Scheduled or unexpected system outages. New technology launches. Enterprise-wide software upgrades. Employees using AI in the workplace. Data breaches. There are lots of reasons for communicating about IT.
How these messages are delivered can affect adoption rates, productivity, employee trust, and privacy protections. You’ll need to translate complex technical information into clear, concise, actionable content – sometimes urgently.
When communicating about large tech projects, you’ll rely on some standard items from your toolkit: Having a strategy and detailed plan, emphasizing “What’s In It For Me?” (or how the organization will benefit), and gathering feedback and metrics to help you fine-tune future projects.
But IT communications has some unique requirements. Here’s our advice for keeping your workforce informed and engaged:
Collaborate early with IT teams
Start by establishing a strong relationship with your IT department. Engage early in large projects to understand the scope, timelines, and potential impacts. Your IT partners are the subject matter experts, but you’re the one who can craft messages that employees will understand and act on.
Partner with Change Management and Training
For large projects, you’ll need to collaborate with Change Management to understand change impacts and agree on roles, priorities, and expectations. If training is involved, you’ll need to coordinate with the Training team to build scheduling information into your communications.
Deploy email strategically
Big projects benefit from a surround-sound approach with multiple channels to reinforce key messages. But email remains the best option for need-to-know and time-sensitive information. Be strategic about your emails: Set the stage for change with high-level project information and then roll out specific details about go-live dates, training, and action items when the time is right. Make sure your subject lines contain key information and indicate that action is required, if that’s the case.
Use clear, non-technical language
Avoid jargon and acronyms that can be confusing or off-putting. Avoid statements like: “We are upgrading our WAN LAN infrastructure to improve performance.” Translate technical details into real-world impacts. For example: “You may experience brief interruptions in accessing shared files between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. on June 12 as we work to improve system response time.”
Know how to change the tires on a moving car!
Buckle your seat belt: IT communications has its own special set of challenges. Unplanned outages require immediate communication. Big IT projects can be complex and unpredictable, with lots of shifting milestones. Because of all the moving parts, stakeholders may have questions that can’t be answered immediately. Part of your job is to reassure, build trust, and find the sweet spot between under- and over-communicating.
Want help with your next IT rollout? The O’Keefe Group has IT communications specialists who have worked on a wide range of technology projects, and we’d love to share our expertise with you.
