Recently, a Christian nonprofit executive told me:
“We’ve made ambitious IT plans before, but no change came from them…”
What she meant was:
“I want my IT strategy and plans to take root in my organization and yield fruit.”
The problem is that most leaders assume that creating a good strategy means people will automatically follow it.
You see, a strategy without effective communication is just an expensive document that gathers digital dust.
It doesn’t matter how good the strategy or plan is. If it doesn’t get executed, it’s worthless.
Staff and volunteers need to understand how the strategy positively affects their day-to-day actions.
The pain of adopting the new approach must be less than the pain of keeping the status quo.
Here are three ways to reinforce the communication of your nonprofit IT strategy and increase its adoption.
Make It Relevant to Their World
The same messaging doesn’t apply to all people equally. Your new approach to technology (or whatever, really) will affect different roles and departments differently.
A simple way to make sure that your internal messaging is compelling to your staff and volunteers is to explain how the change benefits them specifically.
(WIIFM is the principle behind this)
Once your team members understand the benefits to them, AND see how their daily challenges are solved (or reduced), then real change can begin to take root.
Choose the Right Communication Channels
No, a blanket email blast is not enough.
General awareness is only a small part of communication. But for a change as wide-ranging as a new IT strategy to take hold, awareness isn’t enough.
In addition to awareness, your staff needs:
- Understanding – Why is this change necessary, and how does it affect them?
- Reinforcement – Keep the various aspects of the strategy top of mind. Show them that these changes are indeed happening and won’t be going away.
- Application – How do they incorporate these changes into their work? Give them practical ways to get involved.
Find the right ways to get the appropriate messaging out, like staff meetings, new employee onboarding, and project kickoffs
Connect Strategy to Daily Decisions
Systems are powerful. When you create repeatable avenues for your staff to engage with your new direction, you make it simple for them to follow.
For example, you can use your strategy as a filter for new technology requests. Is the request “on mission?” If “yes”, then streamline fulfillment; if “no,” dig into why it was requested in the first place. It may be a good opportunity to reiterate your strategic direction.
Systems provide a way for you to incorporate your strategy as part of your organizational culture. It’s not just a document.
