Communication planning
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Clear and timely customer communication is critical for successful project delivery. This playbook provides a guide to best practices for Delivery Team members in customer communication, covering three essential components: emails, meetings, and customer status reports. By following these guidelines, project managers can establish trust, set expectations, and maintain a collaborative working relationship with customers throughout the project lifecycle.
Effective meetings are a critical component of successful customer communication. Establish a regular meeting cadence and send agendas before each meeting, even if it is just a few bullet points. Focused meetings help everyone stay focused and help drive outcomes.
It's also vital to hold demo, review, and status meetings with customers to discuss project progress and review sprints. Determine who will own these communications during the Initiation Phase, and come prepared with a clear agenda and sprints laid out to review.
Clear and concise communication through email is essential for maintaining strong relationships with customers. When sending an email, be sure to have a specific purpose or outcome in mind. Avoid sending vague or unnecessary emails that can clog up inboxes and waste time. Additionally, respond promptly to emails and set clear expectations for response times. When you plan to be out of the office, set up your vacation responder.
Recap emails are also helpful in communicating ideas or decisions made during meetings. When appropriate, send a recap email to all attendees to ensure everyone is on the same page, which allows team members to reflect on what was discussed and provides a window for the customer to clarify any misunderstandings. Alternatively, make sure recap notes are incorporated into the Status Report.
SAVE YOUR EMAIL THREADS TO MONDAY — Within a project board, locate the Updates Panel and find the "Write updates via email" link. Clicking on it will reveal a task-specific email address. Copy that address and CC it in your email communications to seamlessly thread conversations. All email replies will be automatically logged in the Updates Panel, ensuring a centralized record.
STATUS REPORTS
Status updates are vital to project management and maintaining a positive customer working relationship. Determine who will own status updates and how they will be communicated during the Initiation phase. Use status updates to maintain transparency and set clear expectations. At least every two weeks, update customers on project progress and status and highlight any achievements or milestones reached. This helps build trust and confidence in our ability to deliver results.
The Monday Board template is set up to facilitate quick Status Updates. See for more information. Other status and communication templates are in the Client > Project Management folder.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Effective communication and collaboration with internal coworkers are essential for project success. While customer communications are critical, clear communication and collaboration among internal coworkers can be just as important. To help you maintain proper communication and collaboration with coworkers, we've put together some best practices:
Check-ins: Regular check-ins are crucial to discuss project status updates, roadblocks, and areas where additional support may be needed. Depending on project needs, check-ins can be done via email, chat, or in-person meetings.
Calendar: Ensure that you accept or reject invites at least a day ahead when possible and time block your calendars for work time. Keep track of your OOO and PTO on personal and company calendars, and inform your manager and coworkers of your availability.
Email and Chat: Communicating within a project or department channel can keep everyone informed about changes or issues that must be escalated. Always CC Customer Success and other Team Leads for visibility when emailing and drop them when the information is no longer relevant.
Effective Meetings: Hold meetings with all relevant parties in the room. Get everyone on the same page with a short, focused agenda to solve problems quickly.
Follow-up: Follow up with the next steps and to-dos after a meeting. This step is crucial to ensure accountability and progress.
Be Considerate: Respect boundaries when communicating with coworkers. Establish clear communication guidelines and expectations around response times and availability.
Celebrate! Finally, celebrating successes and recognizing achievements can boost morale and motivation among team members.
