A communication management plan can offer your organization a wealth of value:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Since employee productivity<\/a> depends in part on how well employees work together, that productivity will also depend on how well they communicate<\/li>
- Organizational performance is, as a result, also highly correlated with employees\u2019 ability to collaborate<\/li>
- Communication also affects the employee experience, which can impact many other variables, from employer branding<\/a> to the workplace climate to employee retention<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Every communication plan will differ to a certain extent due to each organization having its own unique culture. That being said, all communication strategies should share the same core elements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Communication plans are built upon a set of structured, standardized processes. In some instances, communication plans will also go into great detail about the processes, steps in communication protocols, communication conventions, and communication tools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we will cover in the next section, tools are becoming paramount in today\u2019s digital workplace<\/a>\u2014especially as we migrate towards a global environment that is more expansive and exceedingly virtual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to build a technology-driven communication management plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The hybrid <\/a>w<\/a>orkplace<\/a> has wasted no time in becoming the new standard for large and growing organizations across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And since the workforce will include both remote and onsite workers, it is important to rethink communication management plans for this new office model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below, we\u2019ll look at five steps you can follow to create a communication plan for the hybrid workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Clarify goals and a strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
All business initiatives, including communication plans, should have goals, priorities, and strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without setting goals, it will be impossible to measure the progress and ROI of a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the case of communication management plans, goals can focus on areas such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Improving workplace efficiency<\/li>
- Enabling remote teams to work together seamlessly<\/li>
- Boosting employee performance<\/a><\/li>
- Reducing errors<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Once goals such as these are set, they can be used to define objectives, metrics, and KPIs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To measure these, use relevant data collection mechanisms, such as employee surveys, software analytics, one-on-one discussions, and other integrated data sources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Decide on processes for each level of the organization<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Organizational communication<\/a> refers to correspondence that occurs horizontally and vertically within a company. It covers communication at every level of a business, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- The organizational level<\/li>
- The departmental level (including across departments)<\/li>
- The team level (including across teams)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
It also encompasses other aspects of organizational communication such as social communication and relaying of the organizational culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of these affect the workplace and the workforce, so it is important to develop procedures that can be built into every area of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Adopt the right set of communication tools<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Since technology drives the virtual office, it is crucial to adopt the right tools. Without the proper set of solutions, certain communication processes will simply not be possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, remote teams cannot collaborate without the right communication tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few examples of tools that can be used to improve communication among remote workers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- WalkMe Workstation<\/a><\/li>
- Slack<\/a><\/li>
- Project management platforms such as monday.com<\/a><\/li>
- Zoom<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
It is useful, however, to not only consider the tools needed for day-to-day job tasks, but also those needed during other stages of the employee lifecycle, such as employee onboarding and training. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Invite participation from employees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Another important point to note when adopting any new process is that employees will be the ones implementing that process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If they do not feel a process is effective, they may resist it and stick to other processes that work for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For this reason, it is important to listen to employees, proactively solicit feedback, and invite total participation when developing and deploying a communication management plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doing so can minimize pushback, make employees feel heard, and even generate new ideas that can be incorporated into the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Monitor and adjust the communication plan as needed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It is important to continually refine new processes as they are implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is how tracking the metrics that were created earlier will allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Use employee surveys to gauge employee sentiment<\/a> towards new communication strategies<\/li>
- Monitor targeted metrics, such as software usage data<\/a> of newly adopted communication tools<\/li>
- Continually assess other metrics that track employee engagement, productivity, and performance<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Monitor targeted metrics, such as software usage data<\/a> of newly adopted communication tools<\/li>
- Slack<\/a><\/li>
- WalkMe Workstation<\/a><\/li>
- Reducing errors<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.walkme.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/Employee-productivity-B-min_2643bf25.png\"\/)
<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A communication management plan can streamline communication and improve efficiency at every level of an organization. Today\u2019s distributed workforce makes