Developing a Communications Charter

[bbasujon]

Developing a Communications Charter

How much time do you spend communicating every day? Whether this is through social media, phone calls, IM, texts, email, written reports, face-to-face conversations, or meetings, many of us spend a large proportion of our day dealing with messages that demand our attention.

Developing a Communications Charter is an effective way to manage these interactions, so that people communicate efficiently and effectively. They outline preferred methods of communication, how to use different channels effectively, and what people want to achieve. For example, by improving communication you can limit meeting times, reduce the volume of emails, ensure that social media exchanges are professional, and free up time for high-value tasks.

In this article, we'll look at how to develop a Communications Charter for your team or organization, and we'll think about when it is and isn't worth drawing one up.

What is a Communications Charter?

A Communications Charter is a formal document that outlines your team's preferred communication methods. It helps to reduce unnecessary messages, saves people time, and improves the focus and efficiency of both team and individual communication.

A Communications Charter could include the following:

When people need to reply to emails, and when they don't.
When people should "Reply All" to emails, and when they should avoid it.
How to organize regular team meetings, who should attend, whether people will "dial in" remotely, what to include in the minutes Add to My Personal Learning Plan, who will circulate them, and so on.
How your organization communicates with its clients or the public.
How team members interact on social media Add to My Personal Learning Plan.
When making a video or audio call is appropriate.
How people engage with others face-to-face.

Source: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/developing-communications-charter.htm