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kelly.dyer@melcrum.com
July 3rd, 2008
In a recent article on the Internal Comms Hub, Paul Comer, head of communications & marketing at the Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA) in the UK, describes how, after perceptions of employment in this sector had reached an all time low, an effective strategy was needed to improve the situation.
Acknowledging that employees are an untapped resource, an award-winning program was devised to turn employees into brand ambassadors, actively involving them in shaping the council's reputation and future.
A case study
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, near Birmingham in the UK, saw staff as crucial in helping make the decisions that really matter to local people. And so, when it needed to review its objectives and priorities, the council wanted its staff to be involved.
Solihull decided to devise a way to encourage a staff debate on what the council should prioritize for the next 3 years. This would complement the consultation work underway with the public and the work of the scrutiny boards on council priorities and objectives.
The council started by asking all staff to meet in their teams to consider each existing council objective in turn and discuss a question pertaining to it, providing feedback and suggestions, which were collated into lists.
Workshops
The council asked each team to nominate one person to attend a workshop to refine these lists. Some 100 people attended one of two workshops, where they worked in small groups and used scenarios about the lives of people in the borough to decide what the real priorities were.
It was very important that staff got feedback following their efforts. Solihull used the staff magazine and the core brief to do this. It made it clear that, alongside their views, members were also considering feedback from the public and their own deliberations.
Linking objectives to priorities
Once the council had agreed on the objectives and priorities for 2006-9, it used the center-spread of the staff magazine as a pull-out-and-keep guide. It also produced a "family tree" poster showing how the council’s objectives linked into its priorities. This was sent to every office so it could be placed on notice boards.
Solihull has used subsequent center-spreads in the staff magazine to take one priority at a time and give examples of the things that colleagues across the council are doing.
The council now has priorities that reflect the views of the public, members and staff. Staff are also much better informed about what the priorities mean for them in their day-to-day work.
You can read the full article on the Internal Comms Hub.
Until next time,
P.S. For more insight into innovative engagement methods, come to Melcrum's Strategic Communication Management Summit UK in October, where Janet Croissant, head of group internal communications at Transport for London, will be speaking on this topic.
Understand cultural differences for clearer communication
The Internal Comms Hub, June 25,
2008
Delegates at the Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference in Chicago learn about the importance of recognizing cultural hurdles.
Why "youth" doesn't always equal "ability"
Kelly Dyer, The Melcrum Blog, June 30, 2008
Even though the new generation of employees feel comfortable using social media tools out of office hours, they still need support when it comes to using them in a corporate environment.
How to better communicate with a global workforce
Martina Bartsch, Melcrum’s Communications
Network, July 3,
2008
"I've implemented some new initiatives such as the comms champions group and a monthly news update, but I'm looking for more ideas of how to better communicate with our diverse employee base."
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