Abi Thinks: Managing internal comms over summer when the juggle gets real

Abi Thinks a bit of forward planning means summer can be savored not survived.

“Annual milestones arrive like exciting surprises, even though they happen in pretty much the same format each year.” Abi Terry, Client Services Director

The seasons are my favourite thing about living in the UK. I love the cultural moments they bring – the wardrobe refreshes, the panic purchases, and the shared shifts in pace that come with the arrival of a new weather system. I’d say 90% of our meetings begin with a discussion about the weather, something I’ve been told is quintessentially British, and something I wouldn’t change for the world.

What I particularly enjoy about the changing seasons is the sense of novelty – of something feeling different, or new, and prompting you to adapt. Annual milestones arrive like exciting surprises, even though they happen in pretty much the same format each year. And despite having all the associated artefacts (the swimming costumes, Christmas decorations, the witch’s hat) stored away in the loft, it’s like the changing of the season somehow wipes the memory of those things clean, helping you to experience them anew the next time around.

Unfortunately, the dreaded European ‘holiday season’ falls into this category as well – a time when diary planning becomes an Olympic sport, and straightforward project plans quickly turn into complex matrices of colour codes and dependencies.

No matter how many times we experience it, it’s easy to forget just how much more challenging project delivery can become when holidays need to be factored in. Stakeholders are unavailable for approvals, contributors' hand over work mid-way through delivery, file versions fall through the gaps. Of course, tech will always offer some of the answers to this – our job management tools are in place to help us to plan for the summer. But the human element is even more important. Values become more meaningful when we’re busy – at AB they act as a reminder to treat each other with care, to stay curious and remain open to new ways of doing things.

Over the years I’ve learned a few things that make the juggle more manageable.

Plan around absences, not around hope. 

Map who’s away, and when, before you build the plan – not after. Get the approvals you can foresee banked early, while decision-makers are still at their desks. Showing you're planning ahead will inspire confidence in your stakeholders and ultimately give you more flexibility at final review stage.

Make sure no one is irreplaceable for the summer.

Name a deputy for every critical role and brief them properly. A handover should be a handover, not a cliff edge. The aim is simple: no single person’s holiday should be able to stall a whole project.

Define the outcome before the team is stretched.

Be clear on what every piece of comms is there to do. Then flex the approach to fit the capacity you have, without sacrificing the quality. A simpler route to the same result is a strength, not a compromise. 

During busy periods, there is, understandably, a temptation to prioritise tasks and limit communications output. This needs to be balanced with the fact that the world doesn’t stop. Businesses continue to trade and their success continues to rely on people feeling informed, engaged and inspired at work.

Our IC Boost is designed to provide flexible support to teams managing complex workloads. It can be dialed up or scaled back depending on your resource needs and gives you access to AB IC experts with the practical knowledge and can-do attitude you need when the juggle gets real. Drop me a line at mailto:abi.terry@abcomm.co.uk to find out more.