Chapter 8 – Role of Communication
8.2. Role of Communication in PM
Communication Management
Communications management is about keeping everybody in the loop. The communications planning process defines the types of information you will deliver, who will receive it, the format for communicating it, and the timing of its release and distribution. A great deal of a project manager’s job is spent on communication, so it’s important to make sure everybody gets the right message at the right time.
The first step in defining your communication plan is figuring out what kind of communication your stakeholders need from the project so they can make good decisions. This is called the communications requirements analysis. Your project will produce a lot of information. You do not want to overwhelm your stakeholders with all of it. Your job is to figure out what they feel is valuable. Furthermore, communicating valuable information doesn’t mean you always paint a rosy picture.
Communications to stakeholders may consist of either good news or bad news. The point is that you don’t want to bury stakeholders in too much information but you do want to give them enough so that they’re informed and can make appropriate decisions.
Communication Methods
Communications technology has a major impact on how you keep people in the loop. Methods of communicating can take many forms, such as written reports, conversations, emails, formal status reports, meetings, online databases, online schedules, and project websites. You should consider several factors before deciding what methods you’ll choose to transfer information. The timing of the information exchange or need for updates is the first factor. Do you need to procure new technology or systems, or are there systems already in place that will work? The technologies available to you should figure into your plan of how you will keep everyone notified of project status and issues. Staff experience with the technology is another factor. Are the project team members and stakeholders experienced at using this technology, or will you need to train them?
Finally, consider the duration of the project and the project environment. Will the technology you’re choosing work throughout the life of the project or will it have to be upgraded or updated at some point? And how does the project team function? Are they located together or spread out across several campuses or locations? The answers to these questions should be documented in the communication plan.
All projects require a sound communication plan, but not all projects will have the same types of communication or the same methods for distributing the information. The communication plan documents the types of information needs the stakeholders to have, when the information should be distributed, and how the information will be delivered.
Types of Information Communicated
The types of information you will communicate typically include project status, project scope statements and updates, project baseline information, risks, action items, performance measures, project acceptance, and so on. It’s important that the information needs of the stakeholders be determined as early in the planning phase of the project management life cycle as possible so that as you and your team develop project planning documents, you already know who should receive copies of them and how they should be delivered.
Effective Communication for a Project Manager
A Project Manager manages a great deal of details, has layers of project requirements to adhere to, makes many decisions, and needs to seek approval from other stakeholders. Each one of these responsibilities requires communication. They need to know how to communicate with people effectively. Good Project Managers need to:
- Know and understand the project team’s backgrounds, the beliefs, opinions perspectives by asking questions. Respect the differences of each team member. Project managers need to look at their own backgrounds and beliefs and identify how they are similar and difference from their team members, and share information about themselves with the team members.
- Be clear in their communication about their expectations of the project and their leadership style.
- Choose the best way to deliver communication messages to the team ie. Email, face-to-face, team meetings, and keep everyone informed.
- Be a good listener is part of communicating; and they need to be sure they understand the message being received from individuals and the team (Sivasankari, 2010).
Watch this video: Project Managers: Tips for Communicating Effectively by Adriana Girdler [6:28] below. The transcript is available on YouTube.
HR in Focus: Human Resources and Communication
For Human Resources Specialists communication is a two-way process to disseminate information, plans, problems, and solutions. When communication is flowing freely and clearly, the project team has a clear understanding of the project goals, outcomes, and tasks. Human Resources may be involved as part of the team and facilitate good communication styles, protocols and skill development through communication training.
Some considerations that Human Resources may discuss with team members are planning ahead what needs to be said (write it down), deliver the message about the facts (not feelings), send the message and be specific, send messages in a timely manner, be direct, and above all, learn to listen to others.
Human Resources may offer workshops to the Project Manager and team to develop relationships at the beginning of the project that might include:
- Social cues and body language
- Active listening
- Conflict Resolution
- Personality Assessments and how it relates to communication
- Challenges of effective communication
- Etiquette in the workplace
- How to avoid roadblocks to effective communication
- Avoid jargon and prejudices and bias
Human Resources can play a critical role in a project’s team by improving innovation, trust between members, improving the performance of the team, and building a culture of teamwork.
Attribution
“8.2. Role of Communication in PM” from Essentials of Project Management by Adam Farag is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
