Building AM/FM/GIS User Acceptance Through Communications
Identi&ing key messages that should be conveyed throughout the entire project is critical
to ensuring that a project delivers consistent information. Key messages are facts about
the project that describe how the project fits into the utility’s overall corporate strategy.
For instance, GIS is often cited as a valuable tool for improving customer service. With
competition intensifying within the utility industry, this benefit can be cited as one of the
project’s key messages. Other important key messages include “what’s in it for me?” and
the important role of employee involvement throughout the project.
Once the program’s strategies, target audiences and key messages have been identified,
the next step is to outline the actual program tactics. However, before putting together
this list of activities, careful consideration must be given to how the project can most
effectively communicate with employees.
Oftentimes, a project team will get the urge to create its own newsletter to communicate
news about the project’s progress. While this may sound like a good idea, teams generally
find it challenging to keep up a regular publication and to include fresh and interesting
news. Ultimately, the newsletter becomes obsolete and leaves employees wondering
about the GIS project’s overall long-term viability. Therefore, it is very helpful to
evaluate the current communications vehicles available within the company. More than
likely, these vehicles exist because they have proven effective, and because employees
have come to rely on them for meaningful information. Existing communications
vehicles may include, but are not limited to, newsletters, department meetings, executive
briefing sessions, management forums, the Intranet, electronic mail, voice mail, and
bulletin boards. Any existing vehicle that features face-to-face communication is
preferable for discussing a GIS project because it allows for more effective two-way
interaction. The key is to evaluate all printed materials and determine the most
effective approach for them. It is not prudent to choose a printed
material vehicle that is not read by employees.
Measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of a communications program will help to
determine what employees have learned about the project as well as areas where
knowledge may be lacking. Because GIS projects generally take 18 or more months to
implement, sufficient time exists during the project to evaluate how effective the
communications program has been. Interviews with members of each target audience will
help to measure the program’s overall success. As appropriate, questions relating to the
project may also be included in a corporate survey of employees.
Based on the findings of the evaluation, the communications program can be modified to
more effectively reach targeted audiences and ultimately achieve the overall objective
throughout the remainder of the project. No employee communications program is ever
final, but instead should be flexible enough to change as the environment within a utility
company changes.
The key to implementing a successful communications program is to link together all
communications-related activities directly to the project schedule. This ensures that all
important project milestones and deliverables are reported appropriately in a timely
manner. For example, the date for newsletter articles should be linked directly to
project plan milestones instead of standing alone as a communications deliverable.
There are many factors involved in planning for and establishing a budget for a GIS
communications program. These factors include the project’s size and duration and the
number of employees within the target audiences. In some cases, many of the functions of
the program can be performed by project team members in conjunction with the
company’s internal communications department and consultants to the project.
Components of an Effective Communications Program
There are three basic components of an effective communications program: face-to-face
dialogue, printed materials, and technical tools. Separately each component plays an
important role towards achieving AM/FM/GIS project success. However, when these
basic components are integrated all of the necessary ingredients for a balanced,
super-charged communications plan exist.
Technology changes in an organization often are coupled with social changes as well.
This may create a fear within some employees of not being able to learn the new
technology, and so jeopardizing their ability to remain employed. It is important that this
volatile environment be combated with the most effective component of the
communications program: face-to-face communication.
Face-to-face dialogue is by far the most powerful and effective form of communication
for any project that introduces change into an organization. When properly carried out,
this component brings a much needed and desired “friend” into the work groups to deliver
news of the latest developments. Open, honest, and genuinely empathetic dialogue
strips away the mystique, suspicion, and cynicism from the perceived “locked” doors of
the project. Unfortunately, when not properly carried out, this can be the most disastrous
and damaging part of the project’s communications efforts. Having a project
spokesperson who is responsible for generating the majority of the face to face dialogue
is paramount to a project’s success.
