Communication and Stakeholder Engagement
Domain 8 tests whether a message reaches the people who must act on it, through the right channel, with feedback built in.
The communication model
Sender encodes, a channel carries the message, the receiver decodes, and noise and filtering interfere at every stage. Feedback closes the loop; without it, delivery is not communication. Channel richness runs from face-to-face (highest) through video, phone, and email to dashboards and memos. Match richness to ambiguity: a redundancy announcement needs a rich channel, a monthly KPI needs a lean one.
Direction and flow
Downward flow carries direction and policy; upward flow carries status, escalation, and bad news; lateral flow coordinates peers. Upward flow is the one most often blocked by fear, which is why anonymous channels and skip-level meetings exist.
Stakeholder engagement
Map stakeholders on power and interest. High power and high interest: manage closely with regular two-way contact. High power and low interest: keep satisfied. Low power and high interest: keep informed. Then write a plan naming owner, message, channel, frequency, and feedback mechanism. A RACI clarifies who is responsible, accountable (exactly one person), consulted, and informed.
Change and crisis
Change communication repeats the case for change, the personal impact, the timeline, and what is expected, delivered through managers rather than email alone. Crisis communication is fast, factual, and consistent, with one authorised spokesperson and a log of what has been said.
Worked example
A plant closure affects 120 staff, three unions, and a key customer. An all-staff email first would fail, because employees would hear before their managers and before consultation obligations are met. The better sequence is to brief managers, notify employee representatives, hold a town hall with a question log, then issue written confirmation and an FAQ, with weekly updates and a named contact. The customer receives a separate account plan.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing email for emotionally loaded or ambiguous messages.
- Confusing informed with consulted.
- Producing a communication plan with no owner and no feedback loop.
- Assigning accountability to more than one person in a RACI.
- Counting dashboard distribution as engagement.