Below you'll find basic suggestions for resource planning in communications for medium-sized companies. These will help you structure your communication processes efficiently and convey your messages effectively. Careful planning of available resources helps save time and money while increasing the impact of your communications. You should consider both human and material resources and respond flexibly to changes. This will sustainably strengthen your company's position and promote a clear, consistent external image.
It's often tricky for medium-sized companies to define their communication goals. The focus is often on "the actual work," and a lack of specialist expertise prevents this. This leaves companies and organisations dependent on providers who create isolated solutions and don't take a holistic approach to communication. However, a holistic approach to communication is essential, as budgets and resources must be planned long-term and comprehensively to achieve their full impact.
"We need a website now, without knowing the content and its purpose!" Implementation often quickly overtakes conception, having bypassed research. As a result, the work is repeated over and over again. Messages are constantly reinvented, target groups are addressed sporadically, and the design is continuously changing.
Communication works best when it is built up step by step. First, you clarify what the message is about, look at who you're dealing with, and then consider how to communicate it. Only then do you begin implementation.
Good media planning encompasses all communication measures over a specific period of time across all relevant channels of a company. It shows when something begins and ends, how everything is connected, and to whom and where the communication occurs.
The advantage of this is that, with an overview, content can be reused repeatedly and in different contexts. The texts of a book, for example, can also be published on a website, provided this was considered from the beginning. The design of a brochure can be reused later as a catalogue. The photos from the last company party can be used on social media. It's all a matter of planning.
Admittedly, in the communications industry, there are many providers with varying levels of quality and very different prices.
Communication tasks can often be solved in a variety of ways. The type of development and implementation should be tailored to the client's needs. Therefore, different perspectives and cost estimates should always be obtained.
Resources in communications are always limited. Therefore, it is helpful to prioritise customer groups and pool resources. This allows customer groups to be worked on over a more extended period until the respective communication goal is achieved. Furthermore, budget constraints can often lead to creative solutions. Ultimately, there is nothing easier or more boring than spending money. Creating something exciting and functional with limited resources is truly fun and a hallmark of good communication.
The goal should always be to implement planned projects with the available resources. Whether this is done internally or externally is not crucial. Just because projects are implemented by employees in-house doesn't automatically mean they're cost-effective.
Do the employees have the necessary skills? Sometimes, yes! Sometimes, external consulting can work wonders. However, sometimes employees aren't able to complete the work, often because they weren't hired for that purpose. Therefore, it's essential to understand when internal and external resources make sense.
In conclusion, resource planning only makes sense if it is carried out continuously and honestly. Inflated numbers and timing are useless. It is reckless to start resource planning for the coming year at the end of December. Even with limited communications budgets, efficient communications work can be achieved if it is planned for the long term and focuses on goals.
