Take control of your business communications

Transcription

1 Take control of your business communications How to use technology as an enabler of positive behavioural change 1

2 Contents 1. The challenge of communication 2. The problem with ungoverned communications 3. The solution 4. Technology as an enabler of behavioural change 5. Success 6. How we ll work with you 7. About Matter 2

3 The challenge of communication The successful planning and distribution of strategically aligned communications is a pervasive challenge for large organisations. Inherent in organisations of scale is complexity; an organisation comprising thousands of employees, interconnected teams, functions, territories and areas of specialism often results in multiple systems and processes to get the same job done. The business impact of a multi-process approach is that it impedes central visibility and governance of activities. For a business leader to ensure that their communication teams are providing maximum business value, they first have to gain oversight and control of communications needs and requests. Having observed the need for governance Matter created a flexible solution to drive the behavioural changes required to increase the quality and value of communications. 3

4 The problem with ungoverned communications The problem with ungoverned communications is that they don t go unnoticed. Over-communication can cause the audience to see communications as noise, leading to people missing crucial information amongst the hubbub or undervaluing the role of the communications team. Contrastingly, under-communication can lead to the audience being under-informed, unclear of what is expected of them and left feeling disenfranchised. Good communications, whether they are internal, external or investor-facing should be: Coherent a composite part of a broader company narrative Credible accurate, timely, targeted Strategic in line with agreed corporate strategy Not everyone needs to know every piece of company news, all the time. Whether you re shielding partners from unnecessary noise, or ensuring new starters perceive the company as a well-oiled machine, if you want your audience to have a cogent view of the company, it s crucial to use a cogent voice. 1. Multiple unapproved message sources 2. Competing channels 3. Untargeted recipients, some saturated or missed entirely The problem with ungoverned communications 4

5 The solution We created CommsDirector; an easy-to-use communications request and management solution which allows any member of an organisation to submit communications requests, and allows the communications team to collaboratively process and manage activity across any number of channels. The system can be used by multiple functions, including internal, external and investor comms teams, or indeed any group requiring governance over scheduled activity. Successfully managing comms across multiple channels 1. Multiple known comms sources 2. Messages are filtered, reallocated and targeted 3. Considered audience receives the right messages across the right channels Anyone within the organisation can log in to request a communication using their organisation s existing company Single Sign-On details (for frictionless access) or specific new credentials. Within the system, users are guided through a request process to elicit the behaviour changes required to meet the criteria of a valid request. Each request comprises five elements: 1. What the subject, purpose and key messages of the communication 2. Why the objectives, expected outcomes, strategic priority and purpose that underpin the request 3. Who the target audience of the communication 4. When the proposed start date of the communication 5. How the channel that should be used to deliver the communication. 5

6 Upon submitting the request, the user is served a notification of when to expect a response from the communications team. The time stated is dependent on the grade of the requestor and crafted to manage their expectations. Requesting comms via structured criteria The request is automatically allocated to the correct member(s) of the communications team, based on their area of specialism to leverage their expertise to improve the quality of the communication. The request is acknowledged, evaluated, edited, submitted for approval, approved and scheduled by the communications team to ensure governance (and if necessary can be marked as rejected with a recorded reason). Requests can be re-allocated between communications team members to support collaboration. 6

7 The communications team have access to the admin interface of the tool which allows them to see all requests in both calendar and list formats. Comms team interface - calendar view and requests lists view Filters allow the team to easily surface requests by target audience, channel and programme of activity. This means the team can easily evaluate specific groups in terms of message saturation and other criteria. To ensure compliance, details of confidential requests can only be seen by authorised communications team members. Within the system, communications team members are automatically allocated requests based on their areas of expertise. This is defined by the target audience of the communication. 7

8 Team member areas of expertise are managed via a simple responsibility matrix, in which each team member is allocated a system role and audience specialism: Managing comms team and focus areas When a request is allocated to a member (or members) of the communications team they receive notification and process the request through four stages of approval: Proposed Acknowledged Awaiting Approval Approved When a request has been created, its first state is proposed. If a request is in this state it means it hasn t yet been acknowledged by anyone in the Comms Team. When a request has been acknowledged, it means a member of the Comms Team has taken ownership of it. They can then reject it, or (usually after editing) submit the request for approval. The request has been submitted and is awaiting approval. If a request that is awaiting approval is marked not approved it will return to the acknowledged state. return to acknowledged state. Requests in this state are approved to go ahead. Rejected The end of the line for a request, unless it is later reinstated. 8

9 By ensuring that all requests are reviewed, assessed and managed by a communications specialist, CommsDirector strengthens quality of messaging. The following system-rules are present to ensure intra-team governance: Standard requests from outside the communications team are received by a Manager and approved by a Senior Manager Confidential requests from outside the communications team are received and approved by a Senior Manager Requests for a leadership target audience or made by a member of the leadership team are received and approved by an Admin And: All requests created by a communications Manager must be approved by a Senior Manager All requests created by a communications Senior Manager must be approved by an Admin These rules are defined on a per-client basis and will be built to meet the needs of your team. 9

10 Technology as an enabler of behavioural change In order to drive behavioural change, each of the request elements supports a specific challenge. For example on the Why tab, requestors are required to document how their requested communication will support acknowledged company objectives. The solution is, at heart, a human-centric Business Process Management (BPM) tool. In centralising communications requests it provides a systematic approach to making the communication team s workflow more effective, efficient and more capable of adapting to an ever-changing environment. By creating a solution that requires a set of specific behaviours, from both requestors and communications teams, the tool elicits the behavioural change required to meet the needs of the mission. 10

11 Success In October 2014 we applied CommsDirector for one of the Big Four consultancies. In the first six months following launch: 3,810 communications requests were made using the tool, each including clearly documented objectives and alignment to strategy. Without the tool, the requests would have manifested in multiple s and phone calls, potentially with communications being distributed without the involvement of the communications team specialists. 2,453 people have used the tool, from all departments and levels of seniority. 295 requests were rejected by the communications team. Without the tool and the oversight it provides, these communications could easily have been delivered inapproriately without the involvement of the communications team. 11

12 How we ll work with you CommsDirector can equally be applied to internal, external, investor or any other business function that requires scheduled communications. To make it work for your business, we first understand what your teams need from the tool in order to create communications with real business value. We then craft an implementation of CommsDirector to meet the needs of your business. We believe in working smoothly with your existing systems. As such we re keen to integrate our solution with your existing systems, whether that s by leveraging your current SSO solution, or integrating with your existing communications channels. Our aim is to make the experience and implementation frictionless. Contact us to get started with CommsDirector. hello@hellomatter.com 12

13 About Matter We re problem solvers, crafting technical solutions to meet business needs. We make products that prove that the intelligent use of technology can positively impact your business practice, process and bottom-line. Our clients are global organisations, characterised by thousands of employees and/or millions of customers; we provide them with easy-to-use systems to fulfil complex needs. Whether your requirement is internal, external, campaign driven, marketing or social - we have the skills and experience to provide you with the solution your business needs. hello@hellomatter.com 13