Just last week, we had the privilege of hosting a housing roundtable that discussed the issues of data within the housing industry. How to use it, where to get it from, what happens when we get it wrong, and importantly, how data can and should be used in your communications.

We were joined by councils, housing providers, technology experts, data analysts and project managers and advisers who work within the housing sector on a daily basis. What a mix of opinions and insights, from the very best.

At Pearl Comms we’ve managed and delivered a number of strategic change programmes from a communications perspective, from council department overhauls to public sector operating model changes. We also operate within the housing world for developers and social housing providers, enabling us to provide a unique set of insights.

Strategic change programmes are quite unique – they are long, often complex, highly strategic, yet intensely detailed – a combination not for the faint hearted. With projects often lasting years, we’re not always involved from the very beginning, and often join change programmes as part of a rescue mission, or when the project delivery is well underway.

Side note – please engage comms at the earliest possible opportunity. It will save you a serious amount of head ache in the long run.

When joining a project that’s either being rescued or well in the throes of delivery, we all too often get requests from the programme team – “quick, we need an urgent comms for that” – a frequent sight when a project isn’t going to plan. It’s often a symptom of needing quick fixes, some good news, a morale booster or to correct something that’s gone wrong. Quickly, you could be faced with a scenario where your communications get just as out of control as the project.

Our advice? Review the whole programme, don’t make a kneejerk reaction to every item on the programme delivery plan and be selective about who needs information about what. Consider the format, the language and actually how to simplify or group your messages.

Quite often, being selective over the information you share with internal and external stakeholders, pays dividends in the longer term. It often means that information you share will actually be read and absorbed, that relevancy remains high, and calls to actions more likely to be taken.

If you send ‘a comms’ for the minutia of the ins and outs of a change programme, you’ll likely find that you’ll oversaturate your audiences quickly. This will mean they’ll delete your updates rather than read them, or file your requests rather than act on them. Your comms become quickly pointless and ineffective.

Yes, that’s right, we’re telling you to do less comms. Well, not really, but doing the right kind of communications, pitched at the right level, to the right audience will better showcase the impact that your work is having.

After all, how will you shout about the great work that you’re delivering if no one can be bothered to read your updates or understand them.

A strategic approach to your communications is needed, not reactive and tactical delivery. It needs thought, wider programme consideration and a hefty amount of audience intelligence and tailoring. Don’t start a change programme without considering your communications, or you’ll leave your project’s impact wanting.

So when you next think, ‘we need a comms for that’, I’d immediately respond with the question, ‘who does?’. If you can’t answer who or why, perhaps let’s rethink.

For more information on how to handle long-term communications programmes such as strategic change, get in touch with our team on hello@pearl-comms.com.