Example Communications Plan

When managing a complicated programme of significant change with so many stakeholders it is essential to plan how you will communicate with various groups. The plan below is a starting point to help you identify the communication needs for the most important stakeholder groups and some proposed actions to enable you to engage with them. This is a ‘starter for 10’ and of course will be developed to fit with local circumstances and through on-going dialogue with your stakeholders.

Stakeholders / Current understanding / Main concerns / Key messages / How to engage / Desired outcomes / Likely champions
Disabled and older people and their families/ carers who use your services currently / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles.
Some very well informed. / Change and ‘teething problems’ .
System being difficult to manage.
Frustration with inequities that may be exposed through greater transparency. / The way social care is offered will be transformed to provide greater choice and control. Everyone will have a personal budget but may take time. / Actively involve in developing Transformation through workshops and other methods. Find key people who can help you understand peoples’ concerns and improve your services in light of these.
Article in social care newsletter.
Information on council website. / Service users feel that transformation has been co-produced by them. / Disability rights campaigners / keen service users. People who have got personal budgets through trials you may be running.
Citizens - general public / Little understanding. / People being cared for properly. Value for money - impact on council tax. / Transformation offers greater choice & control. Self-directed support allocates resources more fairly. Self-directed support gives council greater control over the budget. / Article in council magazine.
Information on council website.
Press releases - good news from pilot. / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles. / People who have got personal budgets through trials you may be running.
Self-funders / Limited understanding of transformation and SDS principles. / Impact of transformation on this user group. How they canbenefit from the SDS model or wider transformation agenda. / There may be opportunities to benefit from transformed social care.Impact on current and future services. / Articles in council magazine.
Information on council website.
Press releases - good news from pilot. / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles and how this affects them. / Customer team
Head of Stakeholder Engagement
Members / Cabinet & Overview Scrutiny- general understanding. Most - little understanding. / Meeting duty of care. Impact on budget. Potential for bad news stories. / Self-directed support offers greater choice & control. Self-directed support allocates resources more fairly. Self-directed support and the transformation agenda gives council greater control over the budget. / Personal briefings with portfolio holder.
Presentation & report to cabinet.
Article in members’ newsletter. / Cabinet have signed-off changes.
All members have awareness of transformation and SDS principles. / Portfolio holder
Workforce - social workers & support staff / Broad awareness of transformation and SDS principles among ASC staff. / Meeting duty of care. Changes to jobs - losing control. Loss of jobs. / Self-directed support offers greater choice & control. You will be involved in developing the new system of social care and the broader transformation agenda. We will ensure we continue to meet our duty of care. / Workshops on elements of transformation.
Article in social care staff newsletter.
Information on intranet.
Use team meetings to share key messages.
Identify people who are really interested in this agenda and involve them in designing new policies and training. / ASC staffown transformation.
Excitement about potential benefits of change. / Director / AD
Practitioner champions to be identified locally
Workforce - managers / ASC management team signed-up to SDS principles. Broad awareness of transformation and SDS principles among other ASC managers. / Meeting duty of care. Changes to jobs - losing control. Loss of jobs. / Self-directed support offers greater choice & control. Self-directed support and transformation gives council greater control over the budget. You will be involved in developing the new system of social care and the broader transformation agenda. We will ensure we continue to meet our duty of care. / Workshops with ASC management team.
Use team meetings to share key messages. Incorporation of transformation related deliverables in everyone’s personal objectives. / ASC management team sign off transformation. Broad awareness of transformation and SDS principles among other ASC managers. / Director / AD
Workforce - outside ASC / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles. / Impact for rest of council. / Self-directed support offers greater choice & control. Self-directed support allocates resources more fairly. Self-directed support gives council greater control over the budget. / Briefing / presentation for corporate management team.
Article in staff newsletter
Information on intranet.
Publicise early joint achievements to show ‘what’s possible’ / Corporate management team sign-up to transformation.
Broad awareness of transformation and SDS principles among all staff. / ASC Director, Ads/Heads of Service
Providers - current / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles. / Uncertainty. Loss of business. Having to deal with many customers instead of local authority block contract. / Self-directed support offers greater choice & control. Will need to ensure services you provide are desirable / offer value for money. / Provider briefing / consultation meeting
Letter to providers
Information on council website.
Active work with providers to support them to adapt to changing environment. / Providers actively provide advice and generate buy-in for transformation. / Local provider that has identified benefits of transformation and SDS principles
Providers - potential / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles. / Whether there will be a new market to enter / Self-directed support offers greater choice & control. With greater choice there is potential for new suppliers to enter market. / Provider briefing / consultation meeting
Information on council website. Letter to providers
Work on ‘micro-markets’ development through specific project or mainstream business development work. / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles / Commission-ing manager
Partners - key / Partners signed-up to vision for transformation. / Impact on joint working / teams / governance / budgets. / Self-directed support offers greater choice & control. We will be working with partners to ensure that the new system is as joined up as possible. / Transformationworkshops.
Briefings at partnership meetings.
Written briefing / consultation. Joint projects on priority areas (eg personal health budgets) / All key partners involved in developing transformationand signed up to transformation. / Director of public health / PCT employee working closely with ASC.
Partners - others / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles. / Impact on partnership working. / Self-directed supportoffers greater choice & control. We will be working with partners to ensure that the new system is as joined up as possible. / Consultation workshop.
Briefings at partnership meetings.
Written briefing / consultation. / Buy-in to transformation and SDS principles. / Liaison officers in partner organisations
Unions / General awareness of transformation and SDS principles. / Changes to job roles.
Potential redundancies. / Self-directed support offers greater choice & control. Staff will be involved in developing the new system of social care and the broader transformation agenda. We will extensively consult with staff around any HR changes. / On-going discussions and debates with Unions through informal mechanisms, with discussions happening through formal processes where absolutely necessary (eg if changes to pay and conditions are under discussion) / Buy-in to transformation and SDS principles.
Involved in HR aspects of transformation. / Union members in ASC

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