If you don’t write the story, other people will do it for you.
Strategic Communications is about more than the volume of information that is put out. Communications needs to be short, sweet and to the point so that Stakeholders understand that they contain key information that needs to be understood and absorbed. Communication for communication’s sake becomes white noise and will be ignored by the people it was meant to inform.
Effective Strategic Communication is tied to key milestones in the project plan and each communication should have a purpose and desired outcome. People are uncomfortable with “dead air” and will seek to fill that space so it won’t feel so uncomfortable. This can be disastrous if it is not addressed.
CASE STUDY:
Industry Sector: Consulting & Professional Services
Representative Project: Divestiture of a Key Business Unit
In the course of their consulting business, a boutique consulting firm had developed training software that had become an industry standard. The firm decided to sell the software arm of the business and concentrate on consulting, and this change coincided with the retirement of the company founder.
Because there was a great deal of change happening all at the same time, once the deal was announced it was important to give employees an overview of what was happening, why it was happening and what the way forward was. Complicating matters, the divestiture would result in employee downsizing over time. By making the process as transparent as possible and showing employees that they would be treated with dignity and respect, the sale was conducted in an orderly and efficient way; employees understood both the divestiture process and the transition plan, resulting in minimal unplanned resource losses and the retention of value in both the divested and remaining portions of the company.