RICS draft information paper -

Managing communications
Starts on: 10 Aug 2012
Ends on: 08 Oct 2012

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Acknowledgments
This information paper was produced by the RICS Project Management
Professional Group. RICS would like to express its thanks to the following
who contributed to its development.

Lead author:

Timothy Fry, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Project Management Board:

Chair: Anne McCann, West Quarter Consulting Limited

Andrew McSmythurs, Cyril Sweett

Andrew Underwood, University Hospital of North Staffordshire
Chris Soffe, Gleeds
Darren Talbot, Davis Langdon
David Reynolds, FOM Limited
Don Hyslop, Project Services
Lex Blakeley-Glover, VVA
Martin Woods, CB Richard Ellis
Matt Wilderspin, CB Richard Ellis
Neil Read, Land Securities PLC
Richard Schofield, Rider Hunt Management Services Limited
Richard Vaughan, VSH International
Sandro Schembri, QPM Limited
Stuart Togwell, Watts Group Limited
Thurstan Ollerearnshaw, Capita Symonds Ltd
Alan Muse, RICS.
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Introduction
This paper is intended to encourage best practice in communications, which are
defined by the APM body of knowledge definitions guide as ‘the giving, receiving,
processing and interpretation of information… conveyed verbally, non-verbally,
actively, passively, formally, informally, consciously or unconsciously.’ In an industry
context this basically means communicating with stakeholders via different media in
a clear, consistent and concise manner enabling them to play their part in delivering
a successful project. Importantly, communication involves both giving messages and
receiving them.

Usually the arts and sciences are seen as being distinct from each other. Good
project management, however, has elements of both. Effective communication must
be predicated upon thorough analysis, efficient processes and be focused on a clear
purpose, i.e. a forensic approach. It supports people in undertaking their tasks in a
structured way to deliver a predefined end result. Good communication will
differentiate leaders from managers and a successful project from a failure.

The ‘science’ is the application of process and management tools. This is in essence
the strategic, tactical and implementation disciplines.

The ‘arts’ should be used to engender an atmosphere of openness and honesty that
will allow the project team and stakeholders to share facts, enabling the project
manager to make timely decisions based on robust data. The project manager acts
as an influencer, facilitator, enabler and occasionally as a mentor.

Consequently this paper will be in two parts:

1 The science (‘hard’ skills).

2 The arts (‘soft’ skills).

1 The science (‘hard’ skills)

The science has three distinct ingredients:

1 Communications strategy – this will determine the messages to be

communicated to and from the project participants, the frequency at which they
will be informed and the format in which the message will be communicated,
mindful of the variety of communication methods and technologies available to
deliver project information.
2 Communications plan – this is the next level of granularity and integrates the
‘who, what, when and how’ of the communication process, including: the type of
information being communicated, the objective of the communication, the
frequency with which the information is distributed and the method used to
communicate the information.
3 Stakeholder management – refers to the organisation of the parties who need
to be communicated with and can be effectively organised using a RACI matrix
(Responsible Accountable Consulted Informed), as a communications vehicle
which channels how information will be cascaded in multiple directions.
1.1 Stakeholder management

This can be encapsulated as ‘who needs to be communicated with and what do they
need to know?’ It is about influencing, controlling and managing those who can affect
the project and its outcomes. This results in the stakeholder strategy, which then
informs the communications plan.

Stakeholders can be defined as the person, group, or organisation that has direct or
indirect interest (financial or otherwise) in an organisation, because it can affect or be
affected by the project’s actions, objectives, and policies.

The first step is to draw a stakeholder map (software is available on this to purchase)
to capture all stakeholders. It is important not to miss any stakeholders.

The stakeholders can then be subdivided into categories, i.e. responsible,

accountable, consulted and informed, usually expressed in the acronym RACI, which
defines the level of influence each party has in the project:

 ‘Responsible’ refers to the person who owns the project or the problem.
 ‘Accountable’ means the person who must sign off the work.
 ‘Consulted’ stakeholders hold information or the capability necessary to
complete the work.
 ‘Informed’ stakeholders need to know the outcome, but need not be
consulted.

By categorising in this way and capturing this in a simple matrix, it is possible to

focus on the involvement of the appropriate people. This helps with the decision
making process, although clearly there are sensitivities to be managed. It is important
to gain buy-in and team agreement.

This can then be agreed with the responsible person and used as the basis for
stakeholder engagement. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that the most vocal
and demanding often come from the informed group. The point is to do this
objectively and to be able to recognise disingenuous comments or contributions for
what they are.

1.2 Communications strategy

This will determine the messages to communicate to the stakeholder, the frequency
at which they will be informed and the format in which the message will be
communicated. It also determines how responses are received and actioned, mindful
of the variety of communication methods and technologies available to deliver project
information.

The project will only be successful if it has a clear goal. This must be agreed with, or
defined by, the responsible person who usually holds executive responsibility in the
organisation, e.g. the Chief Executive. It is very important to be clear on the goal and
care should be taken to define it in a SMART manner, i.e. Specific Measurable
Achievable Results based on a Timescale).

All other messages flow from this. A golden rule is to apply the ‘so what?’ test. The
effectiveness of communications is diminished, sometimes irredeemably, if
messages are ill-defined and irrelevant to the recipients. Everyone does not need to
know everything all of the time. Tailor the messages to achieve a specific goal, plan
and describe it in a strategy document.

Cascading is a methodology employed by many large organisations. All too often the
message is simply passed down the line and loses its effectiveness, failing the ‘so
what?’ test and generating a sense of ‘what’s this got to do with me?’ It also leads to
ill-informed rumour mongering which can be diversionary.

People tend to engage with tasks that they can control so by all means cascade, but
refine en route. The overall objective is to inspire stakeholders to engage with and to
continue to support the project and to apply themselves in a consistently positive
way.

1.3 Communications plan

The next level of granularity integrates the ‘who, what, when and how’ of the
communication process, including: the type of information being communicated, the
objective of the communication, the frequency with which the information is
distributed and the method used to communicate the information.

The plan should be succinct and involve the least amount of bureaucracy necessary
to manage the process. It should be written by the project manager and if it can be
described in an annotated process map, or a matrix with minimal narrative, all the
better. The plan forms the basis and structure of all communications, so getting it
right is important. It will then be applied over the life of the project. It should have the
flexibility to adapt and therefore be a ‘live’ document.

Good practice involves producing a worked example of a communications plan and

reaching agreement with the project board before rolling out. It should have
interfaces with all stakeholders and provide a cross check as to the list of
stakeholders.

It is very important to carefully consider: the type of information being communicated

(e.g. milestones achieved, risks which need immediate action and outstanding
issues); the objective of the communication (e.g. to galvanise action, to celebrate an
achievement); the frequency with which the information is distributed (e.g. weekly
update by exception or a deep dive, i.e. in depth review, monthly report) and the
method used to communicate the information (e.g. e-mail, phone call, intranet alert).

The ‘whom’ will be determined by the RACI matrix.

2 The arts (‘soft’ skills)

Artistic themes include:

 Awareness - the dissemination of information that people want to know or that

they may need to fulfil their roles. This is particularly important with regard to
the end users and is aimed at minimising the probability of negative reactions
towards the project implementation.

 Empathy – taking time to engage with stakeholders and project participants to

gain an appreciation of how they think, work, interact and communicate. This
 is done in order to understand the other person's position and feelings. Is
essential to establish and maintain effective, constructive relationships.

 Understanding - the requirement that specific stakeholders have a sound

understanding of the purpose and the progress of the project in order to take
decisions.

 Commitment - applied mainly to the sponsors (the person who saw a need for
change and had the authority to make something happen, e.g. CEO) and
owners (the person with genuine executive authority over the project) who are
invited in certain stages of the project life cycle to show their commitment.

 Project identity and brand – how the project will be seen by the wider world
including customer/end users and what defines the project.

 Choice of words and phraseology – the use of open and closed questions,
asking versus instructing, body language, tone of voice and avoiding
acronyms.

These will be examined with clear guidance being given based upon best practice
and experience of projects and programmes in a variety of industry sectors.

2.1 Communications vehicles and channels

How information will be cascaded is of vital importance, as if correctly applied it will

help to better engage with stakeholders. The key is to apply the appropriate media,
e.g. e-mail, electronic presentations, formal papers, oral updates in meetings, etc. To
derive the most appropriate media requires research into the recipient’s ways of
working, receiving and disseminating information. This can be ascertained by one-to-
one interviews with a cross-section of stakeholders. Try to avoid e-surveys as they
are impersonal and not always representative. Time should be taken to decide which
channels are most appropriate to use, e.g. newsletters, slots on others meeting
agenda’s, specific communication events.

Above all messages should be succinct, with a clear purpose and clearly stated
actions. Cover what has been done, what is about to be done and what the audience
is required to do. Vanilla messages that are not SMART (Specific Measurable
Achievable Results based on a Timescale) should be avoided.

Communication is a two-way process and requires the participants to both talk and
listen. Make it easy for them by using stimulating tools, e.g. videos, rich pictures and
clear messages, aligned with the stakeholder map and use of the RACI matrix. For
example, if a user group is going to be together at a specific time and place use this
as an opportunity to communicate. A set of presentation boards in the canteen with
you there to answer questions will have much more resonance than an impersonal
document landing on an already busy person’s desk.

A common challenge is to make the project communications stand out from the rest
of the corporate communications traffic. This is best achieved by making the
communications directly relevant to the person receiving them. Focus on those that
need to know, as opposed to purely want to know.
2.2 Awareness

To be effective this requires knowledge of particular job functions. For

example, a the lead radiographer in a hospital redevelopment may want to
know: what is being planned for his/her department; if this includes a new
piece of equipment; if they are able to input into the specifying of that
equipment; the configuration of the space so it can be reviewed against
operational policies and extant work practices, etc. Effective communication
will not be impossible if the communicator does not know this.

In order to be effective the communicator will need to be made aware of the

technical, non-technical and political drivers, and listen to and understand the
opportunities, threats and constraints that the end user faces.

The person being communicated with will quickly lose interest and become a
negative force on the project if it is perceived that the communicator does not
know or care what he or she does.

This does not mean the communicator becomes an expert in each discipline
but rather that he/she is aware of the recipient’s key drivers and working
environment. This would involve undertaking some research.

2.3 Empathy

People do things for their own reasons which may not align with your own, so try to
link personal objectives with project ones.

Using the RACI matrix, the project manager would be well advised to work through
the key drivers of the project and to map the key stakeholders against the
programme, prioritising meeting them accordingly. Projects always involve change
and a period of uncertainty, therefore it is wise to acknowledge this and to make the
time to listen. Stakeholders and project participants that feel valued are those most
likely to become a positive force on the project. It is widely recognised that the
majority of innovative ideas originate from within an organisation (a general figure of
up to 70 per cent often being quoted).

Listening itself will not be effective unless the knowledge gained is acted upon
(‘listen-think-do’). Asking what people like and would do, as opposed to asking
negative questions, is likely to be more beneficial.

2.4 Understanding

The who, what, why, when and how need to be spelt out at the beginning and then
used as the baseline to report progress against.

Understanding needs to be tested and one way of doing this is to ask the recipient of
the communication to replay what they think they’ve heard or what are they now
going to do. This will highlight any areas of misunderstanding, wrong emphasis, etc.
Clearly this is not possible on every element all of the time, so spot checks as the
project moves through its life cycle are an efficient method of checking and
correcting.

If stakeholder understanding were to be plotted on a graph, it would not show a

straight-line progression - there would be peaks and troughs. The key is to
acknowledge the troughs and react accordingly. This requires a feedback loop, which
stakeholders can use without fear of retribution.

All project managers make mistakes, learning lessons is the key to continuous
improvement.

2.5 Commitment

Stakeholders will not engage if they feel sponsors and owners are not fully engaged.
The buy-in must come from the top and indeed be shown to come from the top.

Key managers will need to attend all meetings (not regularly send deputies) and will
need to be properly briefed and to have delegated the authority to make decisions as
and when required.

Commitment is demonstrated by actions and not words. It also needs to be

consistent.

2.6 Project identity and brand

Stakeholders, like everyone else, want to be associated with a successful project. It

enhances their standing in their organisation and with other clients. Some, however,
would like the project to fail.

The identity of the project (i.e. the descriptor of what it is and what it will achieve)
needs to be memorable and consist of a sentence or two that all stakeholders can
instantly recall (i.e. a strapline that will help foster a sense of purpose).

This will inform the branding; that is, how it will be seen in the wider world. In order to
achieve this, the strapline needs to be expanded into an image that describes the
project to allow those not familiar with it to project its meaning and values.