Communicating with the external stakeholders in your construction project may seem like a daunting task. First of all, there are many different interest groups with different points of contact and motivations. Secondly, you have to actively find out who all the external stakeholders are in the area where you are starting your building project.
You want to be thorough and include all the local residents, shops, churches, societies, sports clubs, schools and other groups into your communication plan. To do that properly you need a communication strategy for your construction project that includes all stakeholders involved.
Luckily, nowadays, communication with your external stakeholders is easier than it might seem. With the right strategy, technology and approach you can make sure that you leave no interest group in the lurch. Here we share our tips on how you can communicate effectively with your external stakeholders and streamline your community engagement strategy.
Different types of communication strategies
First of all, there are different types of communication strategies that you can apply in construction projects. We recommend that you use a combination of these, to keep communication varied and interesting.
Your community engagement team can use verbal, visual, and written communication. Verbal communication refers to face-to-face conversations, for example. It is more informal, two-way, and spontaneous. Whereas written communication is much more formal and does not always allow an immediate response.
You choose your communication strategy based on what you want to communicate and on your target audience. You might want to inform shop owners of road closures formally by written notice, whereas verbal communication is suitable when you are interested in starting a dialogue, gaining an insight and finding out your audience’s opinion on something.
SitePodium’s tips for effective communication strategies
We have assisted in many construction projects, large or small and simple or complex. Our app has helped community engagement officers around the world to carry out the communication strategy for their construction project, streamlining and improving this in the process.
We have seen so many beautiful initiatives and ideas that could benefit you and your next construction project. That is why we share our own tips for setting up and carrying out communication strategies in the construction sector, gained from experience, to inspire community engagement officers worldwide.
1. Update your stakeholder management plan with communication strategies
As a serious construction company, you need to have a stakeholder management plan in place for every project you embark on. Not only clients are demanding in terms of stakeholder engagement, independent associations like the Considerate Constructors’ Scheme also encourage this.
Your stakeholder management plan contains a list of all the stakeholders, their expectations and prioritisations. You have ranked them and have gathered their contact details.
This stakeholder map also contains your communication plans per stakeholder or stakeholder group. By immediately also adding the best communication strategies to use for each stakeholder group in your communication project, you make your map complete. Local residents might need more verbal and visual communication, whereas business owners would sober expect a more formal official written letter.
2. Set up a dedicated community engagement team
If you have not already done this, it is always beneficial to set up a dedicated community engagement team. For smaller projects, one community engagement officer could be enough, but for larger projects you appoint a slightly bigger team. These specialists would be in charge of all the communication going out to the community and, of course, also for setting up the communication strategy for your construction project.
This team functions as a single point of contact, they gauge the atmosphere in the community, they come up with ideas to get the community involved and to keep them informed about the goings on at your building site.
3. Do not forget to listen
Communication strategies in construction projects have long ceased to be a one-way affair. And in the interest of measuring social impact, integrating community feedback has become a huge part of community engagement nowadays. Because, how else do you know how your construction project impacts the community around it?
By encouraging two-way communication with your community, you can learn a lot. Firstly, if there are any negative feelings towards, for example, your way of dealing with site noise, by addressing these at an early stage, you can avoid official complaints and, worst case scenario, a court case.
We always encourage our clients to ask for feedback, because your local communities might have ideas, input or suggestions that you never thought of. You are giving them a voice; you involve them in your decision making and you are making them feel heard.
Make it part of your construction project’s communication strategy to read between the lines, to listen to feedback and to be open to suggestions. Nobody knows better what it is that a community needs and motivates than its members.
4. Use technology for more targeted communication
We recommend that you use technology to target your communication and to encourage feedback. An app like SitePodium allows you to group your stakeholders and adjust your communication strategies to them.
If you are renovating a large apartment complex, for example, and in one segment of this complex you need to turn off the water. Then you can use the app to only inform the residents affected.
Another advantage is that the app allows instant messaging and encourages feedback. Users can like (or dislike) your posts and you can raise polls. The simple and familiar newsfeed setup will be easy to use for everyone.
It is important not to use too many different software solutions. If you can carry out most of the communication strategies for your construction project through one app like SitePodium, that does not only make it simpler for you, but also for your stakeholders.
5. Get out there!
Finally, we cannot stress enough that most communication strategies that you use for your construction project would be much more effective if the local residents can put a face to the person sending them out. That means that face-to-face communication should be an integral part of every communication strategy in construction.
How do you do this? Arrange townhall meetings for big announcements and progress updates, place a stall on the square for residents to visit, open an information lounge, organise volunteering projects in the community for your employees, schedule a weekly open office or site tours, etcetera. When in doubt, you can always download our book Happy Neighbours, with 45 creative ideas to bring the community and your construction project together.
Communication strategies in construction with SitePodium
Could SitePodium be the app for communicating with your local communities? We are more than happy to show you everything our app can do. Why not try it yourself with a free trial, so you can see SitePodium’s potential for yourself?
