Project Communications – Your Project’s Biggest Risk?

A week rarely passes where the nightly news bulletins don’t have at least one story of an unhappy stakeholder claiming they weren’t consulted or their life will be ruined by a project that is proposed or currently underway.

Within the area of project communications rests major project risks that might be described as vaguely understood, completely misunderstood or entirely ignored. Those that do understand the risks, move between states of total fear and paralysis to complete dispair.

When project communications fail, it fails in a big way and makes great TV and content for social media. It is almost always costly to budget, schedule and reputation. In recent years it has resulted in the shelving or complete re-scoping of several major projects.

The failure of the proposed LNG precinct at James Price Point in the Kimberley region, the shelving of the Roe 8 Extension to link Fremantle port to Perth's major road network, and more recently, the failure of SANTOS to successfully defend its position in the Federal Court regarding the Barossa Project are all outcomes where project communications simply hasn't performed.

Drawing on firsthand experience and case studies from the property development and infrastructure sectors, this session will explore why project communications fail and identify the circumstance where it is more likely to fail and succeed. It will focus on the following five key elements:

1. The difference between public relations and project communications and how the two are often confused to the detriment of the project.
2. How project communications can be used to drive positive internal behaviours and culture.
3. How project communications can be used to mitigate risks and support the delivery of a project on time and within budget.
4. The risks of a misalignment between hard and soft systems thinking, when project leadership demands certainty from an environment that is uncertain and unpredictable.
5. The key attributes required to successfully deliver project communications.