What do you do if your Library Services strategic decisions aren't reaching stakeholders effectively?

2 Define your strategic decisions

The next step is to define what your strategic decisions are and why they are important. Strategic decisions are the choices that you make to achieve your library's vision, mission, and goals. They can involve changes in policies, processes, resources, services, or programs. You should be able to articulate the rationale, benefits, and implications of your strategic decisions, as well as how they align with your library's values and principles. You should also be able to explain how your strategic decisions were informed by evidence, best practices, and stakeholder input.

3 Choose your communication channels

The third step is to choose the most appropriate and effective communication channels to reach your stakeholders. Communication channels are the ways that you deliver your messages, such as emails, newsletters, reports, presentations, social media, websites, or meetings. You should consider the preferences, accessibility, and availability of your stakeholders, as well as the purpose, frequency, and format of your communication. You should also use a variety of communication channels to ensure that your messages are consistent and reinforced.

4 Craft your communication messages

The fourth step is to craft clear, concise, and compelling communication messages that convey your strategic decisions and their value. Communication messages are the content that you share with your stakeholders, such as facts, stories, examples, or testimonials. You should tailor your messages to your audience, using language and tone that suit their level of understanding and interest. You should also use positive and respectful language that acknowledges and addresses their concerns and feedback.

5 Evaluate your communication effectiveness

The final step is to evaluate how well your communication has achieved its objectives and reached your stakeholders. Evaluation is the process of measuring and assessing the outcomes and impacts of your communication, such as awareness, understanding, acceptance, or support. You can use various methods to evaluate your communication effectiveness, such as feedback forms, surveys, interviews, analytics, or observations. The goal is to identify what worked well, what didn't work well, and what can be improved for future communication.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?