UB2020 IT Reorganization Initiative Strategy Planning: Communication Strategy
University at Buffalo
UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative
Strategy Planning
Communication Strategy
Prepared by:
Rick Lesniak, UBIT Communications Coordinator
Version 0.1 – First Draft
Change HistoryChange Record
VERSION / DATE / CHANGED BY / CHANGE /0.1 / 7/7/2009 / Rick Lesniak / No previous document
Reviewers
VERSION / Name /Contents
1. Executive Summary 4
2. Communication Objectives 5
3. Communication Approach 7
3.1 Identifying the Audience 8
3.2 Vehicles for Communication 8
3.2.1 Presentations 8
3.2.2 Websites 8
3.2.3 Email 8
3.2.4 University Publications 9
3.2.5 Blogs 9
3.2.6 Town Hall Meetings 9
3.2.7 Information Sessions 9
3.2.8 Focus Groups 9
3.2.9 Training 9
3.2.10 Other 9
3.3 Techniques to Leverage Communications Efforts 9
3.4 Communication Risks and Barriers 10
4. Conclusion 12
Overview of UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative 13
1. Executive Summary
Communications that announced the reorganization of IT at UB were released in late Fall 2008. Since then, careful assessments of the service and financial resources have been completed to establish a financial baseline. Actual organization structure discussions began in earnest during May 2009, with plan approvals through ETAG, VP and Deans meetings, and IT Leadership discussions.
The reorganization process will continue by developing unit service catalogs and Service Level Agreements, implementing common priority setting processes and portfolio management practices. Much of the actual reorganization plan needs still to be worked out. As such, a series of incremental steps will be taken during the next year, as we understand further how the process unfolds.
The Communication Strategy has been developed to define how the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Communication Team in partnership with UB IT leadership and management will create, administer and deploy the necessary activities and communiqués to support the reorganization initiative. Given the culture and complexity of the institution, the broad scope of the reorganization initiative, the phased implementation plans, the number of stakeholders who will be impacted by services changes and new functionality, the University at Buffalo (UB) has adopted a strong focus on Change Management. The institution recognizes that timely, accurate information will facilitate faculty, staff and student buy-in and ownership of the new organization and component services.
Because the reorganization will continue to impact faculty, staff, and students throughout the University, initiative communications should serve, in part, to remind the university community that Campus Solutions will initiate innovative changes and improvements to IT services that were endorsed by President Simpson, and the Executive Sponsors; and to encourage the campus that continued support and involvement is crucial to the initiative’s expediency.
Communications will support the following objectives:
· Define the current situation and the rationale for the change;
· Communicate the vision of the institution during the reorganization and after the change takes place;
· Communicate implementation plans and reorganization status;
· Provide a consistent picture of the UB IT Transformation Phase II Initiative;
· Integrate UB IT brand and communication strategies within reorganization communications;
· Facilitate involvement, acceptance, and ultimately, ownership of the new business processes and the new system; and
· Gain feedback from key stakeholders
A detailed UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Communication Plan has been developed by the Communication Team to align with and support this strategy document. The dynamic and interactive Communication Plan identifies the specific stakeholder audiences, method of execution, modes of communication, expected results and schedule necessary to support the initiative throughout the lifecycle reorganization initiative.
2. Communication Objectives
All communications will support the following objectives:
Define the current situation and the rationale for the change. It is important that faculty, staff and other affected stakeholders understand the business drivers for the change, the urgency behind making the change, how the change supports the overall mission of the institution, and how the change will position the institution to better respond to the demands of its customers in the future.
Communicate the vision of the institution during the transformation and after the change takes place. Affected stakeholders will be better positioned to accept the change when they understand the benefits of the new organization. Benefits for the institution and for the individual must be communicated.
Communicate implementation plans and reorganization status. Communications must impart the disciplined, deliberate, logical methodology employed to reorganize IT workers and implement services delivery changes. Frequent communications to stakeholders regarding what the reorganization team is doing, how the initiative is progressing, and upcoming initiative events will keep faculty, staff and other affected stakeholders aware of the initiative as a whole and better prepared for upcoming activities. This also helps to build confidence that the implementation process is well managed, promotes acceptance of the new organization, and reduces anxiety about the next steps and impending changes.
Provide a consistent picture of the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative. The information communicated to stakeholders using any method or vehicle must be consistent with any other past and present communications. The initiative will derive “good will” benefits throughout the institution by providing consistent information in an accurate and timely manner, thereby promoting confidence in the change. The credibility of the Reorganization / Communication Team with management and stakeholder groups will be based upon the information the team presents to them. If “mixed messages” are communicated, the credibility of the reorganization effort will be undermined.
Standardized templates will be utilized by the team to promote identification of the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative. “Work in progress” documentation need not carry the logo but all documents should be designed with a consistent structure following accepted standards to achieve the desired results and provide a cohesive picture of the initiative in all initiative communications.
The final aspect of this objective is coherency and clarity. Communications must be tailored to the target audience and should be as brief and to the point as possible using language that is easily understood by all stakeholders.
Facilitate involvement, acceptance, and ultimately, ownership of the new organization processes and services. Continuous, targeted communications which focus on priorities, dependencies, upcoming demands, and education will promote understanding, involvement, acceptance, and, ultimately ownership among stakeholders. When stakeholders are aware of and involved in the change process, they are better prepared to work through the difficulties of the change itself.
Set and manage expectations of the magnitude, direction, and speed of change with respect to the impact on specific programs, groups, or individuals. The Communication Plan will be developed to provide accurate, timely information about what will happen to whom and when. Communications will be tailored to what is appropriate for each target audience during each ensuing activity or phase of the initiative. Tailoring the message to an audience ensures that the intended message is delivered based on the target audience’s previous knowledge and immediate needs.
The Communication Plan defines the type, method, audience and style of the various communications to be developed and distributed throughout the lifecycle of the initiative. The plan includes timelines to ensure appropriate sequencing and frequency of communications throughout the initiative. As major reorganization events approach, communication frequency will need to be increased to make sure the information is disseminated early enough for the target audience to review, understand and provide appropriate feedback.
Gain feedback from key stakeholders. Communication processes should never be viewed as a one-way road. Interaction is critical to confirm that the audience received the message as it was intended and reached the desired understanding. Therefore all project communications should specifically define a method of gaining feedback about the clarity of the intended message.
There are four significant purposes of gaining feedback from key stakeholders:
· Identify issues that were not previously identified during earlier development processes so that the issue can be properly addressed;
· Identify points that were not made clear by the communication or in the delivery of the message so that it can be corrected;
· Identify missing points that are needed to clarify and complete the intended message; and
· Identify the positive results and share them with others to promote acceptance.
The UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Communication Strategy and Plan embodies best practices and lessons learned from other large change initiatives, and seeks to establish a new benchmark for the future.
3. Communication Approach
The purpose of establishing a Communication Strategy is to define the guiding principles and identify the specific methods and tools used to communicate information about the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative and the subsequent changes it creates. It establishes ownership and acceptance (or buy-in) of the initiative by managing the perceptions and expectations of faculty, staff and other affected stakeholders. Goals and objectives of this approach include:
· Communicate the vision, plans and timeline for the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative;
· Provide a consistent, cohesive and coherent picture of the initiative;
· Facilitate acceptance from all stakeholders;
· Promote “buy-in” and “ownership” of the new organization and services through involvement from all levels of the institution;
· Ensure that stakeholders are aware of and involved in the process of change;
· Set and manage expectations of the magnitude, direction and speed of change with respect to the new organization and services;
· Provide accurate, timely information about what will happen to whom and when; and
· Gain feedback from key stakeholders.
University stakeholders prefer to receive messages from two sources: the institution’s most senior executive and the direct supervisor. Faculty, staff and students respond to messages regarding overall institutional opportunities, external forces, or strategic business improvements from the most senior executive. Messages regarding the strategic importance of an initiative and a broad understanding of the impact of the change should come from the executive level. Messages related to how the change will impact an individual’s job should come from the direct manager or supervisor. These messages include information on anticipated changes for the individual or group, timing of the changes, and expected behavior while the change is taking place.
The Communication Team will develop high-impact messages, targeted to the specific audience and designed for an appropriate delivery method. To facilitate the distribution of communications, Change Coordinators / Agents comprised of individuals who are recognized as leaders at various levels of the institution will be identified. Working collaboratively with the Communication Team, these individuals will:
· Understand the business reasons for the initiatives;
· Help to validate the message content for the target audiences; and
· Promote the change effort through active participation and communication with peers and subordinates.
Additionally, executive leadership, sponsors, managers, supervisors, IT workers and trainers will be positioned to deliver key messages to targeted audiences.
3.1 Identifying the Audience
Identifying individuals who “need to know” – most employees at the University at Buffalo deal with some aspect of IT services and will be directly affected by the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative, so the “need to know” population is quite large, including campus administrators, student services staff who are end-users, departmental staff, faculty who serve as student advisers, and students, both current and prospective. As the project progresses, it is anticipated that additional stakeholder groups will be identified and incorporated into the Communication Plan.
The various audience groups have differing requirements for detailed information, but all groups require an understanding of the basics of the planned implementation and the reasons for planned changes. The President, Provost, academic and financial officers need high-level information about the IT organization and services changes, and the resulting impact on the university. Faculty, department heads, and University staffs need to know how the changes affect their requesting and receiving IT services. A comprehensive listing of Stakeholder Audience Groups will be maintained in the master Communication Plan which will be posted to the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative website.
3.2 Vehicles for Communication
Due to the unique nature of the UB institution, multiple channels for communicating messages will be utilized to disseminate information about the initiative. The Communication Team anticipates using various methods and tools including print, face-to-face and electronic. A comprehensive listing of communication vehicles will be maintained in the master Communication Plan which will be posted to the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II Initiative website.
3.2.1 Presentations
Members of the UB2020 IT Transformation Phase II team, including Sponsors and members of the Steering Committee, or campus liaisons, may present materials to meetings or groups when information is ready for dissemination, or when a user group requests a presentation. Such meetings and/or groups might include: Deans/Vice –Provosts Meetings, Faculty-Senate, established university groups (i.e., Librarians, University Support Services providers, and Professional Staff Senate), union meetings, or other functional user group meetings.
3.2.2 Websites
The website http://www.buffalo.edu/ub2020/IT Reorganization/ is the repository for the reorganization initiative information including purpose and history of the initiative; guiding principles; reorganization design; timeline; status information and a calendar the implementation schedule; frequently asked questions; and service catalogs.
MyUB, http://myub.buffalo.edu, is UB’s portal providing online access to faculty, staff and students. The “Need to Know” pagelet contains important and useful information for all employees and students.
3.2.3 Email
As users who are affected by the initiative are identified, appropriate email lists are established for ongoing communication and discussion.
3.2.4 University Publications
UB Reporter is published regularly. A link to the electronic versions of the newsletter is sent to UB employees who are on a distribution list and hardcopies are provided to appropriate campus distribution centers. From time-to-time, communications related to the reorganization will appear in the publication.
3.2.5 Blogs
[May be utilized by the team. Additional due diligence and approval will be required prior to the Communication Team recommendation on this vehicle]