A well-defined communication plan is necessary to have a highly functional organization. The project manager needs to obtain input on whether the project is satisfying the expectations of the project stakeholders and sponsors. The project manager also needs to address budgetary changes, team morale issues, vendor disagreements, project phase completion, and significant changes to the project.
A communication plan should define the hours of availability of each team member and distribute email addresses and phone numbers of important contacts for the purpose of asking questions, resolving issues, and reporting progress. These contacts should include project sponsors, project managers, team members, and vendors. And some of the communication methods may include scheduling project meetings, project reports, issues log, video conferencing, email, or phone communications.
The project manager and project leaders also need tactful ways of resolving disputes involving disagreements, personality problems, and communication problems. They may do that by establishing formal standards, or procedures, for what happens when disputes occur. For example, team members should be required to communicate any disagreements or disputes to leadership. And the leadership may be able to sit everyone down in a room in the attempt to arrive at the truth and work out a compromise if possible. This may prevent dysfunction within the organization and prevent team members from suddenly quitting for terrible reasons.