Enhance Your Comms Plans With These Advanced Communication Techniques
Creating your project communication plan is only the first step in making sure the right messages reach the right stakeholders. You’ve probably got your document set up with a list of key stakeholders, and the messages you’ll be sharing. But you can go further than that to engage your community and ensure your messages land effectively.
In this article, we’ll share 5 advanced communication techniques to level up your communications management plans.
Customizing communication approaches
These days, stakeholders are used to receiving tailored communications, such as discounts on products they buy regularly at the supermarket or recommendations for products that “other people bought next” on shopping platforms. There’s an expectation that workplace communications can be equally as tailored, and it’s easier than you think.
If you have carried out a robust project stakeholder identification process, then you’ll know the kinds of communication and the channels that each stakeholder prefers.
Tailor communication methods and frequency to fit stakeholder preferences. Segment stakeholders into groups with similar needs and customize communication plans for each group. For example, some will prefer email updates, others will be happy for a quick ping on your instant messaging platform.
Use your enterprise tools
Gone are the days when stakeholders had to wait until the end of the month for a backwards-looking view of project performance. Today’s enterprise tools can give you real-time updates. There are plenty of benefits to working with up-to-date data including enhanced visibility, quick access to information, and improved decision-making. Dashboards update in real-time, making it easy to see exactly what is going on.
One big drawback of real-time updates is that people have to enter the data for you to be able to access it. You don’t want your project team members glued to their phones entering data all the time: they should be out there doing the work of project delivery! So there is a balance to be had to ensure that you get the most out of your tech and that your team don’t feel they need to provide hourly status updates.
Encourage your stakeholders to use integrated communication platforms so that you can streamline communication for them and reduce tool-switching. Ask around and you’ll probably hear that your team members feel they have too many tools open during the day. If you can integrate your communication tools, for example, using the APIs or building interfaces between Slack and Zoom and Google Drive, you can avoid duplicating data in multiple places and make it easier for people to engage with the communications you’re sharing. Provide team training where necessary so that everyone knows how to make the most of the suite of products they already have access to.
Create custom dashboards
Create dashboards for a workspace, project or program in Primavera P6. Select the tiles that will be most useful to your stakeholder segment. Then create another dashboard that shows a different view of the same data for a different stakeholder group.
Make the most of the features available to you by offering a deep-dive view of the data or a higher level, strategic view, depending on who is looking at the data.
Dashboards pull information from the single source of the truth, so whatever tiles you choose to display, you know the data will always be consistent. Part of your project communications planning should be identifying what, and how many, dashboards you’ll need.
Incorporate feedback loops
It’s easier than ever to incorporate continuous feedback mechanisms into the way you lead projects.
Implement systems for regular feedback from team members and stakeholders – even a humble Microsoft Form will do the job. There are also built-in feedback features in many project management tools.
Surveys are one way to collect feedback. You can also schedule regular review meetings, retrospectives, and feedback sessions.
Each session (or survey) should have a particular purpose. Think about what it is that you want feedback on. It could be the process of delivery, or it could be something to do with the deliverables themselves.
People feel heard when they are asked for their feedback. You should find that loops help build confidence that messages have been received and understood. Additionally, you’ll see improved communication effectiveness, faster issue resolution, and enhanced stakeholder satisfaction.
Leveraging AI
You might not want ChatGPT to write your project communications, but there are other ways that you can leverage AI.
For example, platforms like Microsoft Power BI or AI-driven project management tools offer predictive analytics. Predictive analytics can be helpful for identifying potential delays, resource conflicts or other gaps. Then you can step in and help resolve the problem.
Natural language processing tools can sift through lots of data, like your lessons learned reports or that feedback you’ve gathered, identify key themes and create recommended actions. That can help you work out which areas of the business need more support with implementing the deliverables so you can best decide where to spend your time.
Of course, if you feel like generative AI tools could write your email responses or polish up a project report, then go for it! Just be careful not to share sensitive, company confidential information with any publicly-available AI tool without understanding how the tool will use that data. You don’t want your project performance data to be available to others.
Project communication management is an area that affects every type of project, from the smallest in-house change to the largest construction project. Stakeholders at every level need to know what’s going on and to receive the information that will help them do their jobs. Getting it right can be simple and you can be even more effective with the advanced communication techniques we’ve talked about above.