When is the best time to bring Internal Communications onto your project team?
This post represents my own experience providing comms support on projects, but its tried and tested. The answer is Early. As Early as possible. Or, failing that, not the week or night before go- live!
I’ve created a scenario to highlight the reasons for this:
An IT Team has been working all year on rolling out new software that will have implications for many of the systems that employees use daily. The team have done a great job, they’ve put in long hours, they’ve overcome all the challenges. There’s just one problem: 99% of employees don’t know it’s happening and will have a problem logging in or using important software after the go live.
In this scenario, the hard work of the project team is potentially going to be overlooked because the lack of communication has upset the intended audience i.e. most of your employees!
Here’s what I do and ask for when I’m brought in at the right time on a project such as this:
I ask for the timeline of the project, especially the key delivery dates.
I ask about the level of confidentiality and when we can start to communicate with our employees.
I ask for the project to be explained to me in straightforward, non-technical, language. I use this to create project key messages that can be used repetitively in all project communications.
I ask who the sponsor of the project is, because usually key communications will be signed off by this person.
I ask who the project will impact and if everyone will be impacted at the same time.
I ask if training will be needed for the end users.
I ask for stories that we can use to make the project interesting and engaging to an audience.
I ask for budget for a go live/launch day celebration!
Those are just a few of the MANY reasons why it’s a good idea to include your #InternalComms team as early as possible to ensure project success. Or, if you don’t have an in-house team, work with a contractor like me to help you create your project comms strategy.