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Communication Plan template
Every Project Manager you talk to will have their own unique way of communicating to their team. However, there is always one characteristic that all successful Project Managers have in common, they know how to use a Communication Plan. The purpose of project communication templates is to provide a single, authoritative location for all project updates and statuses. No more wasting time addressing the same questions or discovering that your employer spends hours looking for your papers. There is no one size fits all with communicating, however with The PMO Squad Communication Plan template you can receive a one-stop-shop to get all your project's communication needs.
Why use a Communication Plan?
To make connections between audiences, messages, channels, activities, and materials more clear: The communications planning process will assist you in determining who you need to contact, what you want them to know, and how you will reach them.
Transparency can be broadly defined as the degree to which information is readily available and shared within an organization, both among managers and employees, but also outwards to stakeholders.
It's important to call out the certain people that are going to help in your project. Summarize your Communication Plan by describing:
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The basis for creating the plan
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The current status of Communication in your team
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The Communication objectives, events and responsibilities
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The feedback measures and success criteria
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Any planning risks and issues
Now that you have described the environment within which formal Communication are made, the next step is to describe the current status of Communication within your team. Try and make your objectives: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Timely (S.M.A.R.T) where possible. Increasing stakeholder awareness.
How do you Develop a Plan for Communication?
1. Find the purpose of your communication. The why to every Communication Plan, what is the purpose behind communicating with your teammates onboard this project.
2. Identify your target audience. Evaluate your past and current communications: Now that you have your communications materials in one place, look for trends, successes and losses. Did your communications style change over time? Which messages delivered the best and worst results?
3. Plan and design your project scope. Measure the scope of your communications: Make an inventory of the places where you communicate with your contacts, including text and design elements. Everything counts — even email subject lines.
4. Plan for any obstacles that may come your way. Perform a SWOT analysis, this identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in your communications. Where do you succeed, and where do you fail? What factors could help your communications, and what factors could hurt them?
5. Strategize how you will connect with stakeholders who can help you spread your message. Everyone who interacts with your project has a role to play in your communications, including your team members, customers and stakeholders. Ask how effective they think your communications are working for them.
Benefits of Using a Communication Plan
Projects can be difficult and using tools to ease project stress is important. Keeping your team aligned to understand What, How and When communications will take place will pay dividends for the duration of the project. Team members should be able to use the Communication Plan to answer questions such as:
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What communication channels are we using? What is each channel used for?
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When should we communicate in person vs. asynchronously?
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What are the project roles
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Who is the project manager
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Who is on the project team?
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Who are the project stakeholders?
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How are important project details, like project status updates, going to be communicated? How frequently will these be shared?
From the answers to these questions; you now can build your action plan, which outlines what you must do in order to effectively connect with your stakeholders. Any project must communicate on a regular basis. Although the purpose, audience, message, and channels may vary, the requirement to maintain ties with your stakeholders does not. As a consequence, adopting and changing your Communication Plan based on your knowledge is a vital aspect of any communication strategy throughout the life of your project.
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Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change.
The PMO Squad Communication Plan makes it simple to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. With a team that has clarity about the task they're doing, there's no more delays in project targets.
