Strategic Plan

Communicating the Strategic Plan

As emphasized in the discussion of the strategic planning processOpens in new window, the process of strategic planning should involve employees at all levels. An organization’s employees are involved in the day-to-day operations and can provide leaders with a unique view of the organization. Employees can share with leaders what they think is and isn’t working with the organization today (while also serving as visionOpens in new window and strategy ambassadors), which can inform your planning for the future.

In addition to employees, it’s beneficial for leaders to reach out to key stakeholders outside of the organization to get their opinions. Like employees, vendors have a unique perspective on an organization and the industry. Leaders should talk to them about the organization, and get their thoughts on how they think the organizational landscape can change in the future.

It is important for leaders and others to properly communicate the strategic plan. Here are some lessons learned from efforts to communicate a strategic plan.

Lesson #1: “Don’t Rely on Written Communication Alone”

Present the strategic plan in many different ways. Leaders should remember that employees all absorb information differently. So, for example, if leaders only use posters to convey their communication strategy and have some employees who aren’t visual learners, those employees won’t be affected.

Or, if they only send an email out explaining the strategy in a long, drawn-out way, employees who routinely ignore long emails won’t be affected. A case in point—is that leaders should be sure they present the strategic plan in many different ways.

Leaders should use a mix of video, audio, visual, and written strategy communication to employees so everyone can learn about the plan in the way that is best for them. Leaders should be creative with how they present their plan.

Lesson #2: “Make Your Message Clear and Relevant”

Define your strategic terms. For example, if “customer” is one of the key terms in the strategy, leaders should consider defining it outright. In other words, leaders should not assume employees know exactly who their customers are and why they are targeting them.

Use crystal-clear language. Using industry-specific acronyms may seem “smarter” or “easier”—but it is actually just the opposite. For example, the Canon USA strategy map doesn’t talk about “maximizing (return on assets) ROA.” Instead, it encourages employees to “find ways of lowering the cost of doing business,” “work together,” and “make Canon number one in all businesses.” Additionally, try to cut out any useless, jargon-laden phrases like “leveraging talent” or “optimizing strategy.”

Lesson #3: “Keep Communication Flowing in Both Directions”

Develop venues for bottom-up communication. Leaders should ask whether or not employees know that they want them to provide them with feedback? If leaders don’t have any defined venues for this bottom-up strategic planning communication they probably don’t.

Or, at the very least, employees don’t know how to go about providing leaders with that feedback. Leaders should consider the best avenue for constructive feedback. Leaders should consider the best avenue for constructive feedbackOpens in new window based on the organizational structure and put it into place as soon as possible.

Lesson #4: “Tap Into the Workforce’s Vision”

Be open to suggestions from the workforce. It is one thing to have a strategic plan—and another thing entirely to find out how that plan is affecting the organization’s employees.

If the leadership team is able to put themselves in the shoes of lower-level employees and see the strategy at work from their perspective, the leaders will be more willing to consider new and updated solutions to problems.

Be flexible. After the strategic plan is developed, leaders and others need to be willing to make adjustments when necessary. This means they need to be sure to stay in tune with what is and isn’t working properly, and realize that they may need to step back and alter the strategic plan based on the feedback they are getting.

All of these suggestions can be described in a word: transparency. If leaders make it easy for their employees to both access the strategic plan information and provide them with constructive feedback, they are going to see far more strategic success.

The strategic planning process should be a flexible one. When leaders meet with employees and any key stakeholders outside of the organization, they should remember that the discussions should encourage new ideas and thoughts.

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