Communication cheat sheet for IT teams
Bookmark this cheat sheet as a reference for your IT team’s communications. Know what, when and how to communicate towards stakeholders, particularly end users.
Share with your IT colleagues so everyone is on the same page.
Incidents, problems and emergency changes
Projects, changes, maintenance and other events
Technical concept explaining to non-techies
Incidents, problems and emergency changes
Keep stakeholders (employees within the organization) well informed during incidents and problems. This brings peace of mind (less tension and frustration), trust and understanding.
Type
Disruption alert (outage or other issue)
Purpose
Notify about an incident causing a disruption (outage or other issue) that affects the IT infrastructure and operations.
Frequency
Once, immediately after being noticed.
Type
Update / resolution on disruption (outage or other issue)
Purpose
Provide an update on a known disruption that affects the IT infrastructure and operations. Even if there is no substantive news.
Also notify once the disruption is resolved.
Frequency
Critical: every hour or when applicable.
High priority: every 3 hours or when applicable.
Medium priority: every 6 hours or when applicable.
Low priority: when applicable.
Prolonged incidents: once or twice a week.
Type
Security breach alert
Purpose
Inform appropriate people about a security incident (vulnerability). Ensure the right steps are taken quickly and instruct on what users can do to help.
Frequency
Once, immediately in response to the security incident.
Type
Problem recovery plan
Purpose
Outline the steps to be taken in case of a critical problem or prolonged incident. Inform stakeholders of the plan you will implement to solve the problem.
Frequency
Once when it is determined that it is a complex problem or has a long resolution time.
Type
Status update on problem recovery
Purpose
Notify stakeholders about the status of the recovery plan. Even if there is no substantive news.
Has the problem been resolved? Then scroll on to ‘Problem resolution’.
Frequency
Critical: every hour or when applicable.
High priority: every 3 hours or when applicable.
Medium priority: every 6 hours or when applicable.
Low priority: when applicable.
Prolonged incidents: once or twice a week.
Type
Emergency change
Purpose
Inform stakeholders quickly and concisely if an incident or problem forces you to make a change in systems or services at short notice.
Frequency
As early as possible before the change will be implemented.
Type
Problem resolution
Purpose
Notify stakeholders once a problem has been resolved and the affected system, service or application is working as it should again.
Frequency
Once when the problem is resolved.
Type
Incident report (post-mortem)
Purpose
For your reliability, communicate a summary of an incident or problem, its impact, how it was resolved, and the steps being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Frequency
After the resolution of a significant disruption, security incident, or other problem with major impact.
Additional documents
To increase employee productivity, add additional documents to your communications. This brings satisfaction, optimism and respect.
Type
Workaround manual
Purpose
Create a clear and professional workaround instruction for users to work around a particular problem or downtime.
Frequency
As needed, in reaction to an incident, problem or change.
Type
FAQ
Purpose
Create a clear and organized FAQ (questions and answers) to make users more self-sufficient about a particular service or situation.
Frequency
As needed, e.g., when you receive many of the same questions.
Projects, changes, maintenance and other events
Communicate proactively to stakeholders (employees within the organization) what you’re working on and what’s ahead for better collaboration with other departments. This brings pride, joy and appreciation.
Type
Newsletter
Purpose
Keep stakeholders updated with your latest IT developments, highlights, and upcoming events.
Frequency
Monthly or quarterly.
Type
Project introduction
Purpose
Inform stakeholders about new project goals, expected outcomes, and timelines.
Frequency
Once at the start of each project.
Type
Project update
Purpose
Provide progress updates, milestones, and challenges of ongoing projects.
Frequency
Weekly or bi-weekly.
Type
Major change implementation
Purpose
Announce significant changes to systems and services, and detail their impact.
Frequency
At least two weeks before implementation.
Type
Update on change implementation
Purpose
Communicate the status, success, or issues post-implementation of a change.
Frequency
As needed, following each major change.
Type
Scheduled maintenance
Purpose
Notify users about planned maintenance and expected downtime.
Frequency
At least one week in advance.
Type
Update on maintenance
Purpose
Offer real-time status updates during and immediately after maintenance activities.
Frequency
As needed, during and after each maintenance.
Type
New service launch
Purpose
Introduce and detail new or significantly updated services.
Frequency
Once at launch.
Type
Phase-out notice
Purpose
Prepare users for the discontinuation of a service or product.
Frequency
At least one month before phase-out.
Type
Training invitation
Purpose
Invite employees to training sessions relevant to new technologies or their roles.
Frequency
A few weeks before each training session.
Type
Feedback request
Purpose
Gather user feedback on recent events, changes or new services to identify improvements.
Frequency
As needed, post-event, post-implementation, or post-launch.
Type
Change freeze
Purpose
Announce periods where no changes will be made to ensure stability.
Frequency
As needed, often annually or before specific events.
How to explain technical information to non-techies
Explain technical concepts to less-technical employees within the organization to get them involved and engaged in the modern, fast-changing IT landscape. This brings excitement, curiosity and empowerment.
Step 1: Break it down
What is the concept about? Make a comparison with an everyday situation, give a practical example of the concept and explain why it exists.
Premium: Break it down (“translate” the concept) with the Technical concept explainer.
Step 2: Connect to your audience
Does it help to solve a problem or achieve something for them?
Does it start an identifiable change or respond to an external, noticeable change or threat?
Does it realise something new or prevent something familiar that is not right?
Step 3: Create imagination
Action: Where are we? What is happening? What happens next?
Emotion: Who is involved? What is at stake? How does it feel?
Meaning: What has changed, what have we learned? Why does it matter? What do you want your audience to think or do differently now?
IT Communication Assistant portal
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