The purpose of a communications program is to describe
the communications tools and activities that your facility will undertake in
order to distribute information both internally and externally about your
involvement with the EFEC program. Effective communication is an essential
element to the success of the EFEC program. This document serves as a guide that
will help your company publicize your involvement with EFEC, generate interest,
elicit support and encourage feedback. By following this guide your facility
will be able to create a strong message that is targeted to the right
audience.
Whether planning internal or external communications
efforts, your communications plan will serve as a road map to effectively
getting your message out.
To
provide guidance for promoting the EFEC program.
To
raise awareness both to your internal and external audiences about the EFEC
program and your company’s environmental program.
To
proactively manage external audience perception of your company and the
furniture industry.
To
help educate and provide insight for your employees leading to their
adoption of the EFEC program.
| Internal: | Top Management, Company Employees, Company Shareholders |
| External: |
Company Related: Customers, Vendors and Suppliers, Retailers Community Related: General public, Media, Environmental Groups, Legislators and Government officials, financial community. |
Most experts on organizations, management, and leadership assert that successful communication is the foundation for effectiveness in any type of organization.
The basic concept in how communication works may seem to be a very broad topic, however, there is a basic communications model that explains a successful communications process. First there are two main parties involved in communication: the sender and the receiver. For our purposes, the sender will be the company undertaking the EFEC registration process and the receivers will be the internal and external target audiences.
The model then breaks down to the communications tools: the message and the media. The message is what the sender communicates to the receiver and the media represents the communication channels through which the message is sent. It is critical that the company develops a message that supports why they are becoming EFEC registered and define their goals in order to convey a clear, concise message to their target audiences.
Key considerations when formulating your company’s
message:
Note: There are different messages for the different target audience. These messages are noted in the Communications Guidance Document chart.
What
do you want to convey?
To
what target audiences do you want to convey the key messages?
What
is the best approach to reach each target audience? (i.e. who/how is the
message conveyed?)
How
will you know if you are reaching the target audience?
Standard ingredients when writing your company
message(s):
Clarity – be brief and to the point
Benefits – state the good things about
the program and how it helps the target audience
Credibility – don’t say things you
don’t mean or do
First, you need to outline a communications plan that is tailored to fit your company’s overall program. Most of the work has already been done (see the Communications Guidance Document below), however, there are a couple areas that you will need to define specifically for your company. The Communications Guidance Document is a chart that outlines your target audiences, defines who they are, your strategy or objectives for contacting them, key message and tactics or action plans designed to build awareness, educate, create program adoption and elicit response and publicity. We have also included sample press releases, letters and other communication tools that you can tailor to fit your company’s needs.
Following is the formula for writing a successful plan.
Do a quick Situation Analysis: Why the company is becoming EFEC
registered? List
the benefits for the facility and for the community. Describe all the issues that
the EFEC program is designed to answer.
Objectives: Your objectives of running this program should be stated in a
straightforward manner, use bullet points.
Target Audiences: see chart.
Strategies:
See chart. This
section outlines the methods you will use to achieve objectives and reach your
target audience.
Tactics:
See chart. Under each
target audience are listed tactics suited for each audience and designed to
inform, educate or leverage the company and program for publicity.
