Weather aside, February can feel like the longest month for comms pros. You’ve completed any “carryover” work from the previous year, you may be waiting for new budgets or plans to be approved and your business partners are likely doing the same. This is why the first few weeks of the year can sometimes feel like a scramble of one-off projects and tactics… The “work between the work.”
Things will quickly pick up momentum this month, so here are five tips to set you up for success down the road:
- Review your comms strategy and your team’s goals. Where are you today? Where do you want to be six months from now? Does your team’s current strategy and structure support this direction? If not, now’s the time to discuss ways to get everyone back on track.
- Meet with key business partners across HR, Marketing, R&D, Operations, Sales, IT and other critical business functions. Having a general idea of their priorities and big projects for the year will help you create your team’s annual calendar. (Schedule these meetings/calls now, since aligning calendars will get increasingly difficult as the weeks go on.)
- Revisit end-of-year reviews. You probably provided (or received) year-end feedback in December or January. Now is the time to create action plans. Identify training, mentoring and stretch opportunities, register for courses or conferences and book monthly or quarterly check-ins while calendars are still open.
- Source and vet external partners. If you regularly tap outside partners for strategy, copy writing, video, graphic or website support, revisit your go-to list. At minimum, identify two partners for each service area and know their strengths and general rates or fees. This will help you scope and budget work in the year ahead, and quickly fill in gaps when unanticipated projects or requests come your way.
- Build bridges. Have new leaders joined the company in the last year? Have any of your business partners transitioned to new roles? Meet subject matter experts now, and know their specialties, so you can quickly tap them for insight and input down the road.
This “foundation” work is usually the first to slip when things get busy and comms calendars get overrun. If you take time early in the year to take action now on these tips, you’ll have critical structure and support in place as work picks up steam in the weeks and months ahead.
With more than two decades of communications experience spanning agencies, Fortune-100 organizations, non-profits and academia, Kristi Hinck Mills today brings her passion for communications to CommsLede Consulting, where she delivers smart, targeted communications solutions for her clients.
