Any major undertaking in an organization can be greatly helped or greatly hindered by effective communication or the lack of it. Quality improvement is no different. When, how and to whom the initiative or improvement action will be communicated is an integral part of building the improvement plan itself. Since the Quality Plan aims to inspire, motivate and attain sustained cultural change, it is readily apparent that it needs to have visibility with staff and management at all levels during the complete process. Communication with all internal stakeholders serves to:

• Make them aware of the Plan and set the expectation of change during implementation;
• Highlight coming activities and possible opportunities for involvement;
• Be transparent about content of planned activities, targets and metrics;
• Facilitate understanding and alleviate any insecurities about how the quality activities will impact staff or the achievability of targets; and
• Keep motivating a positive attitude and receptiveness to participating in the journey the organization is undertaking.

It is equally important that the plan is communicated to external stakeholders. These might include families, funders or VET authorities, employers and the media. Communication to these entities will vary according to their specific interest and needs but in all cases, the communication strategy during implementation of a quality initiative or improvement should aim to:

• Demonstrate that the organisation takes its responsibility and accountability for quality seriously and keeping all stakeholders updated about progress;
• Highlight changes as results of quality activities and how that may impact the different stakeholders;
• Demonstrate transparency and good management of public funding;
• Create a positive attitude around the Quality activities.


• On writing a communication plan and running it
• Key aspects of communication during implementation