Communication Plan - Final

Update 2

30 July 2003

Prepared for:

HQ Defense Logistics Agency

Attn: Paul Peters

8725 John J. Kingman Road

Fort Belvoir, VA22060

Contract Number: GS-35F-4692G

Delivery Order: SP0103-00-F-A032

Document ID: PSI12-25-Communication Plan-Final

Prepared by:

Accenture, Ltd.

11951 Freedom Drive

Reston, VA20190

Distribution Statement C: Distribution authorized to US Government

agencies and their contractors; Software Documentation; 30 July 1994. Other requests

for this document shall be referred to HQ DLA.

BSM Communication Plan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SectionPage

1.0Introduction

1.1Executive Summary

1.1.1Communication Objectives

1.1.2Guiding Principles

1.1.3Team Approach and Structure

1.1.4Stakeholders

1.1.5Communication Vehicles

1.1.6Communication Effectiveness

1.1.7Feedback Mechanisms

1.1.8Risks and Issues

2.0Communication objectives

3.0Guiding Principles

4.0Team Approach and Structure

5.0StaKEHOLDERS

6.0Communication Vehicles

7.0Communication Effectiveness

8.0Feedback MechanismS

9.0Risk and Issues

10.0Appendices

PSI2-25-Communication Plan - FINAL. doc.doc / 1- -– / July 16, 2003

BSM Communication Plan

1.0Introduction

The intended audience for this is the Change Management Team and the Program Management Office. This document outlines the strategy and approach of the Communication Plan as part of the Change Management IPT. This includes outlining the strategy and approach for communications focusing on BSM and the impact of BSM on employees.The BSM Communications Sub Team has responsibility for the strategy and approach for communications focused on DLA employees, customers, and suppliers. While this sub team has worked to support the development of communication strategies and approaches for Customer and Supplier Communications, the implementation of the Customer Communication Plan is with Customer Relationship Management (J-34) and Supplier Communications Plan is with Procurement (J-33).

1.1Executive Summary

This document serves as a status update regarding the implementation of the original plan. While the overall goals and objectives remained the same, the approach, specific messaging, and implementation methods were customized to meet both enterprise and site-specific needs. Changes in the communication plan were made in response to Change Readiness feedback, and input from the Change Management Team. Changes included using new delivery vehicles, focusing on key messages, and development of tools to address specific action items.

1.1.1Communication Objectives

An objective is “something toward which effort is directed: an aim, goal, or end of action.” The objective of BSM communication is to move the stakeholders along the Change Commitment Curve. This will be accomplished by focusing on three primary areas: generating commitment of stakeholders for upcoming changes, providing stakeholders with information to more effectively do their jobs, and ensuring that changes are sustained after the program ends. The Change Commitment Curve illustrates the increasing level of commitment required of stakeholders to facilitate BSM success. This document includes the original Communication Plan and Implementation updates, changes and additions to the original plan, updated key messages, and information regarding Customer and Supplier Communication strategies, approaches, and work plans.

1.1.2Guiding Principles

This section describes the factors that are important to the success of the communication program and techniques for addressing each. Specifically, this section discusses the importance of keeping the end goal in mind, maintaining the audiences’ interests, delivering honest and accurate communication, setting realistic expectations and establishing appropriate timing and frequency, maintaining consistency and providing feedback opportunities.

1.1.3Team Approach and Structure

The Communications team is distributed among the DLA field locations and Headquarters. Team members specialize in one or two of three primary communication areas: Enterprise, Site, and Process. This section describes team structure and how the team interacts across sites/ processes.

1.1.4Stakeholders

The people affected by the BSM initiative, or communities/audience group members are the drivers of the BSM Communication Plan. Stakeholder groups that are impacted by the implementation of BSM are listed and described in this section. This includes specific audience groups within two broad categories: Internal and External stakeholders. An audience analysis has been completed for each stakeholder group as each phase of implementation will impact each stakeholder/audience group differently.

1.1.5Communication Vehicles

A communication vehicle is the medium by which messages are transmitted to or received from the organization. In this section, the vehicles that are used to deliver appropriate messages to the right audiences are listed, described, and categorized according to the appropriate audience. In order to determine what vehicles should be used, we will work in collaboration with existing Communication Departments to leverage existing vehicles wherever possible. Some of the available vehicles include: DLA Today and Tomorrow, BSM Website, DLA open forums.

1.1.6Communication Effectiveness

Throughout the project, the BSM Communication team will evaluate the effectiveness of the communication. This will involve reassessing where each stakeholder/audience group is on the Change Commitment Curve so that we can modify the Communication Plan based on the evaluation. This section contains recommended measures for gauging whether the vehicle delivered was well received by the specific stakeholder/audience group within DLA. If the vehicle is not accomplishing its purpose, these measures can help the BSM Communication team understand how to better adapt messages to meet the needs of the Stakeholders/Audiences.

1.1.7Feedback Mechanisms

Continual stakeholder feedback is important to BSM success. The ultimate objective of the communication program is to move stakeholders up the Change Commitment Curve, transitioning from a level of unawareness to a level of ownership of the BSM initiative. In order to accomplish this, stakeholders need to feel as though their needs are not just being heard, but being addressed. In order to ensure that this project is adequately addressing stakeholder /audience groups’ questions and concerns, informal and formal feedback mechanisms will be implemented.

1.1.8Risks and Issues

The success of BSM communication is dependent on various factors. Issues and challenges being faced by the team is described in this section.

2.0Communication objectives

The objective of this communication effort is to disseminate information that will increase the speed and effectiveness of the BSM program, in order to deliver business value to DLA. We will accomplish this by focusing on three primary areas: generating commitment of stakeholders for upcoming changes, providing stakeholders with information to more effectively do their jobs, and ensuring that changes are sustained after the program ends.

Generating commitment:

A primary objective of the communications effort is to move target audiences up the commitment curve prior to, and following go-live.

Figure 1-Change Commitment Curve

Target audiences will be identified during each phase of the BSM program. Once identified, the approach is to specify what information should be delivered and when, considering the concerns, interests and level of participation of the audience. The goal is to create effective communication in a clear and concise manner as consistent with the program phase. As we begin the rollout of Release 2, this will become particularly challenging, as different groups of stakeholders will be entering different phases.

Those affected by the BSM initiatives form large, varied and geographically dispersed audiences. With this in mind, initial BSM communication will be general and broad in scope. Key stakeholders will receive the most focused communication. BSM stakeholders are defined as DLA employees, union leaders, suppliers, customers or other external groups.

Throughout the program, the team will deliver messages that highlight program milestones, describe success stories, express appreciation and include other relevant project information.

Improving job performance:

After go-live, the Communications Team provides information to help stakeholders succeed in their new roles. This includes the sharing of best practices, notice of system outages or enhancements, sharing of performance metrics, job aids and other performance support tools.

Sustaining the change:

Finally, the team will communicate information designed to ensure a lasting transformation at DLA. Enterprise messages should reinforce the “One DLA” concept. Leadership messages should build greater trust among the workforceof DLA’s leaders. Process communications should contribute to breaking down the existing “stove pipes”, and making DLA more process-centric. The team will look for ways to change the long-term mindset of the organization, create a learning organization, and contributing to a new DLA culture.

3.0Guiding Principles

Multiple factors are required for the success of this communication initiative. The BSM Communication team has developed guiding principles to be used to design communication. By following these guiding principles, we will increase the chance that communication will meet its objectives. Below is a list of Guiding Principles and techniques that will govern the BSM communication effort.

Guiding Principle / Description
Keep End Goal in Mind / The BSM communication team will craft communication with one main goal in mind: which is to support the guiding principles of the change management team and the communication team. Communication will be crafted to cause an upward movement on the Change Commitment Curve, to allow the DLA employees to effectively do their jobs and to encourage aculture that sustains change. All changes that have a potential impact on the way DLA employees perform their jobs will be communicated immediately and advance notice will be provided in such situations.
Ensure enterprise development, with site-specific delivery / The same messages should be communicated across the DLA enterprise. However, we recognize that each site is different, with different needs, sizes, and methods of communication. Therefore, we will allow for flexibility in the ways that messages are delivered.
Maintain Audience Interests / The BSM communication team will strategically tailor message content to the audience’s level of understanding. This will help maintain audience interest and generate enthusiasm. Communication will be directed at leaving no one audience behind but capturing and maintaining various audience interests with every communication. Communication will be proactive.
Deliver Honest and Accurate Communication / All communication will have a positive tone with an emphasis on moving forward. All BSM communication will be true and fair.
Set Realistic Expectations / BSM messages will provide optimistic, yet realistic expectations regarding the planned changes. The main question to be answered in order to manage expectations is, “How will this change affect me?”
Establish Appropriate Timing and Frequency / BSM messages will be delivered when they are most important to targeted audiences. If employees are informed too soon, they may lose interest and forget the message. If informed too late, there may be feelings of neglect or the “grapevine” may develop alternative messages. Information will be delivered regularly in order to create trust and diminish the need for the “grapevine.” Frequent communication will also reinforce positive messages to mitigate the effects of “grapevine” messages. Furthermore, communication will be driven by events that directly impact the audience groups, providing an appropriate level of understanding, while not inundating the audience with unnecessary information.
Maintain Consistency / The “look and feel” of communication will remain as standard as possible throughout the course of this change and across DLA sites. In order to accomplish this, the BSM Communication team will leverage existing communication vehicles within DLA whenever possible. Site Change Management sub-teams who will implement and oversee these efforts will also establish consistency through oversight and ownership of the Communication Plan. DLA sponsors will guide the BSM communication team to develop appropriate internal messages and foster ownership of the change. The BSM Communication Team will also serve as a quality assurance shop for all communication on this initiative.
Provide Feedback
Opportunities / Two-way communication will be promoted and will take place before, during and after all releases. Feedback will be used to assess the success of communication. Not only will it help shape successful communication, it will also provide an opportunity for involvement, which is an important factor in gaining buy-in and ownership.

4.0Team Approach and Structure

Team Structure: The Communications team is distributed among the DLA field locations and Headquarters. Team members specialize in one or two of three primary communication areas: Enterprise, Site, and Process.

Enterprise: Some team members, including the team leads, focus on communications that are shared across the enterprise. These include:

  • Website
  • BSM Newsletter
  • Leadership Announcements
  • Articles for the DLA online newspaper
  • BSM marketing materials

Enterprise communications efforts also include support the team provides for other BSM subteams, such as communication regarding:

  • New technology enhancements
  • Training updates
  • Organizational changes

Site: Site team members focus on delivering information to audiences at their home sites, to include the distribution of enterprise communications, and site-specific communications. They will determine the most effective vehicles and channels for disseminating information at their sites. Site team members will also identify the communication needs of audiences at their sites, in order to continuously improve our communications efforts. Site-specific communications include:

  • Town Hall meetings
  • Site publications
  • All-hands meetings
  • Brown-bag learning sessions

Site communication teams create communication plans for their sites, which are integrated into the Enterprise Communications Plan.

Process: Much of the BSM news and information comes from the five Core Processes. Therefore, Communications team members are aligned to each process, to ensure that they have the sufficient knowledge and relationships with subject matter experts to effectively communicate to the process audiences. For each process, the team will produce a communications plan which is integrated into the Enterprise Communications Plan. Process-specific communications include:

  • Reviews of process blueprints and designs
  • News or updates about specific systems
  • News or updates about specific system fixes
  • Video teleconferences with Process Owners
  • Process KPI reports

Communications Plan:

All communications activities are integrated into an Enterprise BSM Communication plan (see Appendix C). The Communications Plan is organized chronologically, and for each communication event, lists the type of communication, audience, vehicle, developer, sender, and status. The plan allows for the team to manage its work efforts, as well as to ensure that each site member is aware of the communications activities elsewhere.

Communications Calls and Meetings:

The Communications team holds a weekly call to review the Communication Plan for the week, to share information about ongoing efforts, discuss issues and risks, etc. The team holds face-to-face meetings, approximately every six weeks, to jointly plan large communications efforts, and to continue building the Enterprise Communications Plan.

5.0StaKEHOLDERS

Stakeholders of the BSM program are the individuals or groups who have a vested interest in and/or can influence BSM. The BSM program has stakeholders that are both internal and external to DLA. The scope of the Communications Team is limited to the internal stakeholders. However, we share information and messages with those in DLA (CRM, SRM, Public Affairs, and Leadership) that are in contact with external stakeholders.

Stakeholders serve as audiences for communications, deliverers of communications, and collaboration partners on whose behalf communications must be developed. They include:

  • DLA Leadership
  • Sponsors
  • Change Agents
  • Supervisors
  • End Users
  • Enterprise Process Support
  • Ancillary Users
  • Non-BSM Employees
  • Union Leadership
  • CRM (J-34)
  • SRM (J-33)
  • Public Affairs

The BSM Project Team:

  • Change Readiness
  • KT&T
  • Organization Alignment
  • Sustainment
  • Process Teams
  • Systems Enhancement Teams (e.g. Portal Team, System Access Team, Business Warehouse Team)
  • Solution Delivery

6.0Communication Vehicles

Communication vehicles are the methods used to deliver messages to stakeholders. They may be face-to-face, paper based, technology based, or delivered through other creative approaches. Different vehicles are appropriate for different audiences and messages. However, it is important to establish some regular, consistent vehicles to ensure a steady flow of information and to avoid overloading audiences with ad hoc messages delivered only by email. The BSM Communication Planspecifies purposes for communication events in more detail. The communication vehicles defined below are potential ones that may be used in BSM communications.

Communication Vehicles / Description
Face to Face
*Sponsors / DLA leaders officially designated to sponsor BSM project.
*Change Agents / Nominated individuals within DLA representing different areas with the organization
*BSM Team Members / DLA resources affected by the initiative directly involved with the project
*BSM 102 Training / Awareness class available to DLA employees
*ManagementCouncil and Leadership meetings / Management project status updates
*Roadshows / A mobile communication event which is used to promote or launch a new initiative.
*IWG / Site Integrated Workgroups
*BSM Town Halls / Project Status Updates
*Site Command Staff meetings / Site Commander, Deputy, all the Sponsors, and other key staff information sharing session.
*Site Sponsorship Meetings / Site Project Sponsors information sharing session
*Program Demonstrations / BSM demonstrations aimed at educating stakeholders on functionality.
*GSA Expo / 8000 customer from various locations
BSM Briefing updates / Project wide briefings
Paper Based
BSM Toolkits and Reference Guides / Information to assist supervisors in performing their roles (e.g. contact lists, tips, etc.)
Promotional and Marketing Materials / Marketing materials promoting BSM
*One DLA Connection Newsletter / Monthly newsletter providing general program updates, features, FAQs, KT&T, hot topics, employee spotlight, and upcoming activities.
Site and Process newsletters / Site and process specific newsletter providing general program updates, features, FAQs, KT&T, hot topics, employee spotlight, and upcoming activities.
Technology Based
Plasma boards / Plasma screen in lobby continually running communication
DLA today and tomorrow / Daily newsletter available on DLA intranet
*DLA website / Intranet site with access provided to DLA employees
DLA news and views / DLA leadership
Voice and Data / Telephone and other electronic information devices
* Represents 2-way communication vehicle and an opportunity to evaluate and assess communication effectiveness.

7.0Communication Effectiveness