The guidelines are organized in five parts:

Part A, Communication Principles, provides guidelines to define the institution’s guiding principles on communication that lay the foundation on the way governance and the management of communication activities will be performed.

Part B, Governance and Management, provides guidelines to establish policies and practices to systematically carry out the wide spectrum of consistent communication-related activities.

Part C, Communication Unit, provides guidelines on the essential building blocks and functions performed in the communication services.

Part D, Internal Communication, provides guidelines on creating common understanding of the goals and challenges among the team.

Part E, External Communication, provides guidelines on communicating with the most important stakeholder − the client − as well as dialogue with external groups and individuals.

Within each part, specific guidelines are grouped according to elements presented as follows:

Guideline. The guideline is stated as clearly as possible.

Structure. This is the suggested structure that may support the application of the guideline and facilitate the promotion of the underlying principle. The structure indicates the goals and framework established by the board and by management.

Mechanism. There are different ways through which a guideline may be implemented.

The Guidelines also include a self-assessment tool for social security administrations, and links to technical references and examples of good practice.

In these guidelines, the Communication Unit refers to the institution’s staff responsible for the implementation and operations of communication, regardless of institutional structure. Such tasks can be undertaken by internal staff or external contracted agents. In most institutions, some communication functions are devolved to business units or specialized units that conduct specific activities.