The rush to execute new policies, procedures, and initiatives can lead to missteps and missed opportunities to connect and build relationships, resulting in confusion and anxiety for staff, students, parents, and community members.
In today’s online world, the perceived need to communicate quickly and in real time can prevent leaders from pausing to consider who they’re reaching and how their messages are being received.
Whether it’s as simple as making a policy change or as complex as announcing a major redistricting process, without a well-crafted communications plan, even the most innovative and effective program can fail. Persistent communication missteps create uncertainty, inefficiency, and, eventually, an erosion of trust among the staff, students, families, and the community at large.
For Arlington (Virginia) Public Schools, a rapidly growing school division of more than 28,000 students whose enrollment has doubled in the past 12 years, change is continuous as it transforms and enhances operations to keep pace with growth.
The division’s communications team came together earlier this year to create a framework for changing communications that every central office department and school leader must follow when announcing a new initiative or major change. The intent is to systematize communications, to ensure that common elements are included in planning, and to require teams to slow down to consult with the communications team and other essential internal advisers.
Without a clear, shared understanding of the broader landscape and an awareness of potential barriers, a plan will not succeed.
Essential Components
The framework offers a road map for building an effective communications plan, which defines the approach and methods that will be used to communicate with all key stakeholders to achieve stated goals. It helps ensure systematic information-sharing and two-way communication.
Here are 10 essential components to consider when building a communications plan for any major change with division-wide implications.
- Situation snapshot.
Define the situation and the goal. Whether or not this is part of your written plan, take some time to reflect on the who, what, when, where, why, and how. Without a clear, shared understanding of the broader landscape and an awareness of potential barriers, a plan will not succeed. What else is happening within the school division that may affect how this news will be received? Are additional positive or negative facts, perceptions, and other factors relevant?
- Clear objectives.
What are the two or three tangible, measurable communications outcomes you want to achieve? Stating your objectives will keep the plan focused. For example, you may want to raise awareness about a new program or service and its benefits, or to encourage participation and collaboration. Written objectives can be shared internally so the staff understands why the communications plan is important to success.
- Defined target audiences.
Who needs to know the details of the change? In schools, we often think of three “buckets”: staff, families, and the community. In reality, no group or community is homogenous. Be as specific as possible—how will reaching these audiences help achieve your objectives? Consider your most vulnerable or hardest-to-reach stakeholders and how this change might affect them.
You may use different communication methods to reach different groups, which may entail providing different levels of information.
- Key messages.
The message is the most essential element of the plan. The message should identify the change, why the change is occurring, and how it aligns with other relevant initiatives.
Keep your messages simple and brief. Speak your audiences’ language, from their perspective, about things they care about. Ask yourself: “What do I want to tell my target audience? What do I want them to know or do?”
- The right messenger.
Finding the right messenger is essential but often overlooked. Who should deliver the message? Matching the messenger with the recipients is important. Make sure that school principals or department heads are prepared to interface and carry the message to their staffs, and that you consider the teams on the front lines of change—those likely to be questioned by the community members who are seeking essential information.
- The action plan: tools and methods.
Your situation snapshot, objectives, and target audiences (steps 1–3) will determine the communication methods that will be most effective in reaching your stakeholders. Ideally, you should use three to four different methods and platforms (electronic, print, in person) for sharing information; they might be in multiple languages and accessible formats.
Consider an information “home,” such as a webpage or intranet post, which makes it easy to share a link so all can stay informed. Ensure that each phase of the plan has a clear owner who is responsible for its execution.
- Two-way communications.
Communication is not done to stakeholders—it should be viewed as engagement with stakeholders and alignment of interests and views. Your plan should consider whether face-to-face communications or two-way engagement (e.g., forums, surveys) is necessary, and whether there is enough time to incorporate input.
Additionally, consider whether you should bring in influential groups early that can offer a valuable sounding board or help share the message (e.g., media, ambassadors, PTA presidents, advisory committee chairs).
- Timeline.
A plan should clearly map timing for communication at all stages of the program and by audience, beginning with internal stakeholders and key decision makers—usually the superintendent, leadership team, or the school board.
Since stakeholders may need to receive information in stages, communicate with them throughout the program, especially before starting key activities or phases.
- Budget and key dependencies.
Ask: What’s the estimated cost of each step in the communications plan? Are additional investments necessary for events, language translations, design, or other materials and methods? What factors are essential to the success of the project?
Communication is not done to stakeholders—it should be viewed as engagement with stakeholders and alignment of interests and views.
- Monitoring and evaluation.
Decide with your team how you will review your communications plan during and after its implementation. Look for ways to improve. Did the intended audiences receive your messages? How did they respond? The review can be either a stand-alone activity or part of an overall program review.
In Sum
To be effective, communications plans do not need to be long and complicated. Taking the time to meet with your school division’s communications team at the start of planning will help you achieve your goals and save time in the end. Failure to do so may create a PR challenge for your school division that is difficult to unwind.