Return to flip book view
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!thechangedecision.com1People Picture & Communication PlanA Tool for Effectively Communicating with Stakeholders1thechangedecision.com© 2020 The Change Decision
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!• Summarize the initiative and how people are involved, including employees and customers• [placeholder to describe the change]• [placeholder to describe the change]Situation01• Describe the expected outcomes of the initiative from the company’s perspective• [placeholder to describe the change initiative goals]• [placeholder to describe the change initiative goals]Project Goals02• Describe the expected outcomes for communication from the change initiative perspective• [placeholder to describe the communication goals]• [placeholder to describe the communication goals]Communication Goals03What is the situation?
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!Who is involved?Organization Leaders Departments / Teams Informal InfluencersList the organizations that must be involved or need to adopt the changeList theleaders in the organization that must support the projectList the departments/teamsin the organization that must support or adopt the changeList the people in the organization that are consideredinfluential
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!What are the information needs?StakeholderStakeholder’s Role or Relationship with the ChangeInformation They Need to SuccessfullyPerform Their RolePotentialCommunication Channels (include existing and to-be-created channels)
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!What are the communication channels?Channel Purpose Audience Frequency
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!What is the tactical communication plan?Target Date Message Name Audience ChannelDescription / PurposeReviewers / ApproversIdentify the ideal date to distribute the messageGive the message a name thatmakes it easy to refer toList the stakeholders that will receive this messageNamethe channel you’re using for the messageBrieflydescribe the message and the outcomes you want to achieveList the peoplethat need to review and/or approve the message before it’s distributed
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!thechangedecision.com7MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN30 31 1 2 3 4 56 7 8 9 10 11 1213 14 15 16 17 18 1920 21 22 23 24 25 2627 28 29 30 31 1 2[year]– [month]What is the calendar view?day8Provide a brief description of the planned messageday17Provide a brief description of the planned message7thechangedecision.com
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!ApproveIdentify who must approve the message before it’s distributed. Often executives or their proxies fall into this category.ReviewIdentify who needs to review the message for accuracy and to ensure it’s appropriate for the audience.CreateIdentify who will create the message. The lead for communication on the initiative is typically the creator of the message.Gather Content Identify who will provide content for the message. Typically, the team leading the effort is a good source because they are usually the most knowledgeable.1 2 3 4What is the review and approval process?• [name of person]• [name of person]• [name of person]• [name of person]• [name of person]• [name of person]• [name of person]• [name of person]
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!Some communication best practices…• Initial communication planning can take several weeks depending on how much has been decided about the change. Even so, communication begins as soon as the initiative starts. You may need to start communicating while you’re building out the plan.• The People Picture and Communication Plan is a living document. • For example, the target dates for messages change quite often. In fact, if you’re finding that your target date for message distribution doesn’t change very often it may mean that you’re not gathering enough feedback from the audience and adjusting based on that feedback.• Stakeholders change too! Some will take new roles on the initiative. Some will leave the initiative altogether. You’ll want to stay on top of this as things evolve.• If you’re not sure how your message will land with your audience, ask someone from that audience who you might consider to be in the “friends and family” category to review and provide feedback.• Don’t be surprised if during the review process people become concerned about the content. Often writing a message forces people to make decisions that haven’t been made yet. Your best bet is to be patient, revisit the intent behind the message, clarify the goals with the reviewers and get to a good compromise that has integrity while giving the audience the information they need.
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!Stakeholder Management
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!Stakeholder Roles that Typically Work TogetherStakeholderRoleInteraction Point
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!Additional Stakeholder TypesStakeholderRoleInteraction Point
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!Stakeholder Analysis by Role: [role name]StakeholderRole NameName of Individual or GroupDesired Outcomes Key MessagesCommunicationChannels
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!How will information flow?Change Advisory MeetingRaise risks and provide perspectives.Executive Leadership ForumStay informed and give direction.Employee SiteA place for the entire company to learn about the initiative and stay informed.Team Check-insStay aligned and make decisions.Team Leadership MeetingStay aligned and give direction.UpdateRegular update sent to stakeholders.
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!Some stakeholder management best practices…• As part of developing this plan, it’s good practice to meet with stakeholders to share how you’re setting up the information flow. You can ask for their reactions and if they believe it will meet their needs. This manages their expectations and alerts them to information they’ll begin to receive.• During the change process, sometimes stakeholders will say they do not feel informed. This is when you can share parts of this plan to show how you’re keeping everyone informed and ask them what they need that’s different or over and above what you’re doing now. You may uncover a gap in your plan or find they aren’t getting the information for some reason. You can typically solve these issues. The stakeholder may ask you for something that ’s unrealistic or unreasonable. That ’s when you’ll need to weigh their influence in the change and decide if you need to work on a compromise.• When the team needs to make time-sensitive decision, that sometimes means there isn't time to include the stakeholders that are usually involved. Because this is a typical situation, at the beginning of the initiative it’s good to acknowledge this could happen and ask for forgiveness in advance. When this situation does happen, the stakeholder should be informed as quickly as possible. Remember, they may need to inform and manage the expectations of their own stakeholders.• A best practice is to create a set of guiding principles for stakeholder management. This helps everyone involved see how the group is expected to treat stakeholders and the information flow process.
thechangedecision.comJoy at Work!Need help? Contact us or see our website and videos for more resources. Coaching LeadersWe coach leaders to lead their organization in a significant change to their business and grow joy in the process✼Change ProfessionalsWe coach Change Professionals to executive change strategies and positively contribute to employee engagement✺ConsultingWe specialize in growing joy in the workplace through change leadership, change management, complex multi-stakeholder decisions and team performance initiatives✱Training Courses• Savvy Change Leader Program• Change and Joy -Change Management Certification• Change Analytics Concentration❊