Communication for results based programme management.
Communication, management and organizational development
With all focus on project management techniques, such as planning, scheduling, cost management, etc., it's easy to forget that communication occupies 90% of a project manager's job time. This includes conflict management, resolving ethical dilemmas, team building - all the soft skills that can make or break projects. In fact, most project failures are in some way tied to a lack of communication. Many projects are perceived as failures due to poor communication, even if all the technical components are done right. Likewise, there are projects where many mistakes are made, but the project is considered a shining success because it was well communicated.
Organisations are being increasingly asked to measure, i.e evaluate, their performance, in terms of results: i.e. relevance, impact, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of their programmes; humanitarian, development, campaign and public programmes alike. Stakeholders, including donors, are also demanding greater transparency and accountability from organisations. This requires that projects be developed within a logical framework (or a results based logic model) through the project cycle management process, be stakeholder participated at each stage and be based on the local context, needs and problems. Since stakeholders involved in each step are many and varied, the extent to which participation is fair, representative and constructive will depend on successful communication among them. Successful communication will directly determine the quality of the project and the relevance, impact and sustainability of project results. This, in turn, is directly dependent on the capacities of the stakeholders, including organisational staff. These capacities of the “what” and “how” of project development, implementation and evaluation, are developed among stakeholders through knowledge sharing, training and on-hands mentoring and support, all of which need communication skills in varying degrees.
So, here, we are looking at communication as “the tool” used by managers for leading teams and programmes towards a results based programme or project. It is also the tool by which lower level employees can follow their leaders in a spirit of authentic collaboration.
From this perspective, communication is seen in a wider sense than the usual one. In this extended perspective, “communication” is not just an “exchange of information”: it includes all human interactions that make it possible to follow the steps of planning, implementing and evaluating projects. Communication is not the be-all and end-all of project management: technical aspects of planning, budgeting, procurement, etc. are equally important. But it is good human interaction (i.e. communication) that ensures objectives are pursued, stakeholders are motivated, teams work according to plans in a spirit of solidarity, the organization and its persons are empowered and a process of continuous learning is activated in the organization. (for further reference please see PMI web site www.pmi.org).
On the one hand, this new importance of communication implies that more training should focus on developing communication skills and learning communication tools. On the other, it is training itself that in learning organizations becomes a form of internal communication. Training and development within organizations con be seen as a strategic tool for the project/programme purpose and as a forward-thinking vehicle for change. This new function of training is much more than just the traditional role it once played in organizations. Knowledgeable about needs assessment and familiar with the latest training technologies, training professionals assist the organization in communicating its mission, goals, and objectives, as well as facilitating the achievement of the mission. More and more organizations are giving space to the training function to act as an independent project/programme purpose, receiving its funding from the other functions. Though this is not yet the norm, the move towards having the training department function like a project/programme purpose is growing rapidly.
NGOs face a formidable communication challenge, as they become primary actors of social change. Change can be seen as an opportunity, but it also generates resistance. Hence, the need for a communication strategy that generates consensus for desired changes. Communication planning also enables spokespersons of the organization to respond adequately to objections and hesitations of those who believe that change is not desirable, not feasible or badly managed.
Why do organisations need to plan and manage their communication?
accountability and transparency. Organisations are increasingly being asked by internal and external stakeholders to be transparent and accountable. This requires knowledge sharing and better knowledge management, possible only through effective communication.
successful project implementation. Big organizations are at times so focused on implementation of project activities that they might look at communication management as a secondary priority. However, for successful project implementation itself, adequate attention must be given to communication management. Good human interaction is a prerequisite for empowerment and motivation of internal stakeholders.
increase efficiency and effectiveness. Lack of adequate communication management always leads to decreased efficiency and effectiveness of development programmes. Good communication management on the contrary promotes task ownership, reduces the amount of work (and stress) for senior managers and makes it possible to conduct constant on-the-job training.
performance evaluation. NGOs are increasingly operating in a competitive environment and are subject to performance evaluation both by donors and by beneficiaries who may have different expectations. Within the purview of their new expectations, NGOs need to determine their universe of stakeholders and then develop a comprehensive, integrated communications strategy that addresses each stakeholder group in ways that are mutually reinforcing and strategically sound. Good communication makes possible the acceptance and use of evaluation reports and lessons learned and promotes capitalization and sharing of organizational knowledge.
generating a team spirit. For many internal stakeholders – employees, consultants, etc. – the essential communication challenge is to generate a strong team spirit and promote improved performance. Internal stakeholders may feel threatened by changes aimed at adapting better to a more competitive context. Therefore, the NGO leadership has to provide vital messages to these stakeholders on competitiveness, strategic intent and future opportunities in a way that is motivational, not threatening. More importantly, these communications can form the basis for front line employee education and training while providing the cultural foundation for the kind of leadership that NGOs expect from their management teams.
building alliances. External stakeholders need to be addressed in equally thoughtful, targeted ways. Management has to develop effective communication strategies that enable the NGO to enter new policy sectors with strategic allies, while overcoming opponents and gaining the favour of the public, traditional institutions, regulators, politicians and the media.
7. capitalizing knowledge By adopting a communication approach that manages knowledge used and generated, organizations can get a better return on their learning and development activities. Knowledge Management can make an international organization linked in a way such that best practices in a country can be adapted into another, without having to, each time, re-invent the wheel.
availing funding opportunities. Large donors and other stakeholders are increasingly demanding results based monitoring and evaluation of programmes in order to measure impact of development assistance. When communication with external stakeholders is effective and capitalised, it is easier to document the changes achieved in the social context and validate programme impacts.
On the basis of interviews held before the training workshops conducted in PPD and on the basis of lessons learned, we have identified a number of communication needs, of AKF in Bamiyan, and other problems in the implementation of development activities that have not yet been addressed. Most of the items contained in the list below are typical problems emerging from the absence of a specific communication plan and communication strategy. What is not “typical” is however the high degree of commitment and sense of solidarity amongst AKF top personnel who give extra time and take extra care in solving these problems, diffusing tensions, restoring understanding, promoting team spirit and solidarity even in such a difficult context as the one in which they are operating in Afghanistan. Improved communication management could free this time and energy dedicated to reducing the damages of unorganized communication planning and allow for a more relaxed and effective programme management.
Problems with external stakeholders. AKF is widely known in the Bamiyan Region as the leader in social work and development activities. However the local population has vague notions about what really AKF is and its mandate. Most cooperation activities are done by AKF in “synergy” with others; however most people in the AKF project areas have little idea about what “cooperation” and “synergy” really mean. Local population is often confused about the kind of support that AKF is receiving from Afghan Government and from Foreign Agencies. Is AKF working for the Government? Or With the Government? Who pays whom? Who decides? There is confusion between “international organizations” and “foreign institutions”. Who rally are the foreigners financing AKD? How much their policies influences AKD programmes? Most of the local population makes an attempt to understand “who is responsible for what”, but they build up vague and distorted ideas concerning who is the supposed “master” or “leader” in “cooperation” between AKF and its partners. This confusion sometimes leads to unreasonable expectations for an “all-powerful” AKF or to ungrounded suspicions on “foreigner-subservient AKF”. There are local influential people who know well what AKF is and they act as interlocutors but sometimes they are seen as communication bottlenecks, suspected of withholding information from the general public, for exploiting their position as information “gatekeepers”. There is a sincere genuine effort on the part of AKF managers to “let activities speak for themselves”, confident that the participated approach that AKF adopts and the development results that AKF shows are the most direct and efficacious modality to clarify AKF intentions to the external stakeholders. In reality, there is a good deal of misunderstanding of the ethical implications of AKF’s commitments and there is little understanding of the long-term policy objectives to which the present activities intend contributing. AKF management needs to realize that “actions speak by themselves” is a naïve wishful thinking. Working together requires a good deal of “speaking out”. And “building one’s image” requires constant planning, evaluation and re-planning.
Problems with internal stakeholders. There are communication problems:
· Between planning centres (that design projects) and executing centres (that implement them).
· Between head offices and sub-offices;
· Between international and national staff.
· Between programme implementation team and programme support teams
The main symptoms (when they emerge) are:
· Lack of clear indications concerning reciprocal expectations;
· Claims that the counterparts are not ready to listen to one’s requirements;
· Delays and other inefficiencies in respecting implementation deadlines and reporting;
· Inaccurate projections and planning – financial, logistic, programmatic
· Tendency to search for individual “scapegoats” when something goes wrong instead of identifying insufficiencies in objective setting, work plans, etc.;
· Lack of appreciation for each other’s competences (human and technical);
· Lack of sincere feedbacks;
· Withholding information, suggestions, help, or support;
· Forms of passive resistance by lower employees that may take the shape of:
o Agreeing verbally, but not following through,
o Failing to implement change,
o Procrastination,
o Feigning ignorance,
Some of the causes may be identified as:
· Lack of competence (and lack of training that addresses this need);
· Excessive distance of programmes from planning and implementing sections;
· Resistance to evaluation processes (also because these may tend to be judgmental).
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The proposal for addressing these problems: Organizational development action for AKF Bamyan: Communication for results based programme management.
The objectives:
1. To adopt a view that inter-personal difficulties are organizational issues that require understanding and dialogue. If such a view cascades down from the top to the bottom of the organizational hierarchy, acceptance of managerial instructions will be eased and the programme implementation will be facilitated.
2. To improve the understanding, by lower managerial levels, of the various phases of programme cycles and project management, so that internal stakeholders are better prepared to exchange, within timelines, relevant information and to proactively support each other’s tasks.
3. To build communication plans on the basis of programmes and project plans, so that all members of the team know in advance what information they need to ask from each other, what information they need to supply to others and what are the timelines of these information exchanges.
4. To improve individual communication skills and the mastery of communication tools required for implementation of project and programme activities.
1. To provide consultancy to the planning unit of AKF-Bamiyan program to build a “communication plan” aimed at facilitating the implementation of the existing development plan(s).
2. To train a group of AKF professionals in communication management for the implementation of the communication plan.
3. To develop resources (like checklists, templates, insight documents, guidelines, etc.) that can be used to manage communication and for future training activities.
See below for activity details.
Traditionally, training in organizations is seen as essentially limited to capacity building for project/programme purpose. However, new approaches to organizational learning are promoting an approach to training that widely extends the traditional role. Whereas the older view tended to equate learning with mastering content, the new one equates learning with improved job performance. In order to achieve this, training professionals must assist the organization in communicating its mission, goals, and objectives, as well as facilitating the achievement of the mission. On the other hand, in a positive communication climate, managerial instructions are given as a form of capacity building (training), rather than forms of command and control.
A strong organizational culture a provides to the team a community identity, a sense of uniqueness, and sense of connection for all members within the organization. Training and development is an important indicator of the strength of an organizational culture because an organization’s priorities are best seen by how it values the need for current and future knowledge of its employees. Organizations that sacrifice training or only do the minimum necessary to keep their employees updated in their respective jobs, are ignoring both the organization’s needs for new knowledge and skills as well as the employees’ need for growth and development. Continuous training is the best means in establishing and maintaining the organizational culture and the expected communication climate.
Such an extended form of training is often called “organizational (or employee) development”. Strategic organizational development is the process of setting targets and monitoring, evaluating and measuring them, providing feedback and rewarding organizational performance. Management can utilize the training and development function to help determine an effective way of measuring the important aspects of their organization’s performance and to ensure that optimal resource utilisation is being achieved.
Organizational development involves professional consulting, provided in forms of mentoring, coaching and formal training (on-the-job and classroom). In this action, the external consultant (Stefano De Santis) will gradually transfer the strategic competences and hand over responsibilities to AKF employees, including the capacity of running similar organizational development actions.
The proposed organizational development action is aimed at:
- Developing communication plans,
- Identifying critical areas that need special attention;
- Identifying the competence gap that requires capacity building.
The training work will follow and will be focused on:
- Enabling internal stakeholders to understand and implement the communication plan;
- Addressing critical areas with adequate activities and tools;
- Building communication skills and the other project implementation competences required.
Development consultancy and training individuals are two activities that will be integrated. Leading the local team will be conducted such that it is at the same time a process of transfer of knowledge and competence. At the end of this action there will be a core group of AKF professionals who will be able to lead others in the same way that Stefano leads during the action.
The training itself will assume the form of a “mentoring” process, i.e. the facilitation of the learning process, enabling the individual to take ownership for his/her own development. This process of mentoring aims at offering clear thinking space, challenge assumptions and helps individuals in actualising their potential.
Priority will be given to “On the Job Training (OJT)” rather than classroom training. Positive elements of a structured OJT program are:
1. the empowerment for staff to be involved in training;
2. ownership of the training is decentralized to the work site or department.
The process of transferring knowledge will be gradual. At the beginning, Stefano will take leadership of aspects that the present team is not yet capable of doing. Later, he will mainly be concerned with transmitting the competences (by supporting others in performing their roles so that better results are achieved). Finally, the teams will not need the presence of Stefano any longer (although he will continue to generate added value to the activities, his presence will not be indispensable to the organization for achieving communication objectives).
Stefano will also make sure that the process of knowledge delivery is conducted for the whole organization and not only for individuals. This can be done by sustaining the team, utilising tools that can be collected and re-utilized by the organization. To this aim, it is essential that the consultancy will provide written documents (checklists, templates, insight documents, guidelines, etc.)
Some of these templates will be provided at the beginning by Stefano, based on the standard know how of project communication management.
(See samples of those provided at the beginning of the training programme at PPD at http://kautilya.bluedomino.com/templates/templates_samples.htm)
During the consultancy and training period, these templates will be tailored to the specific needs of AKF programmes and procedures, will be translated as requirements and will be provided specifically to those who need to use them. (in the PPD internal web site see examples of templates re-adapted in the conducted workshops.)
Besides templates, other important tools that will be produced before and during the training are “guidelines” that will explain when and how to use these templates.
(See samples of those provided at the beginning of the training programme in PPD at http://kautilya.bluedomino.com/guidelines/guidelines_samples.htm) These will be revised and tailored according to the specific needs of AKF programmes in Bamyan and will be provided to specific users. (in the PPD internal web site, see examples of guidelines re-adapted in the conducted workshops.)
The importance of these templates and guidelines goes beyond training, since these also constitute the “knowledge bank” used in monitoring and evaluation activities. Evaluation reports can therefore relate the implementation of a communication phase to expected standards, re-call the attention of poor performers who did not follow such standards, revise standards by re-adapting and providing new templates and guidelines. In this way evaluation reports will be less judgmental (and therefore face less resistance among staff), more supportive and will provide empowering tools aimed at facilitating staff to perform their tasks.
During the training, it will be possible to enlarge the scope of the PPD internal website to act as a storage and access point for AKF capitalized knowledge. This would make it easier to share lessons learned and to clarify expected quality levels. (For further information on the possible scope of PPD web site for continuous learning, see the recommendations prepared by Stefano at the end of the training programme conducted: Integrating Web Based Training (WBT) and classroom training in PPD)
During the implementation of this action, communication management will not be seen as an additional task over project implementation; it will be conceived as an important and integrated component of project management.
In this consultancy/training programme, special care will be devoted to maximize results while minimizing the time spent by trainees.
Each trainee should feel that the communication management programme is not an additional job, but rather an additional help, a support given for speeding up the performance of their duties. AKF personnel participating in the programme should feel that the consultancy and training provided by Stefano is giving them an opportunity to reduce the time wasted in communication problems.
Throughout the programme, the core group of professionals under training will continue to work on their routine engagements, but will also be supported by Stefano and by other colleagues in better managing the communication associated with such engagements.
The five steps of the programme are logical phases rather than chronological ones. Formal workshops will only be done in the fourth phase; but on-the-job training will be done from the beginning because all activities carried out by Stefano will be along with the staff who, in future, will perform these tasks without external assistance.
1.
Developing communication plans.
This will be done in collaboration with few senior managers. Their presence is
required since
training and development should be aligned with the
organizational mission and programmes. And the action feed backs should provide
senior managers with strategic information for further planning.
While
developing communication plans we will start from an analysis of the relevant
project documents (logical frameworks, etc.) and we will consider all the steps
through which programs generate and evaluate projects. This is particularly
important since many development organizations tend to work only with logical
frameworks that focus only on outputs and outcomes, but do not specify all the
organizational activities needed in program management for designing projects,
especially in inception and closure phases. It is very important that there are
communication flowcharts of tasks outside the LFs, like finalization and
approval of work plans, attribution of select internal staff to projects,
recruitments, procurements, internal reports, financial projections and
management,
internal monitoring and evaluation of results, re-scheduling and other
modifications to action plans, capitalization and sharing of lessons learned,
etc. All such activities require communication and will be able to run more
efficiently if the communication is logically planned and reciprocal
expectations are clarified amongst internal stakeholders.
Developing a communication plan involves at least the following steps:
- Identifying project stakeholders
- Analyzing communication needs of each stakeholder
- Identifying information for fulfilling information needs of each stakeholder
- Identifying the Methods and Efforts Required
- Prioritizing Communication Options
- Developing a Conflict Management Strategy
2. Identifying critical areas that need special attention. Although most communication management is done within project activities as a facilitating process, we might identify special communication needs that require extra tasks or extra actions that need to be specifically designed (e.g. establishment of a public information window, employee newsletter, organizational web site, etc.). If such a need emerges, we will prepare the logical frameworks of such actions.
3. Identifying competence gaps that require capacity building. To establish training needs, it is useful to carry out training needs analysis, which contrasts the "should-s" of employee performance with the "actual-s" of results you're currently achieving. Through employee perceptions, feedback, and observation, such a needs analysis weighs the importance of such areas of contrast in your organization in order to determine where you would like to allocate training resources.
In the third phase of this action we will see what are the competences required to implement the communication plans prepared in the two earlier phases. Where personnel capacity is low, there will be need for some on-the-job training and eventually few capacity building workshops. Before (and during) the workshops, we will also try to further understand the communication needs by focusing on existing communication difficulties. We will analyze past experiences with questions such as:
· Was there confusion in roles and responsibilities?
· Were you provided with clear communication flow charts?
· Did you experience an unsympathetic management style?
· Are lower hierarchical levels endowed with too low a responsibility?
· What prevents some employees from feeling ownership of their tasks?
· Is decision making too centralised?
· Does management encourage knowledge sharing and participation?
· Are internal coordination mechanisms sufficiently geared towards maintaining timelines, accountability and transparency?
· Is decision making based on logical and shared processes?
· Are there claims that counterparts are not ready to listen to one’s requirements?
· Are there delays in reporting (especially to donors)?
· Is there a tendency to search for individual “scapegoats” when something goes wrong instead of identifying insufficiencies in objective setting, work plans, etc.
· Have there been misunderstandings with stakeholders (especially local authorities)? Why?
4. Capacity building of AKF staff. On the basis of needs identified, we will conduct specific workshops and on-the-job training modules. Workshops will be mainly conducted during the winter season in Bamiyan, when most work is suspended in the districts due to weather conditions.
Workshops will be divided into two main sections:
a.
Project Communication Management.
The main purpose of this section is to enable trainees to proceed according to
the communication plans prepared in Activity 1. However, “following” a
communication plan is not mere obedience to a prescription. Communication is
always a process of human interaction that requires comprehension of the whole
context and proactive participation. Besides this, the communication plan will
give indicate only the most important communication steps of project management
and each task manager has to re-plan more specifically the communication
elements of her/his specific tasks. So an overall understanding of
communication management is desirable for all internal stakeholders of project
management.
In this workshop section we will first see all the typical steps and phases
of project cycle management (PCM). The scope is to improve the
understanding, at lower managerial levels, of the various phases of program
development management so that internal stakeholders are better prepared to
exchange, within timelines, relevant information and to proactively support each
other’s tasks. For each phase of the PCM, we will analyze what are the typical
stakeholders, their information needs, who they need to receive information from
and what is the expected frequency. For each phase of program/project cycle
management we will develop
templates and guidelines that will
define expected communication standards and will help the information providers
to satisfy information requirements. While some general clarification of the
various aspects of project cycle management will be done for all trainees,
in-depth knowledge of the use of specific templates will be done on an
individual basis to those who will use these templates more frequently.
In a second phase of this section, we will divide the trainees in small groups to analyze specific communication requirements of the running projects and programmes. Finally, we will take care of single cases and help them in analyzing and planning the specific communication associated with the performance of their specific tasks within the running programmes. This on-the-job individual assistance will continue after the workshops.
b.
General communication skills
and mastery of communication tools. In the part regarding “communication
skills”, trainees will learn to help create a productive and supportive
communication climate in their teams and how to encourage communicating trust
and openness among the organization’s internal stakeholders. Workshops will
provide practical advice on how to listen effectively and provide appropriate
feedback to encourage effective two-way communication within the organization,
how to minimize message distortion and limit rumors in the organization, and how
to best use communication channels. We will also look at how to manage the
conflicts that invariably arise when people interact with one another and
provide some suggestions for dealing with resistance from within the
organization, including the belief that change will fail and that change has
been handled improperly. The section regarding “communication tools” aims at
providing practical guidance on communication instruments most commonly used in
development projects.
Topics will include:
· Basic Communication Skills
· Listening and Feedback
· Motivating the Project Team
· Message Distortion
· Conflict management
· Addressing Resistance
· Memos and Letters
· Guidelines on Effective Writing
· Guidelines for Public Speaking
· Meetings, Problem Solving and Decision Making
· Elements of Organizational Culture
· Organizational/Communication Climate
· Employee Alignment and Education
· Communicating to External Stakeholders
· How to present an idea
· Participation Methods and Tools
A general introduction to all these topics will be done in the workshop for all trainees. In a second phase of this section we will divide the trainees into small groups according to the communication tools they more commonly need to use (we can also consider special sections on specific tools like web site, newsletters, campaigns, etc. according to the needs documented in Activity 2).
Finally, we will take care of single cases to help them prepare specific documents and other communication products required for the performance of their specific tasks within the running programmes. This on-the-job individual assistance will continue after the workshops.
5. To develop resources. (for e.g. checklists, templates, insight documents, guidelines, etc.) that can be used later on for the management of communication and for future training activities.
This activity has been already illustrated before (see the section on “methodology”.)
Through this program, we intend teaching how planned communication activities can be used to collect, organize and share organizational memory.
(For further information on the possible scope of an organizational web site for continuous learning, see the recommendations prepared by Stefano at the end of the training program conducted at PPD.)
It is envisaged that the action will be carried out for the duration of a minimum of one year.
This will be subdivided in 4 phases of 3 months each.
In each phase, Stefano will be present in Afghanistan for a period of 4 weeks (for a total of 16 weeks in the year) and during the gaps, he will continue to prepare documentation and assist the team from distance (e-mail, web pages, chatting, etc.).
Throughout the training period of 1 year, the core group of 15 professionals under training will continue to work on the activities of communication management along with their routine engagements.
Communication management should not be considered as a different role within running programmes implementation, but as one element facilitating programme management.