5 Steps Involved in Communication Planning

Stakeholder communication is required in all projects. This may appear straightforward, but sharing information with everyone in a clear and consistent manner necessitates a strategy. Things can get messy if there isn't one, and stakeholders can become confused and unhappy.

That's where communication strategy comes in.

What is Communication Planning?

Communication planning is the process of laying out how team members and stakeholders will communicate, whether on a project, in an organisation, or both. In other words, managers create a formal process for sharing information using a communication plan.

Steps involved in Communication Planning

When creating a communication plan, it's easy to get lost in the details. Follow these steps to ensure you've covered all of your bases:

1.      Determine Communication Needs

The best place to begin is to identify your specific communication needs. It's useful, for example, to consider who will be communicating. Will various departments be in contact with one another? Will HR be in touch with the rest of the company? All of these scenarios must be taken into account.

2.      State Why Each Communication Is Necessary

When creating a communication plan, one of the most important things to consider is why it's even necessary. Communication, as previously stated, can appear to be second nature. Why do we need a plan in the first place? When we can pinpoint why we need a plan and how that plan will improve teamwork, we're more motivated to make it happen.

3.      Establish How the Team Will Communicate

This is a straightforward step. Someone must decide how communication will be carried out. To put it another way, what tools will the team employ? For example, teams may send some messages via email and others via third-party apps such as Slack. There might be documents and reports that need to be finished and archived as well.

4.      Decide How Often Official Communication Will Take Place

Regardless of the message, many plans establish specific communication intervals. These communications can be thought of as "check-ins," and they serve to keep everyone informed and on the same page. This also results in the creation of a written record of the past.

5.      Assign Communication Responsibilities

Whoever creates the plan is also in charge of determining who will be responsible for sharing—department heads, officers, and so on. These people could then pass on their messages to someone in charge of putting together a comprehensive update or formatting the data in a specific way. All of these duties must be taken into account and assigned.

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