The regulatory landscape is ever evolving.
Now more than ever, regulators need to communicate effectively and efficiently to ensure stakeholders receive, understand, and if needed, act upon their messages. Transparent communication is key as regulators aim to build trust and credibility. Simply put, effective regulation requires effective communication.
In the hustle of day-to-day communication priorities, it’s easy for regulators to prioritize immediate tasks over the strategic communications planning necessary for effective communication and long-term success. Regulators are communicating about complex regulatory changes and reminding registrants of their professional obligations, all while clarifying their role to the public. They’re aiming to increase transparency and engagement with the public, while continuously communicating with registrants to provide them with timely information and resources so they can continue to provide competent care and/or services.
As a seasoned regulatory communications professional with over a decade of experience supporting various regulators, I’ve witnessed firsthand the challenges faced in balancing the demands of day-to-day communication with the imperative of setting strategic communication goals. I know that you’re navigating competing communication priorities, using multiple channels, tools, and strategies to connect with your registrants, the public and your other key audiences. Through all of this, it can feel daunting to carve out time for strategic communication. So, what’s the risk when you’re lacking strategic communication?
Without communication goals, regulators are operating without a roadmap – this risks miscommunication, misalignment and missed opportunities. It also makes it challenging to assess the effectiveness of your communication and demonstrate the impact of your efforts. While daily communication demands are important, it’s crucial for regulators to dedicate time and resources to develop and prioritize measurable strategic communication goals to guide your efforts purposefully.
Before you dive into drafting a strategy, it’s important to take stock of where you’ve been and examine what’s working well and what hasn’t, so you have a clear picture of where you want to go. You need to review your current communication and can start by answering the following questions:
- Who are your key stakeholders (target audiences)?
- What are your primary communication channels?
- Are your key messages clear, consistent, and aligned across different communication channels?
- Are your current communication channels reaching and engaging your key stakeholders?
- Are your communication strategies aligned with your organization’s strategic goals?
- Do you have benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of your communication?
- What are your communication challenges? What are some successes?
Answering these questions and more, through a communication audit, will help you to gain deeper insight into your current communication practices.
The goal of a communication audit is to evaluate your current communication strategies, channels, and practices. It examines your messaging, channels, strategies, tools and stakeholder feedback to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improving and enhancing your communication.
Regulators invest considerable time and resources into establishing strategic plans with clear goals and objectives to guide your work. A communication audit will also assess alignment of your communication with your organization’s strategic goals to better support your efforts to achieve your objectives.
A communication audit lays the groundwork to help you develop a strategic roadmap with measurable communication goals. It is a key step on your journey to effective communication and, effective regulation.
Want to learn more about increasing the effectiveness of your communication? Connect with me at collette@mdrstrategy.ca. MDR’s team of regulatory communication professionals is here to your strategic communication projects and initiatives from development to deployment. We’ll help you deliver communication to your audiences with purpose and impact.