You don’t have to be in a communication role to be tasked with writing a comms plan. Project Managers, Team Leaders, Change Managers … and everything in between will likely need to write at least a basic plan at some point in their careers. Why? Because change is the one constant! 

The good news is, you don’t need to over-think it. Usually it’s a case of keeping it simple. Here’s our quick guide to writing a solid comms plan. 

Start with the end in mind

What is it you want to achieve? We like to use three objectives: know, feel, and do. That is, what do you need your audience to know about what’s happening, what do you want them to feel (hint - positive emotions are good!), and what’s the call to action? Once you’re clear on those objectives, you can work your way backwards to determine timing, messaging, channels, and voice.

Set your strategy

Your strategy is your ‘how’ - that is, how you’ll approach your communications. It isn’t your comms tactics! Your strategy helps you to determine what your tactics will be. For example, your strategy might be to align your comms to existing company events, use a multi-channel approach, use a digital-first approach, use a national event like R U OK? Day as a hook … there’s many ways you can cut it. You need to think about the approach that will best help you achieve your outcomes.

Define your audiences

Your audiences are your ‘who’. There is rarely a one-size-fits-all approach to communication, especially when it’s about change. You might need to break down your audience into different segments, such as senior leaders, team leaders, and team members. Your tactics and messaging will be different for each audience.

Write your key messages

Your messages are about your ‘why’. This is where you position what’s happening, the benefits, and generally make the case for why people should care. See our blog post on how to write key messages that actually cut through.

Write your plan

This is your ‘what’ and your ‘when’ - what comms activities will you actually do, and when will you do them? An easy way to start mapping this out is to use a table with headings: timing, audience, channel, voice, and message. It’s often also helpful to break down the plan into three phases: pre-announcement, announcement or launch, and post-launch.

Measure

How will you know if you’ve been successful if you don’t measure? Go back to your original know, feel, and do objectives and think about how you could measure your success. Remember, there’s a difference between measuring outcomes and measuring outputs. See our article on how to measure internal communication.

Want more tips on how to write a comms plan?

Listen to episode five of the Less Chatter, More Matter podcast for more juicy tips on how to write a communication plan.