3. How to Better Communicate TAM Throughout the Organization

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How-To

How to Better Communicate TAM Throughout the Organization

Having your transportation organization better understand your TAM program, it’s goals and objectives, and specific business needs is an important element of TAM success. Proactive communication will increase awareness, knowledge, and ownership of TAM across the agency.

  1. Define the TAM Communication Scope

    Having a focus on what elements of the TAM program has priority and needs the support of the broader agency is important to have in a communication effort. It may be best to start with a strategic planning effort for TAM and use the results of this for communications.

  2. Create a TAM Communications Working Team

    Build a core group of influential players in your agency who will be the lead communicators. This group will help shape your communication strategy and lead the implementation of the plan.

  3. Identify the Target Audience

    Determine who in your agency are the people who you want to better understand TAM and support its success. If it's agencywide, organize the audience in a way that makes it easier to develop an implementation plan for your communications.

  4. Develop the TAM Communication Approach and Framework

    Once you know what you want to communicate and who you want to communicate to, how you want to communicate and the key messages that need to be communicated should be developed. A matrix of the messages and target audiences may be a product of this exercise.

  5. Build TAM Communications Resources

    Build a library of communication resources that can be used to better communicate TAM and the specific focus that was determined in Step 1. This could include flyers, base presentations that can be customized, videos, and references. Communicators can be more effective by having these resources at their fingertips.

  6. Develop a TAM Communications Implementation Plan

    An implementation plan will help your agency implement a targeted communication cycle and to sustain it over time. This can include specific tasks, a schedule/roadmap, and a mechanism for tracking progress on the plan.

  7. Implement and Monitor the TAM Communication Implementation

    It is important to monitor the communication plan implementation to both encourage further communication and to make sure that progress is being made. Another important element is to share the lessons learned as communicators are carrying out the plan so that plans can be adjusted and improved.

  8. Consider a Mechanism to Share Resources and Experiences

    Developing a place where all communication actions are logged and the resources that they used are shared is a good way to share knowledge and to share progress. The Minnesota DOT's TAM Communication Plan is a good example of this in practice.