Spoke at Project Challenge 2014 with APM People SIG chair Russel Jamieson. Tips on communication with project teams at home and offshore. What can project managers learn from the world of PR and employee engagement?

1. Communications -
Local and Offshore
Ann Pilkington and Russel Jamieson
APM People SIG
Project Challenge
March 2014

2. A Quick Introduction - Russel
 20+ years PM experience, primarily in
– Financial Services
– Telecommunications
 APM People Specific Interest Group (SIG) Chair
 APM Wessex Branch Committee
 APM Nominations Committee
 APM National Awards Committee Deputy Chair
 Registered Project Professional (RPP)
 Fellow of APM (FAPM)
 PRINCE2, MSP and AIM Practitioner
 Winning mentor last 2 years for Student PM Challenge!
 Manchester United member (suffering badly this season )
 Appeared on Page 3 of The Sun…No, alongside!
 Quoted in Sunday Times editorial…Interesting!
 Yes…I have project managed a failed project…Or have I?
Twitter @RusselJamiesonpeoplesig@apm.org.uk

3. Examples of Where (Overseas)
United States of America
Malaysia
India
South Africa

4. Quick Wins
• Email signatures and „Directory‟ entries
• Full job title
• Office address
• Landline number
• Mobile number
• „Golden‟ Hours
• Common times, if any, when employees across time zones are
available together
• Politely ask ALL teams to only take breaks when they fall outside
of the 'golden‟ hours to maximise available time together

5. Quick Wins
• Always quote the same customers time zone e.g. UK – USA – AUSTRALIA…
• Email content
• DO provide full details of what you want and why
• DO provide business justification
• DO provide all references and key contact you have been speaking to
• DO ensure „subject‟ reflects the contents e.g. Release AK – Story ABCDE–12345
• DO NOT rely on people figuring it out from a massive mail chain you have
forwarded
• DO NOT email if you can talk – it‟s good to talk!

6. Quick Wins - Understand
 When „Yes‟ could mean „Yes‟, „No‟
or even „Maybe‟
 Ethnic Group
 Religion
 Language
 Handshake
 Presentation of Business Card
 Concept of Face
 Do‟s and Don'ts
 Names
 Official Titles
 Useful Phrases
 Useful Websites

7. Costs – Offshore versus Onshore


8. A Quick Introduction - Ann
 PR and communication – more than 25 years – agh!
 Journalist, PR, internal communicator
 Now project communication specialist and trainer
 Author of „Communicating Projects‟ published by
Gower
 Founder and Director of PR Academy – training in PR
and communication
 Deliver PM for PR course
 Designed and about to launch course in project
communication
 Worked at programme level on major central
Government change initiatives: ERP and shared
services
Twitter @AcademyAnn
peoplesig@apm.org.uk

9. Communication and employee
engagement.
How can they help your project?

10. Passengers must
carry dogs on
escalators
Customer information

11. What is communication?

12. The response you get back

13. The biggest problem
with communication is
the illusion that it has
been accomplished
George Bernard Shaw

14. Engagement: a definition
MacLeod and Clarke conclude that “we believe it is
most helpful to see employee engagement as a
workplace approach designed to ensure that
employees are committed to their organisation‟s
goals and values, motivated to contribute to
organisational success, and are able at the same
time to enhance their own sense of well-being”
(italics added).

15. COMMUNICATION
Engagement
ENGAGING
MANAGERS
Facilitate and
empower.
VOICE views are
sought out; people
see that their
opinions count.
INTEGRITY
Behaviour is
consistent with
stated values.
MacLeod and Clarke (2009) Engaging for Success
LEADERSHIP
Provides a strong
strategic narrative.

16. Feeling really well informed.
Professional
Timely, clear, accurate,
pertinent, consistent,
sincere, concise,
business-like.
Reinforces believable
values and narrative.
Propaganda
Content is biased
and does not
reflect reality.
Reinforced by
managers who
show commitment
to the project

17. Upward feedback
Advanced
Based on people
feeling well informed in
the first place, face to
face, actions taken as a
result or reasons why
action not taken
provided.
Basic
Surveys,
suggestion
schemes, email
boxes.
Reinforced by
managers who are
open to critical
feedback.

18. Engagement: the challenges for projects
Don‟t mess with my scope!
Having enough time
Having a framework – who is going to make
it happen?

19. Adapted from
Harkins, P. 1999
Powerful
Conversations: How
high impact leaders
communicate.
McGraw Hill
The Say Do Matrix

21. Achieving engagement
 It doesn‟t happen by itself – you need a structure
 Managers facilitate conversations – they don‟t
have to sell, sell, sell
 If you aren‟t going to act on feedback, best not to
invite it
 Co-ordinate centrally, but deliver and act locally
 Culture check – but don‟t assume that people
don‟t want to be asked

22. Some final thoughts….
 Be clear about the role of communication – it isn‟t a substitute for
good governance or line management.
 Importantly, communication can‟t make sense of something
nonsensical.
 Sometimes the problem is with the solution being implemented and
communicators need to be able to recognise this and push back when
the expectation is on them to fix it.
 No amount of communication, however creative, can turn a bad
solution into a good one.

23. And Almost Finally…
• People matter – wherever they are located!
• Things don‟t always work out as planned but try and keep a smile on your
face…..and learn!
• I‟ll get the ice-creams

24. Thank you…any queries or is it lunch?
Email: peoplesig@apm.org.uk
Twitter: @PeopleSIG
Web: http://www.apm.org.uk/group/apm-people-specific-interest-group