduction and outline.
- A sample internal communications plan that visitors can reference. (downloadable in PDF format?)
- An Amazon module to showcase items related to Communication planning and strategy.
- A Featured Lens widget to highlight some other great lenses on this topic.
- etc.
Step 5: Establish a Timeline
Timelines are essential to any good project management, and a communication plan is like a mini project. Because we're trying to keep this to just one page, you don't need to include every mundane task... but you should definitely note all the main target dates. Here's the initial timeline I came up with for this lens (note, I tend to categorize tasks in different phases, but how you do it is your preference):
Timeline
Phase 1
June 16 - Create sample plan.
June 17 - Create new lens.
June 18 - Implement additional features.
Phase 2
June - gather feedback and makes adjustments.
July - add fresh content to ensure lens remains current.
>>>> Need help in this area? Try Backwards Planning...
Step 6: Prepare to Track, Measure & Report
This last step may sound obvious, and if you've ever worked for an agency you know that is the only way you get paid(!), but since many internal communicators work for the company directly this last step can often get overlooked or summed up with an all-to-typical-reply, "Yep, boss, we sent out the email. All set." Remember, we set a clear objective in the beginning and we need to know not only if we met that objective, but what aspects of our plan were most effective. Track, Measure, Report. Here are some things I wrote down to do for this lens:
Monitor activity on the lens and engage with any visitors/lensmasters - ensure timely replies to any questions and express genuine appreciations for their visits. Evaluate impact that new modules and widgets have on overall traffic and participation.
In Summary...
Step 1: Define your Business Objective
Step 2: Formulate a Strategy
Step 3: Determine your Key Messages
Step 4: Identify any Supporting Content
Step 5: Establish a Timeline
Step 6: Prepare to Track, Measure & Report
Did you find this helpful in learning how to craft an internal communications plan?
Want more on planning? Check these out:
(click any link below to order directly from Amazon.com)
Let's hear your thoughts on this subject
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daphnest
Jul 31, 2011 @ 5:20 pm | delete
- Well-constructed lens. Thanks!
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Mark-Nehs
Jul 19, 2011 @ 7:17 pm | delete
- You can tell you know your stuff. Well laid out. No plan is planning to fail
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karmicchristian
Jun 26, 2011 @ 11:52 am | delete
- Aside from the great info that you share, I'd add three 'C's to the checklist (capital C)- Content; Context and communication - more from a broader perspective. Very well presented lens.
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reasonablerobinson
Jun 18, 2011 @ 12:00 pm | delete
- good stuff, I think also the intended purpose of the communicating needs to be thought through, such as inform, instruct, persuade.
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This UpMarket page written by
corteeze
Corteeze, aka Alex Cortes, aka The Employee Messenger, has worked in corporate communications for 11 years in a variety of roles, including consumer r... more »
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