Communication – renierbotha ltd

12 Useful Psychological Hacks

August 23, 2020August 25, 2020Leave a comment

#1. If you want to know about something from someone , ask them a question and when they are done answering , keep silent and maintain an eye contact. They will tell you some more stuff, almost everything.

#2. When you try to convince someone over something, make sure they are sitting and you are standing. This makes them believe you sooner.

#3. The key to confidence is walking into a room and assume that everyone already likes you.

#4. Refer to people you’ve just met by their name. People love being referred to by their name and it will establish a sense of trust and friendship right away. Example: “Nice to meet you Alex. So, Alex how do you know John?” And continue to repeat name throughout the conversation.

#5. If someone is attracted to you, their eyes start blinking more than usual during a conversation with you.

#6. Spot the difference between a fake smile and a real one. You can find out if someone is smiling for real or faking it by looking at their eyes. Wrinkles form near eye corners when the smile is genuine.

#7. Pay attention to people’s feet. To know if someone is interested in a conversation look at their feet, if they are pointing towards you, they are. If they are pointing sideways or any other direction, they aren’t. Feet don’t lie.

#8. When at a party or a meeting. When at a party or a meeting, crack a joke and observe the people who are laughing around you. People who feel close to each other will be looking at each other. This is useful for discerning out friendships and other relationships.

#9. The life hack to make people do what you want them to do. Offer someone a choice instead of a command. For example, instead of saying drink your milk to a toddler, ask which mug would he/she like to drink milk from. This gives the person a sense of control hence produces a higher chance of a better outcome.

#10 How to win an argument?. If the person arguing loses his temper and starts shouting, natural human tendency is to shout back. DON’T! Stay calm and reply in silence. Try it! It works.

#11. Mirror people’s body language to build up trust. If you subtly mimic the body language of the person you’re talking to, you can effectively build up trust with them. By mirroring the way they speak and how they move they’ll like you more, because, to them, it will seem as if you are pretty good compatible.

#12 Inception To plant a seed of idea in someone’s mind, ask them to not think of a particular thing at all. Let’s say I ask you to NOT think about motorbikes. What are you thinking of?

Digital Strategy & the Board

July 5, 2020September 25, 2020Leave a comment

Digital Strategy is a plan that uses digital resources to achieve one or more objectives. With Technology changing at a very fast pace, Organisations have many digital resources to choose from.

Digital Resources can be defined as materials that have been conceived and created digitally or by converting analogue materials to a digital format for example:

Utilising the internet for commerce (web-shops, customer service portals, etc…)
Secure working for all employees from anywhere via VPN
Digital documents, scanning paper copies and submitting online correspondence to customers i.e. online statements and payment facilities via customer portals
Digital resources via Knowledge Base, Wiki, Intranet site and Websites
Automation – use digital solutions like robotics and AI to complete repetitive tasks more efficiently
Utilising social media for market awareness, customer engagement and advertising

A Digital Strategy is typically a plan that helps the business to transform it’s course of action, operations and activities into a digital nature by utilising available applicable technology.

Many directors know that digital strategies, and there related spending, can be difficult to understand. From blockchain and virtual reality to artificial intelligence, no business can afford to fall behind with the latest technological innovations that are redefining how businesses connect with their customers, employees, and myriad of other stakeholders. Read this post that covers “The Digital Transformation Necessity“…

As a Board Director what are the crucial factors that the Board should consider when building a digital strategy?

Here are five critical aspects, in more detail, and the crucial things to be conscious of when planning a digital transformation strategy as part of a board.

Stakeholders

A stakeholder, by definition, is usually an individual or a group impacted by the outcome of a project. While in previous roles you may have worked with stakeholders at senior management level, when planning a digital strategy, it’s important to remember that your stakeholders could also include customers, employees or anyone that could be affected by a new digital initiative.

Digital strategies work from the top down, if you’re looking to roll out a digital transformation project, you need to consider how it will affect every person inside or outside of your business.

Investment

Digital transformation almost always involves capital and technology-intensive investments. It is not uncommon for promising transformation projects to stall because of a lack of funds, or due to technology infrastructure that cannot cope with increased demands.

Starting a budgeting process right at the start of planning a digital transformation project is essential. This helps ensure that the scope of a project does not grow beyond the capabilities of an enterprise to fund it. A realistic budgeting and funding approach is crucial because a stalled transformation project creates disruption, confusion and brings little value to a business.

Communications

From the get-go, any digital strategy, regardless of size, should be founded on clear and constant communication between all stakeholders involved in a project. This ensures everyone is in the loop on the focus of the project, their specific roles within it, and which processes are going to change. In addition, continuous communication helps build a spirit of shared success and ensures everyone has the information they need to address any frustrations or challenges that may occur as time passes. When developing an effective communication plan, Ian’s advice is to hardly mention the word digital at all.

The best digital strategies explain what digital can do and also explain the outcomes. Successful communication around digital strategies uses language that everyone can understand, plain English, no buzzwords, no crazy acronyms and no silly speak.

Also read “Effective Leadership Communication” which covers how you can communicate effectively to ensure that everyone in the team are on the same page.

Technology

While there are many technologies currently seeing rapid growth and adoption, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will need to implement all of them in your business. The choice of technology depends upon the process you are trying to optimise. Technology, as a matter of fact, is just a means to support your idea and the associated business processes.

People often get overwhelmed with modern technologies and try to implement all of them in their current business processes. The focus should be on finding the technologies that rightly fit your business objectives and implement them effectively.

Never assume that rolling out a piece of technology is just going to work. When embarking on a digital project, deciding what not to do is just as important as deciding what to do. Look at whether a piece of technology can actually add value to your business or if it’s just a passing trend. Each digital project should hence be presented to Board with a business case that outlines the business value, return on investment and the associated benefits and risks, for board consideration.

Measurement

No strategy is complete without a goal and a Digital Strategy is no different. To measure the effectiveness of your plan you will need to set up some key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics will demonstrate the effectiveness of the plan and will also guide your future decision making. You will need to set up smart goals that have clear achievable figures along with a timeline. These goals will guide and optimise the entire execution of a transformation project and ensure that the team does not lose focus.

Any decent strategy should say where we are now, where we want to get to and how we’re going to get there, but also, more importantly, how are we going to monitor and track against our progress.

Also Read

Top quotes on Change & Trust by Stephen Covey

September 10, 2019September 10, 2019Leave a comment

I’ve first read this book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” in the 90’s – timeless inspiration!

“There are three constants in life – change, choice and principles.”
“Make time for planning; Wars are won in the general’s tent.”
“Be proactive.”
“Begin with the end in mind.”
“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smiling, nonapoloegetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside.”
“Put first things first.”
“Think win-win.”
“Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.”
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. Most people listen with the intent to reply.”
“If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.”
“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”
“Treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.”
“The key is not to prioritise what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.” “Leadership is a choice, not a position.”
“I am not a product of my circumstances, I am a product of my decisions.”
“Strength lies in differences not in similarities.”
“Listen with your eyes for feelings.”
“The way we see the problem is the problem.”
“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”
“Accountability breeds response-ability.”
“Highly proactive people don’t blame circumstances, conditions or conditioning for their behaviour. Their behaviour of their own conscious choice.”
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
“Be a light not a judge. Be a model not a choice. be part of the solution not part of the problem.”
“He who has a why can deal with any what or how.” Stephen Covey
“Our ultimate freedom is the right and power anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.”
“The only thing that endures over time is the Law of the Farm. You must prepare the ground, plant the seed, cultivate, and water it if you expect to reap the harvest.”
“A personal mission statement becomes the DNA for every other decision we make.”
“Courage is not the absence of fear but the awareness that something else is more important.”
“To achieve goals you’ve never achieved before you need to start doing things you’ve never done before.”
“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”
“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
“Every human has four endowments – self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom. The power to choose, to respond, to change.”
“I teach people how to treat me by what I will allow.”
“Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else trie to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.”
“You can change the fruit without changing the root.”
“Our character is basically a composite of our habits because they are consistent. Often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.”
“Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.”
“If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control – myself.”
“Once you have a clear picture of your priorities that is values, goals, and high leverage activities, organise your life around them.”
“What you do has greater impact than what you say.”

Also see quotes from Peter Drucker

GANTT Charts

March 9, 2019June 19, 20191 Comment

A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart developed as a production control tool in 1917 by Henry L. Gantt, an American engineer and social scientist. Frequently used in project management, a Gantt chart provides a graphical illustration of a schedule that helps to plan, coordinate, and track specific tasks in a project.

Gantt charts may be simple versions created on graph paper or more complex automated versions created using project management applications such as Microsoft Project or Excel.

A Gantt chart is constructed with a horizontal axis representing the total time span of the project, broken down into increments (for example, days, weeks, or months) and a vertical axis representing the tasks that make up the project (for example, if the project is outfitting your computer with new software, the major tasks involved might be: conduct research, choose software, install software). Horizontal bars of varying lengths represent the sequences, timing, and time span for each task. Using the same example, you would put “conduct research” at the top of the verticle axis and draw a bar on the graph that represents the amount of time you expect to spend on the research, and then enter the other tasks below the first one and representative bars at the points in time when you expect to undertake them. The bar spans may overlap, as, for example, you may conduct research and choose software during the same time span. As the project progresses, secondary bars, arrowheads, or darkened bars may be added to indicate completed tasks, or the portions of tasks that have been completed. A vertical line is used to represent the report date.

Gantt charts give a clear illustration of project status, but one problem with them is that they don’t indicate task dependencies – you cannot tell how one task falling behind schedule affects other tasks. The PERT Chart, another popular project management charting method, is designed to do this. Automated Gantt charts store more information about tasks, such as the individuals assigned to specific tasks, and notes about the procedures. They also offer the benefit of being easy to change, which is helpful. Charts may be adjusted frequently to reflect the actual status of project tasks as, almost inevitably, they diverge from the original plan.

Also Read…

Management Communication Plan

PERT Charts

March 9, 2019June 19, 20192 Comments

A PERT chart is a project management tool used to schedule, organize, and coordinate tasks within a project. PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique, a methodology developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1950s to manage the Polaris submarine missile program. A similar methodology, the Critical Path Method (CPM) was developed for project management in the private sector at about the same time.

A PERT chart presents a graphic illustration of a project as a network diagram consisting of numbered nodes (either circles or rectangles) representing events, or milestones in the project linked by labelled vectors (directional lines) representing tasks in the project. The direction of the arrows on the lines indicates the sequence of tasks. In the diagram, for example, the tasks between nodes 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 and 10 must be completed in sequence. These are called dependent or serial tasks. The tasks between nodes 2 and 3, and nodes 2 and 4 are not dependent on the completion of one to start the other and can be undertaken simultaneously. These tasks are called parallel or concurrent tasks. Tasks that must be completed in sequence but that don’t require resources or completion time are considered to have event dependency. These are represented by dotted lines with arrows and are called dummy activities. For example, the dashed arrow linking nodes 6 and 9 indicates that the system files must be converted before the user test can take place, but that the resources and time required to prepare for the user test (writing the user manual and user training) are on another path. Numbers on the opposite sides of the vectors indicate the time allotted for the task.

The PERT chart is sometimes preferred over the Gantt Chart, another popular project management charting method, because it clearly illustrates task dependencies. On the other hand, the PERT chart can be much more difficult to interpret, especially on complex projects. Frequently, project managers use both techniques.

Also Read…

Management Communication Plan

Effective Leadership Communication

March 19, 2018August 23, 20184 Comments

We have all heard the saying: “Communication is the key to success!”

Leadership coaches and successful leaders all agree that when it comes to communication – A leader can never communicate enough! The communication gurus say that even when there is nothing to communicate, the leader should communicate that there is nothing to communicate…

I have been asked the questions: “ How do you communicate effectively to ensure that everyone in the team are on the same page?” and “How do you ensure that you address and manage people’s expectations?”

To answer this, I’ll start by over simplifying in saying that communication is simply the exchange of information between a sender and a receiver, through a specific medium. In electronic engineering information is transferred from a transmitter to a receiver as an electric signal in a controlled way, ensuring the receiver receives the same information that left the sender – effective communication. That is no different with humans. As a leader communicating to your team, you are distributing information amongst other humans, amongst people – and herein the challenge. People, unlike electronic senders and receivers (which are manufactured to be identical) are different, not one is alike. Hence will the interpretation of the information exchanged through communication differ as well. The challenge to effective communication is to align the interpretation of the information into a common understanding between the communicator (speaker/sender) and the audience (listener/receiver).

The ways in which you can ensure that you are addressing and managing people’s expectations better, are in understanding the people better. A better understanding of people, paradoxically comes through effective communication – to ask questions and listen more than actually doing the talking (active listening).

Communication is more than just your words – it is also:

how you say it – tone of voice, passion, authenticity
why you say it – the message’s intention
when you say it – time of day or after a specific milestone or prior an event
what you say AND what you don’t to say – sometimes what you don’t say gives a clearer picture of what you want to say…
your body language – facial expression, gestures and posture communicate a lot of the unsaid word

Communication Empowers

Consuming information leads to knowledge and knowledge is power. Thus communication leads to empowerment.

The ‘One Minute Manager’ refers to empowerment as: “Empowerment is something someone gives you – leadership is what you do to make it work.”

Communication empowers people with knowledge – to be informed and to feel part of something bigger. How the communication is being delivered (leadership) will determine it’s outcome.

What is Leadership – My definition: “Leadership is the art of leading a group of people or an organisation to execute a common task by providing a vision that they follow willingly through the inspiration received from the leader’s passion, knowledge, methodologies, approach, and ability to influence the interests of all members and stakeholders.”

How can you accomplish this if you cannot effectively communicate the vision in a way that people feel inspired to willingly take action towards achieving it? Effective communication is key…

You can have the best team mission with SMART objectives but if you cannot communicate it to your team, you will struggle to make progress. How well you can communicate your plan (unambiguously) will determine if your team will really mobilise and unite behind you and go the extra mile to make it happen. The ultimate success measure of effective communication is: “your plan becomes the team’s plan” – everybody on the same page!

People are not mind readers – they need clear instructions and clear information to make decisions and conduct their work, especially if the work is delivered within a team where coherence and a mutual output objective are of the essence. Ultimately, it is in your best interest to accept responsibility for getting what you need to succeed in the workplace. As leaders it is in your best interest and your responsibility to ensure that what’s needed to succeed, is effectively communicated to your work teams.

Consider This

You can improve the effectiveness of your communication through paying attention to the following aspects, each discussed in more detail below:

Know & Understand your audience
Motivational & Confidence building
Have a Plan
Make sure the communication subject is clear – stick to it
Be Direct
Be Authentic
Enough detail
Bi-directional communication is more impactful
Common Cause
Think before you speak
Emotional Intelligence
Get Assurance – get feedback, assure the message sent is the message received
Build Trust
Situational leadership – choose the communication style to suite the situation

Know & Understand the Audience

Being an effective communicator allows you to address the interests and concerns of your target audience whether it being your team, your customer or client, the stakeholders or an audience listening to your presentation. Knowing and understanding your audience help to ensure that your grab their attention when you communicate and that they feel your are addressing the message to them. To understand your audience better and to structure communication appropriately, you can ask questions like:

Who is the audience?
Why is that the audience? (sometimes this is obvious but by asking this question, really think about who should be getting this message and why? Why not?)
What are we trying to achieve?
What are your plans?
What are the expectations of me as the leader/presenter and of the people the team members/audience?
What will be the desired impact of your message? (Also think about the undesired outcomes and how you can proactively prevent that?)
What will be the impact of your plans to the business, the team and to the people personally? – Do not leave people with more questions than before.
Why can we productively work together? (Understanding this is key to structuring the message to utilise people’s strengths to bring acceptance and empowerment – a sense of belonging.)
How will we know we are doing a great job? (How will this be measured within the audience – everyone needs to understand the metrics.)
Are you using a language (terminology and jargon) that the audience can relate to? There is a difference in technology speak and business speak. Align the vocabulary to your target audience – i.e. when addressing business leaders do not use too much technical acronyms and terms, rather focus on outcomes and financial numbers.
Do you understand the audience’s needs?
How can you, as the leader, meet their needs?
How frequently do I need to communicate? (Constant)
What method, approach and medium (usually a combination of) will deliver the message best? (Face to face, one to one, round table, town hall, informal stand-up, email, presentation (power-point), graphs, bullet points, etc…)
To what level of detail do I need to go into, to describe clearly what I mean? (Post communication, everybody must have the same picture in their minds.)

Motivational and Confidence building

Communication should always be motivational and aim to build confidence within the audience – especially when bad news is being delivered. Ensure that you mention the performance of the team, the success resulting from the efforts. The positive future that awaits and the confidence that you have in the teams abilities to realise that future. Keep repremending content to the point and as short as possible and always follow it up with a positive prospect building trust and confidence.

Have a plan

If you are communicating change or progress, you must come prepared with a plan. Have a relevant understanding of the past, the present and the future. The plan is usually “how” the team will progress from where they have been, using what they have today to build the desired future. Progress against a plan must always be measurable to unsure continuous improvement.

Be clear on what is being communicated

Ensure that everyone is clear of the subject being communicated. Focus on the key message of the communication and present it in a direct and authentic way. Stick to the subject. Ensure that the message comes with the right context and content for the receiver to place it in the right perspective.

Be Direct

I believe in a direct approach – say it as it is. Have the guts to say what is needed. Speak about the hard things that no one talks about but everyone wants to hear. Address the elephant in the room, preferably before you are asked about it.

Be Authentic

My believe is to always be truthful and authentic in delivering your message, be yourself – people see straight through anything else…

Enough detail

Ensure that you communicate just enough detail to ensure everyone has the same picture in his or her minds after you have communicated. Too much detail and people will loose interest. Too little detail and people will makeup their own inconsistent picture. Remember the story of the group of people that were told that there is a cat in the room next door… the storyteller waited for the picture to start forming and then asked each one of the audience to describe it. As you can imagine various different pictures were presented – a black cat, a ginger cat or is it a tiger?

Always be prepared to go into way more detail than what you expect – your ability to use detailed facts to support your message, especially when asked about it, will determine the credibility of your message.

Bi-directional

Successful communication always has to be two-way. You have to be a good listener as well. Be prepared to have collaboratively discussions – listen intently before you respond. Do not formulate your next response in your head instead of listening to what is being said or asked. Your team will have a wealth of knowledge and insight that might help to enhance the right picture. This means being able to have a meaningful discussion with people, understanding, assisting and facilitating the resolution of their problems, ensuring people know what to do and why they are doing it without you having to tell them how to do it. (See Success – people come first).

Effective communication is the continuous search and commitment to seek for a better understanding. Approach conversations from a learning perspective, an opportunity to get to know more rather than a one directional “tell” perspective.

Common Cause

For the message to hit home it must address a common cause – something that address the benefit of the team but also on an individual level. Either create a common cause in your communication or remind people of the common cause – why it is important to be part of something bigger rather than just you as an individual.

Think before your speak

Stop and think things through before you act in haste, sending out an ill-considered communication. Think what needs to happen, what are the benefits, risks, what are the desired outcome… Then compile a well-considered and effective communication. Remember this – Once the message is out, you can never really take it back.

Emotional Intelligence

In the blog post on Emotional Intelligence, EQ is defined under five interconnected components:

Self-awareness
Self-regulation
Motivation
Empathy
Social skills

Use your own EI to assess the situation before your decide on the appropriate way to react and how what needs communicating. In short I say:” Trust your gut feeling.”

Get Assurance

Continuously test the effectiveness of your communication by asking people to relay to you what their interpretation is. Ask this questions at all levels – do not assume that the organisation structure will distribute the intended message to all that needs to hear it – go check for yourself. Get feedback. Get the assurance that people understand what you are communicating and that if people are remembering and acting on what has been communicated. If not – communicate again, again!

Build Trust

You want your communications to be trusted. How do you build trust? By doing what you say you are going to do and build relationships at all levels with integrity and honesty. When you are trusted, your communication is on-boarded more sincerely and you are taken seriously – building rapport.

Situational Communication (and Leadership)

There are many different leadership styles (read more here) as outlined in the list below:

Autocratic Leadership
Bureaucratic Leadership
Charismatic Leadership
Democratic/Participative Leadership
Laissez-Faire Leadership
People-Oriented/Relations-Oriented Leadership
Servant Leadership
Task-Oriented Leadership
Transactional Leadership
Transformational Leadership

The “One Minute Manager” summarised leadership into four basic styles:

Directing – The leader provides specific instructions and closely supervises the accomplishment. (Communicate mainly by telling people what needs to be done)
Coaching – The leader continuous to direct and closely supervise but also explains decisions, solicits suggestions and support progress made. (Communicate a directive or corrective after team collaboration)
Supporting – The leader facilitates and supports people’s efforts toward accomplishment and shares responsibility for decision making with them. (Communicate similarly to the Coaching style)
Delegating – The leader turns over responsibility for decision making and problem solving to subordinates. (Communicate collaboratively and inclusively)

Usually the leaders default communication style is directly related to the leadership style. An effective leader can adapt his management style and hence his communication style according to the situation, including consideration for the audience and the nature of the message to be communicated.

To Conclude

Remember and think about all the aspects mentioned for consideration, before you communicate. Be flexible and agile in your approach to communication – as a leader you must be able to fluently switch between different leadership and communication styles and mediums to ensure optimum results, in the moment. There is no one glove that fit them all, leadership is not a science – hence the art of leadership. You’ll know when you get it right – do more of those!

Every situation is different and hence can a single communication approach not be seen as superior to the other – there are no equals. I’ll conclude with this saying from the ‘One Minute Manager’: “There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of un-equals.”

Also Read:

Management Communication Plan

August 18, 2014July 31, 20194 Comments

https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/secrets-running-project-status-meetings-7009

A good project Communications Management Plan ensures that you have effective communications throughout the life of your project. Everyone knows that 80% of a Project Manager’s time is spent communicating; therefore, to be an effective Project Manager you must have good communications skills. Our Communications Management Plan template helps you to think through the communication requirements for your project and plan for the most effective communications. This template is based on the communications guidelines according to the fourth edition of the PMBOK.

If you like this Communications Management Plan Template please do share with your colleagues.

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE

Introduction

The purpose of the Communications Management Plan is to define the communication requirements for the project and how information will be distributed. The Communications Management Plan defines the following:

What information will be communicated—to include the level of detail and format
How the information will be communicated—in meetings, email, telephone, web portal, etc.
When information will be distributed—the frequency of project communications both formal and informal
Who is responsible for communicating project information
Communication requirements for all project stakeholders
What resources the project allocates for communication
How any sensitive or confidential information is communicated and who must authorize this
How changes in communication or the communication process are managed
The flow of project communications
Any constraints, internal or external, which affect project communications
Any standard templates, formats, or documents the project must use for communicating
An escalation process for resolving any communication-based conflicts or issues

This Communications Management Plan sets the communications framework for this project. It will serve as a guide for communications throughout the life of the project and will be updated as communication needs change. This plan identifies and defines the roles of persons involved in this project. It also includes a communications matrix which maps the communication requirements of this project. An in-depth guide for conducting meetings details both the communications rules and how the meetings will be conducted, ensuring successful meetings. A project team directory is included to provide contact information for all stakeholders directly involved in the project.

Communications Management Approach

Approximately 80% of a Project Manager’s time is spent communicating. Think about it – as a Project Manager you are spending most of your time measuring and reporting on the performance of the project, composing and reading emails, conducting meetings, writing the project plan, meeting with team members, overseeing work being performed, meeting with clients over lunch and many more activities related to your projects.

You should give considerable thought to how you want to manage communications on this project. By having a solid communications management approach you’ll find that many project management problems can be avoided. In this section give an overview of your communications management approach.

The Project Manager will take a proactive role in ensuring effective communications on this project. The communications requirements are documented in the Communications Matrix presented in this document. The Communications Matrix will be used as the guide for what information to communicate, who is to do the communicating, when to communicate it and to whom to communicate.

As with most project plans, updates or changes may be required as the project progresses or changes are approved. Changes or updates may be required due to changes in personnel, scope, budget, or other reasons. Additionally, updates may be required as the project matures and additional requirements are needed. The project manager is responsible for managing all proposed and approved changes to the communications management plan. Once the change is approved, the project manager will update the plan and supporting documentation and will distribute the updates to the project team and all stakeholders. This methodology is consistent with the project’s Change Management Plan and ensures that all project stakeholders remain aware and informed of any changes to communications management.

Communications Management Constraints

All projects are subject to limitations and constraints as they must be within scope and adhere to budget, scheduling, and resource requirements. Project planning and documentation are no exception to this rule. There may also be legislative, regulatory, technology, or organizational policy requirements which must be followed as part of communications management. These constraints must be clearly understood and communicated to all stakeholders. While communications management is arguably one of the most important aspects of project management, it must be done in an effective manner and within the constraints of the allocated budget, time, and resources.

All project communication activities will occur within the project’s approved budget, schedule, and resource allocations. The project manager is responsible for ensuring that communication activities are performed by the project team and without external resources which will result in exceeding the authorized budget. Communication activities will occur in accordance with the frequencies detailed in the Communication Matrix in order to ensure the project adheres to schedule constraints. Any deviation of these timelines may result in excessive costs or schedule delays and must be approved by the project sponsor.

ABC Corp. organizational policy states that where applicable, standardized formats and templates must be used for all formal project communications. The details of these policy requirements are provided in the section titled “Standardization of Communication” in this document.

ABC Corp. organizational policy also states that only a Vice President or higher level employee may authorize the distribution of confidential information. The project manager is responsible for ensuring that approval is requested and obtained prior to the distribution of any confidential information regarding this project.

Stakeholder Communication Requirements

Most projects consist of a broad range of stakeholders all of whom may have differing interests and influence on the project. As such, it is important for project teams to determine the communication requirements of these stakeholders in order to more effectively communicate project information. There are a number of methods for determining stakeholder communication requirements; however, it is imperative that they are completely understood in order to effectively manage their interest, expectations, and influence and ensure a successful project.

As part of identifying all project stakeholders, the project manager will communicate with each stakeholder in order to determine their preferred frequency and method of communication. This feedback will be maintained by the project manager in the project’s Stakeholder Register. Standard project communications will occur in accordance with the Communication Matrix; however, depending on the identified stakeholder communication requirements, individual communication is acceptable and within the constraints outlined for this project.

In addition to identifying communication preferences, stakeholder communication requirements must identify the project’s communication channels and ensure that stakeholders have access to these channels. If project information is communicated via secure means or through internal company resources, all stakeholders, internal and external, must have the necessary access to receive project communications.

Once all stakeholders have been identified and communication requirements are established, the project team will maintain this information in the project’s Stakeholder Register and use this, along with the project communication matrix as the basis for all communications.

Roles

Project Sponsor
The project sponsor is the champion of the project and has authorized the project by signing the project charter. This person is responsible for the funding of the project and is ultimately responsible for its success. Since the Project Sponsor is at the executive level communications should be presented in summary format unless the Project Sponsor requests more detailed communications.

Program Manager
The Program Manager oversees the project at the portfolio level and owns most of the resources assigned to the project. The Program Manager is responsible for overall program costs and profitability as such they require more detailed communications than the Project Sponsor.

Key Stakeholders
Normally Stakeholders includes all individuals and organizations who are impacted by the project. For this project we are defining a subset of the stakeholders as Key Stakeholders. These are the stakeholders with whom we need to communicate with and are not included in the other roles defined in this section. The Key Stakeholders includes executive management with an interest in the project and key users identified for participation in the project.

Change Control Board
Also knows as the Change Authorisation Board or CAB, the Change Control Board is a designated group which reviews technical specifications and authorizes changes within the organizations infrastructure. Technical design documents, user impact analysis and implementation strategies are typical of the types of communication this group requires.

Customer
You should identify the customer if the project is the result of a solicitation. In such a case, the customer will be involved in reviewing prototypes, approval of designs and implementation stages and acceptance of the final project the project generates.

The customer for this project is . As the customer who will be accepting the final deliverable of this project they will be informed of the project status including potential impacts to the schedule for the final deliverable or the product itself.

Project Manager
The Project Manager has overall responsibility for the execution of the project. The Project Manager manages day to day resources, provides project guidance and monitors and reports on the projects metrics as defined in the Project Management Plan. As the person responsible for the execution of the project, the Project Manager is the primary communicator for the project distributing information according to this Communications Management Plan.

Project Team (Working Groups)
The Project Team is comprised of all persons who have a role performing work on the project. The project team needs to have a clear understanding of the work to be completed and the framework in which the project is to be executed. Since the Project Team is responsible for completing the work for the project they played a key role in creating the Project Plan including defining its schedule and work packages. The Project Team requires a detailed level of communications which is achieved through day to day interactions with the Project Manager and other team members along with weekly team meetings. Depending on the nature of the work, the project team can be organised into Working Groups.

Steering Committee
The Steering Committee includes management representing the departments which make up the organization. The Steering Committee provides strategic oversight for changes which impact the overall organization. The purpose of the Steering Committee is to ensure that changes within the organization are effected in such a way that it benefits the organization as a whole. The Steering Committee requires communication on matters which will change the scope of the project and its deliverables.

Technical Lead
The Technical Lead is a person on the Project Team who is designated to be responsible for ensuring that all technical aspects of the project are addressed and that the project is implemented in a technically sound manner. The Technical Lead is responsible for all technical designs, overseeing the implementation of the designs and developing as-build documentation. The Technical Lead requires close communications with the Project Manager and the Project Team.

Project Team Directory

The following table presents contact information for all persons identified in this communications management plan. The email addresses and phone numbers in this table will be used to communicate with these people.

Role	Name	Title	Organization/ Department	Email	Phone
Project Sponsor	A. White	VP of Technology	IT	a.white@abc.com	(555) 555-1212
Program Manager	B. Brown	PMO Manager	PMO	b.brown@abc.com	(555) 555-1213
Project Manager	C. Black	Project Manager	PMO	c.black@abc.com	(555) 555-1212
Project Stakeholders	See Stakeholder Register	See Stakeholder Register	See Stakeholder Register	See Stakeholder Register	See Stakeholder Register
Customer	J. Doe XYZ Corp.	Manager	IT	j.doe@xyz.com	(555) 555-8121
Project Team
Technical Lead

Communication Methods and Technologies

Many times, the methods and technologies used to communicate are just as important of a consideration as the information being communicated. Imagine a large project with many stakeholders who all have different technological capabilities. Some may have access to a share drive while others do not. Some may have access to video teleconferencing and others only have telephone and email capabilities. In order to be effective, project information must be communicated to everyone involved by some method using available technology. Determining communication methods and what technologies are available should be part of determining stakeholder communication requirements.

The project team will determine, in accordance with ABC Corp. organizational policy, the communication methods and technologies based on several factors to include: stakeholder communication requirements, available technologies (internal and external), and organizational policies and standards.

ABC Corp. maintains a SharePoint platform within the PMO which all projects use to provide updates, archive various reports, and conduct project communications. This platform enables senior management, as well as stakeholders with compatible technology, to access project data and communications at any point in time. SharePoint also provides the ability for stakeholders and project team members to collaborate on project work and communication.

For stakeholders who do not have the ability to access SharePoint, a web site will also be established for the project. Access to the website will be controlled with a username and password. Any stakeholders identified who are not able to access SharePoint will be issued a unique username and password in order to access the web site. The project manager is responsible for ensuring all project communications and documentation are copied to the web site and that the content mirrors what is contained on the SharePoint platform.

ABC Corp. maintains software licenses for MS Project software. All project teams are responsible for developing, maintaining, and communicating schedules using this software. PERT Charts are the preferred format for communicating schedules to stakeholders. The project schedule will be maintained on both the SharePoint platform and the project website.

All project communication and documentation, in addition to being maintained on the SharePoint platform and project website, will be archived on the internal ABC Corp. shared drive which resides in the PMO program directory. Organizational naming conventions for files and folder will be applied to all archived work.

Communications Matrix

The following table identifies the communications requirements for this project.

Communications Matrix example :: Download the file here…

Report Drumbeat example :: Download the file here…

Communication Flowchart

Flowcharts provide a visual representation of a process or processes which often allow a better understanding of how the process is intended to work. Project communications may be extremely complex depending on the size and scope of the project and the number of stakeholders. A flowchart provides all stakeholders with a better understanding of the steps involved with the distribution of all project communications.

The communication flowchart below was created to aid in project communication. This flowchart provides a framework for the project team to follow for this project. However, there may be occasions or situations which fall outside of the communication flowchart where additional clarification is necessary. In these situations the Project Manager is responsible for discussing the communication with the Project Sponsor and making a determination on how to proceed.

Guidelines for Meetings

Meeting Agenda
Meeting Agenda will be distributed 5 business days in advance of the meeting. The Agenda should identify the presenter for each topic along with a time limit for that topic. The first item in the agenda should be a review of action items from the previous meeting.

Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes will be distributed within 2 business days following the meeting. Meeting minutes will include the status of all items from the agenda along with new action items and the Parking Lot list.

Action Items
Action Items are recorded in both the meeting agenda and minutes. Action items will include both the action item along with the owner of the action item. Meetings will start with a review of the status of all action items from previous meetings and end with a review of all new action items resulting from the meeting. The review of the new action items will include identifying the owner for each action item.

Meeting Chair Person
The Chair Person is responsible for distributing the meeting agenda, facilitating the meeting and distributing the meeting minutes. The Chair Person will ensure that the meeting starts and ends on time and that all presenters adhere to their allocated time frames.

Note Taker
The Note Taker is responsible for documenting the status of all meeting items, maintaining a Parking Lot item list and taking notes of anything else of importance during the meeting. The Note Taker will give a copy of their notes to the Chair Person at the end of the meeting as the Chair Person will use the notes to create the Meeting Minutes.

Time Keeper
The Time Keeper is responsible for helping the facilitator adhere to the time limits set in the meeting agenda. The Time Keeper will let the presenter know when they are approaching the end of their allocated time. Typically a quick hand signal to the presenter indicating how many minutes remain for the topic is sufficient.

Parking Lot
The Parking Lot is a tool used by the facilitator to record and defer items which aren’t on the meeting agenda; however, merit further discussion at a later time or through another forum.

A parking lot record should identify an owner for the item as that person will be responsible for ensuring follow-up. The Parking Lot list is to be included in the meeting minutes.

Communication Standards

Standardization is a proven way to simplify the complexities of project management communications. Many organizations develop and use standard templates or formats for the various communication tools used throughout projects. Standard templates and formats may be applied to certain types of project meetings or specific types of communication (i.e. emails, status reports, etc.). By using standardization, organizations can help ensure that its project teams and stakeholders have a thorough understanding of what is expected and achieve consistent and effective communications.

In addition to standard templates and/or formats, organizations may standardize file naming or sharing conventions. An organization may use SharePoint or some other type of Web Portal/Network tool (blogs, message boards, etc.) as a standard platform from which to share information and communicate. Additionally, an organization may have standard file naming conventions for their stored data on their internal share drives. Many of these tools and new technologies are used in today’s projects with team members and stakeholders often spread over wide geographic areas. Standardization provides a level of simplicity to an organization’s communication platforms and improves effectiveness and efficiency.

For this project, ABC Corp. will utilize standard organizational formats and templates for all formal project communications. Formal project communications are detailed in the project’s communication matrix and include:

Kickoff Meeting – project team will utilize ABC Corp. standard templates for meeting agenda and meeting minutes. Additionally, any slides presented will use the ABC Corp. standard slideshow template.

Project Team Meetings – project team will utilize ABC Corp. standard templates for meeting agenda and meeting minutes. Additionally, any slides presented will use the ABC Corp. standard slideshow template.

Technical Design Meetings – project team will utilize ABC Corp. standard templates for meeting agenda and meeting minutes. Additionally, any slides presented will use the ABC Corp. standard slideshow template.

Monthly Project Status Meetings – project team will utilize ABC Corp. standard templates for meeting agenda and meeting minutes. Additionally, any slides presented will use the ABC Corp. standard slideshow template.

Project Status Reports – project team will utilize ABC Corp. standard templates for meeting agenda and meeting minutes. Additionally the standard project status report document, available on the share drive, will be used to provide project status.

Informal project communications should be professional and effective but there is no standard template or format that must be used.

Communication Escalation Process

As issues or complications arise with regards to project communications it may become necessary to escalate the issue if a resolution cannot be achieved within the project team. Project stakeholders may have many different conflicting interests in a given project. While escalations are a normal part of project management, there must be a documented process that defines how those escalations will take place.

Efficient and timely communication is the key to successful project completion. As such, it is imperative that any disputes, conflicts, or discrepancies regarding project communications are resolved in a way that is conducive to maintaining the project schedule, ensuring the correct communications are distributed, and preventing any ongoing difficulties. In order to ensure projects stay on schedule and issues are resolved, ABC Corp. will use its standard escalation model to provide a framework for escalating communication issues. The table below defines the priority levels, decision authorities, and timeframes for resolution.

Priority	Definition	Decision Authority	Timeframe for Resolution
Priority 1	Major impact to project or business operations. If not resolved quickly there will be a significant adverse impact to revenue and/or schedule.	Vice President or higher	Within 4 hours
Priority 2	Medium impact to project or business operations which may result in some adverse impact to revenue and/or schedule.	Project Sponsor	Within one business day
Priority 3	Slight impact which may cause some minor scheduling difficulties with the project but no impact to business operations or revenue.	Project Manager	Within two business days
Priority 4	Insignificant impact to project but there may be a better solution.	Project Manager	Work continues and any recommendations are submitted via the project change control process

** NOTE: Any communication including sensitive and/or confidential information will require escalation to VP level or higher for approval prior to external distribution.

Glossary of Communication Terminology

Term	Definition
Communication	The effective sending and receiving of information. Ideally, the information received should match the information sent. It is the responsibility of the sender to ensure this takes place.
Stakeholder	Individuals or groups involved in the project or whose interests may be affected by the project’s execution or outcome.
Communications Management Plan	Portion of the overall Project Management Plan which details how project communications will be conducted, who will participate in communications, frequency of communications, and methods of communications.
Escalation	The process which details how conflicts and issues will be passed up the management chain for resolution as well as the timeframe to achieve resolution

Also Read:

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