How to Tackle Poor Project Communication

Every day, we communicate in person, on the phone, by email, text or online. The human brain actually evolved to favor our social nature, meaning that we are hard-wired to communicate with others. Despite our natural predisposition to social interaction, many people are poor communicators. The professional consequences of ineffectual communication are manifold: conflict with colleagues; missed business opportunities; stalled career development; stress; low morale and so on.

Poor communication is particularly damaging in the context of project management. Research conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) found that ineffective communication was the main contributor to project failure one-third of the time, and had a negative impact on project success more than half the time. More worrying is the finding that 56% of budgets allocated to projects are at risk due to poor communication.

Communication can make or break your project. Understanding the roots of poor communication and the impact of this risk is critical to developing a communication plan that works.

Reasons for Poor Communication

1. We take it for granted: Communication often fails because we take it for granted. Project managers assume that communication takes place as project teams attend in-person and virtual meetings, use emails and IM, update documents and so on. In reality, fragmented communication happens in several different places. Lacking real visibility and direction, team members scramble to understand the big picture.
2. Lack of a formal plan: PMI also notes that high-performance organizations who finished 80% of projects are twice as likely to have communication plans in place than low-performing counterparts. Without a communication plan, project contributors will not understand the objectives of the project and their role in achieving these goals. Additionally, various contributors and stakeholders will have different expectations, which can lead to conflicts and delays.
3. Stakeholder engagement: It is estimated that 1 in 3 projects fail due to poor stakeholder engagement. Stakeholders are critical to project success; failure to communicate with stakeholders can undermine internal support for your project.

 

Consequences of Poor Communication

Poor communication can have a domino effect that results in project failure. There are several consequences of ineffective communication; here are two issues to consider.

1. Requirements management: 47% of failed projects are linked to requirements management. Within these failed projects, 75% reported that poor communication led to misplanned requirements. This makes sense as many of tools for gathering requirements such as focus groups, meetings, and interviews rely on clear communication from both the project manager and various contributors. The knock-on effect of inadequate requirements management can include scope creep; resource shortages; solutions that do not meet the original objectives; damaged relationships with stakeholders and lost revenue.
2. Collaboration: Collaborative project management is impossible without communication between the team! Poor communication can quickly isolate team members, who become disconnected from the purpose of the project, their roles and the value of their contributions. Work is executed in silos and conflicts quickly arise as individuals lose track of completed and upcoming tasks.

It should be pretty clear that poor communication can undermine your project in several areas. If you want to take some steps to address poor project communication, read on.

Tackle Poor Communication 

1. Have a plan: As noted above, communication plans increase project success. A communication plan will make it easier to say the right thing in the right way to the right people using the best tools. Your plan should include what needs to be communicated, how often, channels (email, meetings etc) and individual responsibilities. Review and update your plan periodically to reflect organizational and team needs.
2. Team Culture: A 2012 study published in the Harvard Business Review discovered that communication is the key indicator of a team’s success. Researchers found that face-to-face conversations and social interactions boosted engagement, employee satisfaction and productivity. Email and texting were the least valuable forms of communication. In one instance, scheduling the team’s coffee breaks at the same time increased employee satisfaction by 10% with an associated growth in revenue. Take a look at how your team currently engages with each other. Is email the primary communication tool? Do you have break-out areas to encourage quick conversations? Are meetings enjoyable and energizing? Cultivate a team culture that facilitates communication.
3. Involve Stakeholders: If your organization uses particular tools and strategies to engage stakeholders, take some time to review and update these resources for maximum benefit. Lacking a formal stakeholder plan? Check out our four-step process to get started.
4. Use software: Implementing a ‘single source of truth’ such as a SharePoint project site for the team and stakeholders will aid your communication plan. A project site makes it easy for the team to understand their responsibilities, follow agreed processes track tasks and access project updates. Live dashboards provide stakeholders with high-level data for enhanced project visibility.

Of course, having a plan and software in place will only go so far. Communication must be valued and encouraged throughout the organization and within every team. The above suggestions are a good starting point. Do you have any additional suggestions or tips?

by Ciara McDonnell via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community