Effective stakeholder communication is the cornerstone of successful projects. From occasional updates to frequent check-ins, regular communication keeps stakeholders informed, engaged, and more likely to support your project from start to finish.
But there’s no use sending information willy-nilly. Your approach to stakeholder communication should be planned, structured, and consistent.
A stakeholder communication plan sets out how and when your stakeholders will receive information, and what’s expected from them in return. With a well-defined communication strategy, you can manage expectations, build trust, and reduce the risk of round-the-clock pestering for information.
Clear and consistent communication with stakeholders is vital for the success of any project A well-thought-out stakeholder communication plan ensures that key stakeholders are kept informed and engaged throughout the project lifecycle. This article provides a step-by-step guide to developing a robust communication plan that meets stakeholder needs
Why You Need a Stakeholder Communication Plan
A stakeholder communication plan has several important benefits
- Keeps stakeholders informed about project status, milestones, and decisions
- Manages stakeholder expectations and prevents misunderstandings
- Allows stakeholders to provide timely feedback and input
- Builds trust and fosters collaboration with stakeholders
- Reduces risk of stakeholders feeling surprised or blindsided
Without structured communications, projects often fail to meet objectives and stakeholder needs. A clear plan eliminates confusion and ensures alignment.
Step 1: Identify Your Stakeholders
The first step is to identify all individuals and groups who have an interest, involvement, or stake in the project. Typical stakeholders include:
- Project sponsor and senior leaders
- Project manager and team members
- Departments impacted by the project – finance, operations, HR, etc.
- External partners, vendors, or consultants
- Customers and end-users of project outputs
- Regulators, industry bodies, or local authorities
It is important to identify stakeholders early and analyze their interest, influence, expectations, and potential impact on the project. This information will guide your communications approach.
Step 2: Set Communication Objectives
Now define what you hope to achieve with your stakeholder communications. Common objectives include:
- Increase stakeholder awareness of project status and milestones
- Manage stakeholder expectations and prevent misunderstandings
- Enable stakeholders to provide timely input to key decisions
- Develop trusting relationships between project team and stakeholders
- Promote enthusiastic stakeholder support and buy-in
- Provide channels for quick issue escalation and resolution
Set specific, measurable goals based on each stakeholder’s needs and influence over the project.
Step 3: Determine Communication Methods
The next step is selecting appropriate communication channels for each stakeholder group:
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Email updates: Widely accessible and low cost. Good for sharing progress reports, meeting minutes, and upcoming activities.
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Phone/video calls: Allow real-time exchange and personal contact. Useful for addressing concerns quickly.
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Meetings: In-person or virtual meetings enable detailed discussions and relationship building.
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Memos: Formal channel to notify stakeholders of major project events.
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Website/intranet: Central place to store all project information and documents.
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Instant messaging: Enables simple contacts for quick questions and clarifications.
Consider factors like stakeholders’ locations, preferences, technical capabilities, and involvement level when deciding on channels. A combination of methods is usually needed.
Step 4: Build Your Communication Plan
With objectives and channels defined, now develop the detailed stakeholder communication plan. Essential elements to include for each stakeholder group:
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Contact information: Names, titles, locations, emails, phone numbers
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Interest and influence: Their role, concerns, expectations, and impact on project
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Communication goals: What info you aim to share and input to gather from them
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Frequency: How often you will send project updates and touchpoints
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Methods and formats: Emails, calls, meetings, memos, formal reports, etc.
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Responsibilities: Team members that will manage communications
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Escalation procedures: Steps to quickly resolve questions and issues
A simple matrix or table format with columns for each element allows the plan to be clear and actionable.
Step 5: Assign Responsibilities
With the plan created, formally assign ownership and responsibilities for managing stakeholder communications.
- Identify team members for each stakeholder group.
- Define their specific tasks and scheduling.
- Ensure they have access to required communication channels.
- Provide templates and tools to ease communication efforts.
- Set procedures for reviewing and approving communications.
Ongoing tracking of outreach activities is essential to ensure the plan is followed consistently.
Step 6: Monitor and Refine the Plan
Finally, actively monitor your communications and request regular stakeholder feedback. Watch for signs of misunderstanding or lack of engagement.
Adjust the plan as needed by:
- Increasing communication frequency for high-priority groups
- Changing methods and messages to improve clarity
- Modifying stakeholder groups as new ones emerge
- Updating contact information as roles shift
- Improving escalation procedures to resolve issues faster
A living plan that evolves with the project will maximize stakeholder alignment.
Stakeholder Communication Plan Template
For a simple way to build your plan, download and customize this free Stakeholder Communications Plan Template. The template contains a matrix to detail all key elements in one view.
Effective stakeholder communication requires forethought, care, and follow-through. By investing time upfront in developing a robust plan, you can minimize risks, improve alignment, and drive project success. Be sure to actively manage communications and refine the plan as needed. Your project stakeholders will thank you!
Identify your stakeholders and break them into groups
The first step in your stakeholder communication plan is to identify your stakeholders (you may have already done this as part of your stakeholder management plan). These are the people that you’ll need to communicate with over the course of the project.
They might include internal and external individuals and groups, such as:
- Your project team
- Project managers
- Product teams
- Marketing teams
- Sales teams
- Legal teams
- Finance teams
- Senior management
- Clients
- Partners
Make a list of all the stakeholders that need to be kept in the loop, plus their contact details, so that you can keep them updated throughout your project.
Once you’ve got an extensive list of stakeholders, carry out a stakeholder analysis to understand them on a deeper level and to determine the level of communication they’ll want to receive – and how they’ll want to receive it.
Some questions you might want to consider include:
- Who are the key stakeholders for this project?
- What information will each stakeholder need to receive over the course of the project?
- How often do they need updates?
- Which communication channel(s) does each stakeholder prefer?
Use the answers to these questions to categorize stakeholders based on their interest, influence, and level of involvement. This will then help you to communicate with each stakeholder group more effectively.
Outline how frequently you plan to communicate
A big part of effective stakeholder engagement is managing expectations. After all, the last thing you want is for stakeholders to feel disappointed or question your ability to manage this project.
Outlining how frequently you plan to communicate helps to manage your stakeholders’ expectations so that they know when you’ll be in touch. This reduces uncertainty, as well as the risk of stakeholders feeling uninformed (and pestering you for information at all hours of the day).
Setting out your communication plan also helps you build trust with your stakeholders. When information is then shared as promised, they’re more likely to have confidence in your team’s ability to manage the project effectively and make informed decisions.
So how often should you be in touch?
This really depends on the scope of the project, the stakeholder group, and the project’s status.
You might agree to:
- Send a daily status update to your project manager and other key stakeholders
- Book a weekly status call with your client
- Send monthly updates to your senior leadership team
By outlining – and sticking to – a communication schedule with regular touchpoints, stakeholders are more likely to feel involved and engaged, and have faith in you, your team, and the project as a whole.
Project Communication Plan [STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS]
Do you need a stakeholder communications plan?
In other words, you might need to create a stakeholder communications plan. This short guide covers what you need to know about stakeholder communications plans, why you might like to create one, and how to create your own plan. What is a Stakeholder Communications Plan?
How do you write a stakeholder communication plan?
Create a statement, or group of statements, describing what you are aiming to achieve in preparing a stakeholder communication plan. Use {NOUN} + {VERB} format. Have one person scribe at the whiteboard while the whole group brainstorms. Your goal statements don’t have to be perfect, so shoot for “80% there”, and timebox the activity.
How do you communicate with stakeholders in a project?
For example, stakeholders who have a lot of interest and influence in the project may want weekly communication. You can provide this by sharing out your project status updates through your work management tool. Once you create your communication plan, share it with your project team.
What is a stakeholder communication strategy?
An effective communication strategy is the best way to get the full support of your stakeholders for your project. So now you know what you’re aiming for, here’s a six-step approach to creating the ultimate stakeholder communication plan.
