What to do when… everything’s a priority
It’s common knowledge that people in the UK work longer hours each week than those living in most European countries, but all too often, in comms teams in particular, the time we spend getting the job done against the outcomes delivered don’t stack up.
Across every sector (health, government, business, charity, education, you name it) we regularly see comms teams under constant pressure to; and stop me if you’ve heard this before; “do more with less”.
It’s a problem, and it doesn’t seem to be getting a lot easier. Added to this is a common refrain we hear; that everything is a priority.
“The Director of X wants this turned round today”
“The Assistant Head of Y wants us to work or magic on this; and they need it for a meeting in half an hour”
“What are we doing about Z Awareness Day / Week / Month?”
There are some common reasons why this comes about, and you’ll have your own reflections; but let’s talk about some solutions.
So, if your inbox’s ready to burst, your WhatsApp notifications are stacking up and you’ve already lost count as to how many meeting invitations are in your diary this week, here’s our top tips to take back control and get your communications moving in the right direction:
1. Start with a strategy
Defining the shared goals of your organisation, how they relate to your outcomes, and developing a strategy to achieve them is the foundation on which you can create and agree your priorities.
Whatever you do be sure to involve as many people as possible in the process so that what you produce is based on evidence and insight; and that everyone involved can feel a part of the approach. That way whatever you then get asked to do, however last minute, you can be confident that its coherent, consistent and most of all delivered in the correct way for your audience.
But a strategy shouldn’t just be a theoretical framework; it’s what actually defines how you spend your time, and helps you to answer whether to prioritise activity X over priority Y.
2. Bring in some support
Working as an extension to your existing in-house team, short-to-medium term regular support is a great way to bring an immediate bolster to your communications capabilities.
Whether you need someone to lead a single project, or provide day-to-day cover, just be sure to give them a clear and defined brief so they can hit the ground running, adding value in the right places and bringing the professional knowledge, and personal experiences your organisation needs without having to micro-manage the project (on top of everything else you’re working on)/
3. Trust an expert
Sometimes the right solution for a particular priority calls for a specialist skill (or range of skills), you can’t readily call on in-house.
So, whether you need an animated video or motion graphic, a live-action recording or a podcast creating; don’t be afraid to trust someone else to do it for you.
As always, when commissioning any external service, be sure to choose an expert in their individual field so you get the most out of your investment and everyone involved benefits from their wide range of specialist skills and the process is as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
And it just so happens, we can help with any of these things too.
So, if you’re looking at a packed calendar and trying to think of ways of making it all more do-able, and impactful; just get in touch.
Photo by Nathália Rosa on Unsplash
