Overview
This communication strategy addresses a wide range of IPC-Next business needs with a number of communication activities that ensure the successful completion of the project. On the most basic level, the IT department will work on the logo design, implementation of an inventory management system, IT support, and software maintenance. These innovations will be used to rationalize the resource scheduling process to leverage cost-effective tools, aimed at the improved communication process across departments. On a more global scope, the IPC-Next will gain scalability for future business growth by expanding its operational efficiency.
Internal and external customers will benefit from the newly established dashboard with extended resources on availability, turnover, and schedule which will benefit the waste elimination and limited financial expenditures. This communication plan neither includes common goals for specific stakeholder groups nor addresses particular approaches and assumptions necessary to meet the project’s main objectives. Instead, it effectively outlines the purpose, target audience, and format of the communication activity. By strictly adhering to the communication strategy described below, the team is likely to avoid moral confusion and productivity issues, contributing to the project’s successful implementation.
Escalation and feedback
For this communication plan, several escalation routes are in place dependent on the types of issues and resolutions needed. First, critical service and support issues related to urgent requests from sponsors or IHP clients should be prioritized over other problems. If appeared, such discrepancies should be sent directly to the IPC Manager or IT Director based on the nature and scope of the issue. Instead, minor problems should be handled directly by the PM team, staff, and faculty on behalf of the company’s representatives. The priority of the issue should be determined on the basis of its impact on the revenue and the business’s reputation.
Yet, the timelines of communication resolution should be clearly explained to all the employees, clients, and sponsors regardless of their priority. Feedback should be given in a variety of forms depending on the employees’/clients’ preference, setting, and convenience of the method. Appropriate methods include email, conference calls, in-person meetings, and group meetings. Interviews and interaction with the media, regardless of the medium (TV, print, digital), should be handled by PR professionals first. Transparency, friendly attitude, and honesty constitute key components of public communication.
Responsibility and authority
Most of the responsibilities and authority in terms of communication activities provided in this communication plan belong to the project manager and his team. This professional is responsible for daily, weekly, and monthly meetings with team members to conduct program component status meetings, program reviews, periodic demos, and target presentations. The project manager also oversees high-quality communications to the component team members in the form of in-person meetings and digital messages.
Apart from the aforementioned activities, the plan includes events aimed at meeting with sponsors, discussing the project’s strategy with the steering committee, reviewing the program’s decisions, lessons learned, future benefits, risks, and realizations of the project. For such incidents, the role of an overseer is assigned to the IPC Manager/Director. The authority, in this case, is the IPC President who does not necessarily participate in the discussions of executive leadership but makes final adjustments to the decision-making process.