What is a collaborative process, and why do you need one?

When you work in communications, nothing is more frustrating than being brought into a project or issue at the last minute and expected to deliver results. 

When time is limited, you can’t do much beyond developing basic materials and pushing them out. 

If you’re part of the project from the start, you can deliver actual strategic advice. 

How do you get a seat at the table from the start? How can you ensure you’re on the invite list for the project kick-off meeting? How can you ensure that people will call you when they sense an issue is brewing? It’s all about proactively building relationships. 

I’ve written before about how you can do this. 

Another way to get closer to the people you need to work with is by creating a process that regularly brings you together. 

What is it?

We are all busy, so you don’t want to set up a meeting or process for the sake of it. However, some regular touchpoints can reduce work for everyone involved in the long term. 

What could it look like?

Some suggestions include creating a content calendar that you ask them to review once a month. 

This could include ideas for proactive media opportunities, website stories or social posts.

The calendar will show how far out you’re planning and where there’s an opportunity for them to contribute to your work. 

Another good process to get up and running is an issue register. This is where you create a log of issues that may create challenges in the media or with external stakeholders. 

Ask key internal stakeholders to meet with you once a month so you can review what is in there and test if it’s up to date. 

It will help them understand the kind of issues that you need to be across and prompt them to reach out to you when they identify something that may be contentious.