How to make project communication effective?

How to make project communication effective?

Good communication is a key element of project management, allowing projects to progress smoothly and on time. It ensures that team members work in line with project objectives and understand exactly what is expected of them. It also helps build trust and better collaboration from the beginning to the end of the project. 

In our article we will now look at how: 

  • What is communication in project management?
  • Why is effective communication important?
  • How to make a communication management plan?
  • What communication mistakes should be avoided in projects?
  • How to make project communication successful?
Good communication is a key element of project management.

What is communication in project management?

In their day-to-day work, project managers perform a variety of tasks. They are like conductors. Basically, their role is to coordinate the work of all participants in the project to achieve common goals. 

The priority for project managers is to ensure that there is a good flow of information to ensure that all professionals working on the project are clear about the objectives and expectations. This helps the team to work more efficiently and also improves the quality of their work.

Timing discipline, analytical skills and good communication skills are a must for any successful project manager. Developing the right communication strategy takes project management to a whole new level.

Project management communication ensures the flow of information within the team.

The key to success, effective project communication

There are many ways to achieve project success, but good and effective communication is essential. One of the most common reasons for project failure is a lack of quality communication. 

What problems can arise if communication is not good?

  • multiply the efforts of those working on the project
  • important targets and milestones are missed
  • resources are poorly allocated
  • the scope of the project changes direction

Ultimately, poor communication can slow down projects or even cause them to fail completely.

Why is a communication management plan important?

A well-designed communication plan has many advantages:

  • Establish realistic expectations among stakeholders about when and how communication will take place (e.g. the project sponsor should not expect daily updates if the agreed communication plan is weekly).
  • Increase the visibility of the project, as team members can give feedback if they notice a deviation.
  • It increases confidence because stakeholders are not worried about missing out.
  • Increase productivity by making meetings more efficient and focused.

How to prepare a project communication management plan?

Let's now look in more detail at how to prepare a communication plan.

1. Setting the communication target

Whatever you are trying to achieve, the first step in developing a successful communication plan is to define its purpose. In most cases, this is to keep stakeholders informed about the status of the project. Or even to keep stakeholders aware of the benefits of the project so that they can continue to support it. 

2. What should be the format of the communication plan?

Many project managers prepare it in a text document or spreadsheet, based on a project communication plan template, but you can also choose a more visual solution. For example, a timeline or flowchart to clearly explain the frequency and method of communication.

The following should be included:

  1. To whom is the communication addressed (e.g. project team, management, external partners, etc.)
  2. Type of communication (e.g. weekly report, status update, etc.)
  3. Frequency (e.g. weekly, daily, when required, with milestones)
  4. Responsible for communication
  5. Priority (e.g. high, medium, low)
  6. Channel of communication (e.g. e-mail, meeting, video call, etc.)

3. Identifying the stakeholders to whom we communicate

Projects have many stakeholders, most of whom have varying degrees of interest and influence. It is necessary to identify and list everyone with whom we will communicate throughout the project. 

It is also important to rank them according to their influence to determine the level of communication needed.

4. Laying down communication methods and techniques

As habits vary within the team, it is important to communicate how information is exchanged throughout the project.

For example, someone may rarely check their email because they use Slack all day. Or vice versa.

The aim of the communication plan is to get the right people to listen to the right information, so it should include this as well as a list of stakeholders. 

For example:

  • Meetings in person, by telephone or video conference
  • Meeting summaries
  • Situation reports
  • Formal presentations
  • Surveys
  • To-do lists
  • Use collaboration applications such as Slack or Microsoft Teams

The communication method you choose may also depend on the information you need to convey. It is probably not necessary to have a face-to-face meeting every week to share project updates. You could send a weekly email with updates and hold meetings when the team reaches an important milestone.

5. Determine how often we communicate

To make the plan as precise as possible, let's list how frequent each type of communication will be.

For example:

  • send out weekly emails on Mondays on the progress of the project, with links to the completed deliverables, the current budget, etc.
  • how often each stakeholder should be involved (e.g. all team members receive a daily email with updates, but managers are only involved in a video conference following each milestone).

IMPORTANT: These should not only be in the plan, but also scheduled in the calendar or in the task management software.

6. Nominate the people responsible for communication

In most cases, this is the job of the project manager. However, it may be that someone else is responsible for communication. In this case, the person responsible should be identified.

What communication mistakes should be avoided in projects?

Here are some typical mistakes that can hinder effective communication, so it's important to pay attention to them.

  • Communicate not only in writing - Follow up on emails, documents and messages with a phone call or a face-to-face meeting if it is an important and urgent task.
  • Do not focus on one type of communication - For example, don't always meet in person or only online. Combine face-to-face and group meetings, video and telephone communication. 
  • Don't just communicate at status meetings - It is also a good idea to sit down and talk with team members occasionally, beyond the regular, scheduled meetings. Sometimes a week, for example, is too long to agree on important issues.
  • Do not communicate too much and do not give too much information - Less is sometimes more. If there is too much information, the team may lose interest and information that is really essential to move forward may not reach the stakeholders. Communication should never be one-sided. Always seek feedback and opinions from the team. 

How to make project communication successful?

Here are some strategies to help make project management communication planning effective and successful:

  • Use cloud-based project management software - This supports team members to get a full picture of the project in real time. This reduces the time spent in meetings and allows more focus and energy to be devoted to achieving goals.
  • We standardise the communication process, but be flexible - The principles laid down are important, but it may also be necessary to change certain tactics and approaches.
  • Keep up to date with your communication plant - An outdated plan is not only useless, it can also be detrimental to project success.
  • Have protocols and processes in place for handling sensitive information.
  • Take cultural differences into account - It is essential to bear in mind that different cultures may have different customs. Also, there may be differences in knowledge, background and experience between team members. 
  • Note that technological skills may be different - When planning communication, it is worth bearing in mind that there may be differences within the team in terms of who is open and skilled in communication techniques (e.g. video conferencing, project management software, etc.)

In summary

The key to project success is clearly effective communication, which should be carefully planned. 

If you think it's important for you to communicate more effectively as a project manager, to keep your team informed about the progress of the project and all the necessary information, and to improve your skills, then take a look at our current training courses for project managers!