Stakeholder Internal Comms Plan

What you’ll find in this stakeholder internal comms plan template

Before diving into the stakeholder internal comms plan template, consider: 

• Conducting a stakeholder mapping exercise to identify and categorize key players within your company 
• Creating (or updating) your channel matrix so you can quickly plug the right channels into the stakeholder internal communication plan 

Understanding your stakeholders and defining your channels will help you create a stakeholder internal communication plan that resonates! Here’s how you should fill in the template:

• Define your key messages: No matter how much you tailor your messaging across stakeholder groups, all communications should be based on your campaign or core key messages. Plug those in first and use them to guide the rest of your planning. 
• Outline your stakeholder groups and their influence level: What groups do you need to segment your messaging by? Consider titles, locations, job functions, impact, and more. You can also indicate whether each group has a “high,” “medium,” or “low” level of influence. 
• Dig into each stakeholder group’s key concerns: What will be top of mind for each stakeholder group? What are their concerns and top priorities? Jot down anything that comes to mind here. 
• Note each stakeholder group’s communication style: What style of communication does each of your stakeholder groups prefer? If unsure, try incorporating some questions about this in your next employee engagement survey.
• Document your communication objectives and tailored messages: What do you want to achieve with the message you share with each group? That’s your communication objective. You can also use the “Tailored Message” column to explicitly write down what you want to say to each group. 
• Add the preferred channels and timing: What channels will you use to communicate with each stakeholder group? (This is where your channel matrix comes in handy!) What does the timing for each group look like? 

Other templates that may come in handy as you plan:

• Communication Cascade Template: Use this template to create an organized plan for distributing information throughout your organization. This way, you can be sure that everyone gets the information they need from the right person at the right time.
• Manager FAQs Template: People managers are often key stakeholders in most internal communications and message deliveries. Equip and empower them with FAQ templates to help set them up for success.