Ask communications professionals if they think planning is important and most will agree it is. However, it seems clear from study after study that planning is still one of the weaker areas for communications as a profession, and our inaugral study into it last year showed this.
Once again, we want to At ICPlan we’re on a mission to see the latest shifts and trends when it comes the pitfalls and barriers to planning across the Corporate Comms function. We have collaborated with author and consultant, Liam FitzPatrick, to develop a comprehensive 2022 updated study on the issues that influence the way organisations plan communications.
On that note, we’ve launched the 2022 survey aimed at communicators from across the spectrum – from internal to external. We want to hear how they plan and are asking them to take just a few minutes to tell us what influences and affects their approach to planning.
You can take the anonymous survey here: Planning in Communications Survey
Better Planning in Communications: The Necessity of Study
As communicators, for us to be able to navigate the challenges we all face in terms of planning in communications, it’s critical that we continue to understand what the common barriers and roadblocks are. The survey we have created will only take ten minutes of your time but will still cover a lot of key areas of interest. These include what kind of planning takes place in your organisation at the moment, what planning approach you apply to individual projects, and even what factors help or harm implementation. Finally, we also explore who you involve in the development of your comms plans and ultimate sign-off.
It’s not just for internal communicators exclusively. We also want to incorporate the views and experiences of every kind of comms professional from across the diverse comms spectrum. Do internal communicators view and approach strategy in the same way as those in media relations or public affairs? How tightly integrated—or disparate—are these plans? Is there overlap in the utilization of tools? Do comms teams in a company strive for consistency in their messaging?
We Learn and Grow Together
Please also note that this research project is also open to communicators from around the world. In fact, we are hoping to get a more diverse global perspective on planning in communications. We are interested in learning how comms professionals across the world view, approach, and deal with the problems we all face as a community and a profession.
What’s in it for YOU?
We will be carefully analysing the collected data and publishing the report early next year. Respondents who want to receive a copy of the research report can leave their email address at the end of the questionnaire. Additionally, we are also making a donation of $1 for each completed survey to Befrienders International (the international charity that provides confidential support to people in emotional crisis or distress).
The world still continues to change a great deal as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, yet the challenges of effective communication planning remain. In seeking to understand what the current status is and what continues to need to be improved in terms of planning, we believe that we can make a lasting impact for the communications profession.
