COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

2012 - 2016

“Developing a robust internal & external communications

function for the partnership, exploiting existing and new

mediums in the right way for the right messages, at the

right time.”

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The Christchurch Borough Council and East Dorset District Council Partnership was launched on 1 January, 2011 with the following aims:

• maintaining or improving services;

• generating savings;

• reducing the risk of service failure or disruption; and

• designing joint service delivery arrangements that reflect best practice and build in greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Underpinning the achievement of these aims is ‘communication’, both internally (i.e., among Officers and Members), and externally (i.e. residents, stakeholders, contractors, suppliers, visitors, customers, media etc).

With strong linkages to the Workforce Development Strategy, getting the right internal communications infrastructure in place can help facilitate a culture of:

 coherence (everyone knows what is expected of them and why)

 commitment

 knowledge

 motivation

Getting our external communications right is just as important, as it:

 influences the partnership’s reputation

 is a significant marker for the transparency of the Partnership

 facilitates a sense of engagement among our customers and potential

customers and

 helps promote the Partnership’s ‘brand’.

The Communications Strategy is therefore key. Its importance is recognised as being one of the primary drivers for the development of the Partnership, as the following figure shows:

Essentially, the Strategy brings clarity and coherence to the Partnership by enabling stakeholders to have a shared understanding of the tools and means by which communications will be provided. Put simply, if there was no Strategy, there would be inconsistencies in the ‘how, where, why, and to whom’ principles of the Partnership’s communications, which would impact on its reputation and lead to inefficiencies. Indeed, communication underpins each of the factors that influence the Partnership’s reputation:

 experiences people have when they contact the Partnership through any of the access channels it provides;

 the nature and quality of the services people receive directly from the Partnership, and those they receive indirectly or which are provided through other partners;

 how people feel they influence key decisions which affect them and the

wider community;

 the way the Partnership consults and uses the results;

 media coverage of the Partnership (what people read and hear);

 the nature of the information the Partnership publishes and the way it is made available; and

 how people see and experience the way the Partnership operates.

Importantly, the Strategy has been developed to be in alignment with the Partnership’s Customer Access Strategy.

2.0 SCOPE

The Partnership provides services at a number of locations under different governance arrangements, e.g.

1) services provided out of Furzehill/Civic Offices;

2) services provided at satellite locations (e.g. Steamer Point);

3) Tourist/Leisure Units (Christchurch Information Centre, Highcliffe Castle, Priest House Museum, QE Leisure Centre, Tourist Information Centre, Two Riversmeet Leisure Centre)

4) services provided under a three-way+ local authority partnership (e.g. Stour Valley Partnership); and

5) services provided in conjunction with external organisations (e.g. Moors Valley Country Park, who work in partnership with the Forestry Commission).

It also provides facilities or other infrastructure for external organisations (e.g. Allendale Centre; Verwood Hub).

The Strategy recognises and embraces this diversity, and is Partnership-wide covering all services. However, where there are separate governance arrangements for a Service (e.g. Moors Valley Country Park), it may not be possible for all parts of the Strategy to be adopted. Where that is the case, Services are encouraged to adopt and implement as much of the Strategy as their governance arrangements permit.

3.0 GOVERNANCE

The Strategy is owned by the Corporate Team, who also have responsibility for delivering the outcomes.

4.0 TARGET AUDIENCE

The Communications Strategy is an internal partnership document. It has been designed for and targeted at all Officers and elected Members, and some external stakeholders.

The Partnership interacts and engages with a diverse range of individuals, businesses, customers, and organisations. The Strategy will therefore impact on:

 elected Members

 employees (staff and unions)

 formalised service delivery partnerships (e.g. DWP; Stour Valley

Partnership)

 local businesses

 national opinion formers (LGA, Ministers etc.)

 Partnership area residents and visitors

 service delivery partners (Town and parish councils, Dorset County Council, voluntary groups, community partnerships)

 socially excluded groups

5.0 PRINCIPLES

The diversity of audiences that the Partnership engages with requires different communications, provided in different formats, at different times. However, there is a need for the Partnership to adopt a set of key principles that apply irrespective of the target audience:

 communications must be accurate, clear, easily understood,

appropriate for the intended audience, timely and up-to-date;

 communications must recognise the differing needs of our customers (who may require information provided in an alternative format);

 good communication is everyone’s responsibility;

 the Partnership will continually seek to adopt methods of engagement

which are fit for purpose and which are affordable; and

 all communications will be open, honest, fair and realistic.

6.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The overall aim of this Strategy is to set-out how the Partnership will exploit the tools it has available (or will make available) to establish a sound communications infrastructure, enabling it to:

 build and protect the Partnership’s reputation as two councils working together to deliver high quality services at an affordable cost;

 build effective relationships with all stakeholders through targeted communications;

 raise awareness of the services delivered by the Partnership and how

residents can access them;

 promote awareness, interest and engagement in the Partnership;

 communicate consistently and relevantly;

 provide clear and accessible information in a range of formats and languages;

 improve communication with ‘hard to reach’ groups;

 provide Officers with the right information, tools and training to communicate effectively;

 develop a sense of pride in working for the Partnership;

 promote the Partnership on a local, regional and national basis

 promote a ‘pride of place’ about the local area; and

 adopt creative communication solutions where there is a need to do so.

The Strategy will require an implementation plan in order to ensure that these aims and objectives are achieved.

7.0 KEY MESSAGES

The Partnership’s vision is: To maintain and improve the viability of Local

Government Services across the two Councils’ areas. To support the delivery

of this vision, the key messages for external communications should reflect the Partnership’s organisational aims, priorities and values as set out in the Joint Corporate Plan.

These messages should focus on the Partnership:

 helping to improve people’s lives

 delivering excellent services at an affordable cost

 listening to its communities

 working with its communities

 valuing equality and diversity

 being open and honest

 aiming to be an innovative public sector leader

 area being a great place to live, work and visit

 working to achieve safer, stronger communities

 providing communities with opportunities to take greater involvement in

delivering public services

 improving opportunities for young people to live healthy and successful

lives

 working with partners to ensure crime levels in 2016 do not exceed 2011 levels

 improving life chances for vulnerable people

 delivering improvements for health and wellbeing across the

Christchurch and East Dorset communities

 creating conditions for existing and new businesses to thrive

 encouraging thriving and welcoming town centres and a strong rural economy

 minimising waste to landfill and optimising recycling

 managing the conflicts between developing the built environment and protecting the natural environment

 ensuring that the principles of sustainability are embedded in the conduct of the Councils’ business

 enabling provision of housing appropriate to meet all needs

 promoting sustainable housing development

 facilitating innovative approaches to housing needs

 maximising activities that maintain services and increase efficiency

 ensuring Partnership resources are used efficiently and effectively

 promoting a positive reputation with residents, customers and

businesses

(These messages will be reviewed from time to time throughout the life of the Strategy.)

The key messages for internal communications should embrace those which help facilitate an understanding of the partnership and encourage staff to participate in its development:

 the partnership helps to promote opportunity and protect services and

jobs

 staff should look to see where and how they contribute, or can contribute to the achievement of the Corporate Plan, and help the partnership discharge its statutory duties

 staff should conduct themselves responsibly and in keeping with the high standards of local government

 staff should respect their colleagues, elected Members, and the public

 staff are ambassadors of the partnership

 staff should feel empowered to take the initiative in developing services and the partnership

 we want staff to be proud of what they achieve and be innovative in the

way their carry out their work

 we want staff to be risk aware but not risk adverse

(These messages will be reviewed from time to time throughout the life of the Strategy.)

8.0 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

If the Strategy is to be successful, all sections of the Partnership need to understand their responsibilities for its implementation:

There is a role for all staff to:

 formally consider the need for communications actions and support when developing Service Plans (and bidding for or allocating a budget where necessary) and planning initiatives/events;

 minimise incidences of unplanned reactive communications;

 establish objectives around the purpose and aims of important

communications;

 consider adopting evaluation methods to measure the effectiveness of

key communications;

 engage the Communications Officers at the outset of any activity that

could lead to national or local media coverage;

 understand their role in achieving the key aims and use this to promote them and the Corporate Plan; and

 observe the aims and objectives of the Strategy, and apply its

principles

There are also some specific responsibilities:

 Corporate Team - responsible for driving the Strategy by actively and

demonstrably applying its principles. They will ensure that decisions and strategic thinking are communicated to all Managers (and other stakeholders as appropriate), facilitating understanding and support for the direction the Partnership is taking. They will also help identify any major or minor strategic initiatives that require communications support, enabling management of the Partnership’s reputation to be planned and undertaken.

 Managers – responsible for supporting and implementing the

Strategy’s aims & objectives, observing its key messages, cascading to other Officers and stakeholders and securing buy-in; ensuring that appropriate mechanisms and safeguards are put in place within their

Service for the adoption of the Strategy; liaison with Communications Officers of any key issues which may attract media attention.

 Communications Officers - will manage and monitor the Strategy and

implement key actions as outlined in its implementation plan. They will work with Corporate Team, Managers and other Officers (as appropriate), and elected Members, on planning communications. They will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating progress and performance, and reporting this back to the Corporate Team. They will also be proactive in communicating the Partnership’s key aims, will advise on, support, help plan and deliver Partnership communications activities, share best practice, provide the range of tools the Partnership requires in order to communicate, lead the Joint Communications Champions Group, and design and deliver relevant Officer and elected Member training.

 Joint Communications Champions Group – will help coordinate

communications activities across the Partnership, and monitor quality.

Membership of this group will be drawn from across the Partnership1.

9.0 COMMUNICATIONS APPROACH

If the Strategy is to be successful, we need to ensure that the key aims (and our progress in achieving them) are communicated in the right way, at the right time, to the right audience. We will do this by using a combination of tools, as set out below. We will evaluate how successful we have been by mapping and recording our external communications against Corporate Plan objectives.

Our principal aim is to increase the use of electronic forms of communication.

10.0 COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS

The Partnership needs to utilise the right tools, in the right ways, at the right times in order to develop a successful communications function. Different tools may be used depending on whether the intended audience is external or internal.

It is important that we use the tools to communicate our key aims and our progress in achieving those key aims. Guidance will be developed for Services to enable them to take a consistent and professional approach in doing this.

10.1 EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

External communications support the Partnership’s aims and objectives, and

directly influence the Partnership’s reputation. Anything which is issued by the Partnership, media coverage, anything displayed or published which can be read or observed by people external to the Partnership constitutes an external communication.

1

As there may be some crossover with groups set up to develop the Internet and Intranet, these groups may be subsumed into one.

The Partnership will use the following communications tools for the following purposes:

10.1.1 Community Engagement (e.g. roadshows; Community Partnership events)

Community engagement events will only be considered appropriate to use as a communication tool when there is a large amount of relevant information to get across to large numbers of residents, or where there is a particular interest group. Events will be based around factors which may impact directly on their lives (e.g. Christchurch Flood Fair, the Core Strategy, Dorset Waste Partnership information events).

10.1.2 Dorsetforyou website

The Partnership’s website is an increasingly important tool to be used when communicating (and interacting) with residents. It is likely that whatever information staff have to disseminate, there will be an area on dorsetforyou.com where it should be located.

Over the life of the Strategy, the partnership will use dorsetforyou to communicate:

 consultation

 information on how to access services

 news items

 promotion of events/meetings etc.

 strategic decisions

(The use of dorsetforyou for other purposes e.g. applying, reporting, requesting, is set out in the partnership’s Customer Access Strategy.)

10.1.3 Other Partnership websites

The primary purpose of ‘other partnership websites’ is to promote their core business (e.g. MVCP; Highcliffe Castle), enabling as many services as is practicable, given resources, to be made available online. The aim is to attract repeat contact and new customers, automating processes wherever possible.

These websites will focus their communications around:

 news items

 services on offer

 reputation

 events

10.1.4 Press Releases

A press release is the standard method of communicating news to a wide audience. It is currently the primary method of communicating news to media editors, regardless of media format.

Press Releases will be used when the partnership has something it wishes to announce, that is relevant (to the audience), engaging, and timely. Ordinarily,

they will contain a quote from the relevant Member or, if unavailable, Head of Service (who will also be required to sign off Releases before they are issued).

The compilation and issuing of Press Releases falls within the responsibility of the Communications Officers.

10.1.5 Residents Association Newsletters

Resident Association and Parish and Town Council newsletters will only be used when there are articles specific to an area or ward that may not be relevant or able to be used in the Courier or East Dorset News. Checks with relevant Members will be made to ensure that articles are not duplicated.

10.1.6 The Courier / East Dorset News

The Courier and East Dorset News are two of the primary means by which residents receive information about the Councils and the partnership. The magazines will continue to be published quarterly and delivered directly to every household.

Unlike media articles, the magazines enable the Councils to have complete editorial control over the messages they provide to residents, thus informing residents’ perceptions of the partnership.

Content of the magazines will focus on:

 key aims of the Partnership and our progress in achieving them

 partnership news

 events (past and forthcoming)

 key priorities

 working in partnership with other organisations

 community-based news

 strategic decisions

 consultation

 key changes to services (e.g. Dorset Waste Partnership)

 performance

10.1.7 Social Media2

Social media is a term given to online media/websites that are based on user participation and user-generated content. An ever-growing area, it can be classified into the main areas of:

 blogs  forums  podcasts  social bookmarking  social networking  wikis 2

To facilitate the most appropriate use of social media, and ensure it is properly regulated, a social media protocol will be developed.

Over the life of the Strategy, the Partnership will use the following social media tools in the following way:

Blogs

A blog is a blend of the term ‘web log’. It is a type of website maintained by an individual or organisation with regular entries to provide commentary or news on a particular subject. Blogs are essentially an online diary, but they are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments. The Leaders of both Councils each maintain a separate blog.

Given that blogs can be time consuming and require regular monitoring, the Partnership will only consider using them where a major project is proposed that requires substantial and regular amounts of information to be issued. Where a blog is being considered, the partnership will use the following principles to determine whether it is suitable:

 is the topic area likely to be of interest to the general public?

 will the topic attract a group of followers?

 does the topic have the potential for photographs (or pictures) to be used?

The partnership will also need to be satisfied with the following;

 who will produce the blog?

 how often will it get updated?

 over what period will the blog be produced?

 could a deputy complete the blog in the event of the long-term absence

of the main ‘blogger’?

 are there other more suitable means of communicating?

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. The Partnership has no dedicated Facebook page but is instead represented on the site via dorsetforyou.com.

The Partnership will, over the life of the Strategy, investigate the benefits and implications of adopting its own Facebook presence.

Flickr

Flickr is an online image sharing website that allows photographers, both amateur and professional, to upload their photographs into albums, collections and common interest groups.

Over the life of the Strategy, the Partnership will investigate the benefits and implications of using Flickr for the following: non-copyrighted images of the Partnership area, tourism related images, project images and event images.

Twitter is a social networking and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ messages called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters which can include links to web pages. Twitter differs from Facebook primarily in the limitation on the lengths of posts. ‘Tweets’ appear in a feed, which individuals follow. Twitter is a good way of informing people of what is going on now.

Over the life of the Strategy, the Partnership will investigate the benefits and implications of having one Partnership-wide Twitter account, with access allowed to relevant Officers3.

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos including media clips, music videos and informative council videos. Due to costs, YouTube size limits, accessibility requirements, the time required to film, edit and upload videos, this media has limited applications for the partnership.

Over the life of the Strategy, the Partnership will investigate the benefits and implications of using YouTube for major projects and events.

10.1.8 Television / Radio

Television and radio are two of the most prominent media available to the Partnership. It is likely that both will only respond directly to a well-written Press Release that is targeted and tailored to them and their audience, though where there is a topical feature, a request for an interview may be made to the partnership.

The Communication Officers are responsible for managing all television/radio contact.

10.1.9 Television Screens (located in Reception areas at Partnership locations)

These screens will be used to communicate information which has a long life e.g. Members’ details, ward areas, Benefit Fraud initiatives, past events, partnership performance. They will also be used to promote Partnership services (e.g., MVCP, Highcliffe Castle).

10.2 INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

If the Partnership is to be efficient and effective, it needs to put in place clear channels for its internal communications, with Officers and Members understanding their limitations, purposes, and how they should be used to best effect. Although this may be intuitive for many channels (e.g., emails, meetings), there are certain principles that should be applied.

3

Internal communications should be:

 clear

 accurate

 timely

 informative

 relevant to the audience

 concise

 provided using the right medium

Using these principles, outside the main channels (telephone, email) the Partnership will use the following communications tools for the following purposes:

10.2.1 Ask David

Ask David will be a way for staff to ask questions of the Chief Executive anonymously via the intranet. Questions will be routed automatically to the Communications Officers with no information identifying the sender. They will then be sent to the Chief Executive for a response to be produced. Responses and answers will be collated on a regular basis by the Communications Officers and posted onto the front page of the intranets. Questions raised via the Ask David facility will be business-relevant and relate to high-level Partnership issues which may not be able to be answered by Managers or Heads of Service.

10.2.2 Chief Executive’s Blog

The Chief Executive will produce a blog on a regular basis as and when there is some topic or issue they would like to share with all members of staff. Although the contents could be diverse, the blog will tend to have a business-relevant message within it. The Blog will be posted on the intranets by the Communications Officers.

10.2.3 Chief Executive’s staff briefings

These will be held every three months in the Civic Offices and at Furzehill, at different times of day to allow as many employees as possible to attend. They will last approximately one hour and allow every employee to find out first hand from the Chief Executive the latest developments in the Partnership. A variety of topics and speakers will be used, with employees encouraged to ask questions.

10.2.4 Corporate Team

The Corporate Team comprises the Chief Executive, Strategic Directors and Heads of Service. It is responsible for managing the Partnership. From a communications perspective, it will be responsible for deciding on the contents of the Team Brief, initiating Team Briefs with their Managers, attending Team Briefs with members of the teams as often as possible, and ensuring that briefings are taking place (including off-site offices). They will discuss any issues arising from Team Briefs at their regular meetings, and where necessary, with the Partnership’s Communications Officers.

10.2.5 Intranet

The Partnership’s Intranet will contain procedural and strategic documents about all aspects of the Partnership which staff can access to help them with their work. It will be updated on a regular basis and all Services will regularly check that it contains the most up-to-date information. All staff will be encouraged to refer to the front page of the intranet whenever they log on to their system. We will also use the Intranet to promote the key values of the partnership and our progress in achieving them.

10.2.6 Lync

As Lync is an internal communications tool, it is ‘owned’ by the Partnership’s communication function. All staff with access to the IT system will have access to Lync. This will be used to enable Officers to communicate with one another using messaging in real-time, and enable the availability of members of staff to be viewed (thus reducing unsuccessful contact). Telephone calls between Officers will be made through Lync. All staff with access to the IT system will have their photograph posted on Lync. Over the life of the Strategy, the Starters/Leavers checklist will be harmonised and procedures put in place to enable the list of staff listed on Lync to be kept up-to-date.

10.2.7 Member Briefings

Member Briefings will be used to communicate important developments of the partnership and areas which impact on their responsibilities (e.g. government legislation; Core Strategy). Whenever possible, Members from both Councils will attend the same Briefing (facilitating joint working), though this may not always be practicable (in which case, Briefings will be timed to take place at roughly the same time).

10.2.8 Members Newsletters

Members Newsletters will be used to communicate matters which the Partnership and each authority is currently involved in, providing an insight into the future and focusing on matters of both a local and national interest where appropriate. They will be produced on a weekly basis.

10.2.9 Noticeboards

Noticeboards will be used to promote the key aims of the Partnership, keep staff informed of developments within the Partnership, any on-going campaigns, and to raise awareness of important strategic areas (e.g. Corporate Plan).

10.2.10 Presentations

Presentations will be used by members of staff to update other staff about key issues, events etc., and externally to outside organisations. Each presentation from a member of the Partnership will use the same template (made available on the intranet), with Partnership logo and recommended typeface to create a recognisable identity. Members of the graphics team will be used to recommend the best way to display slides.

10.2.11 Staff Newsletter

This will be produced by Communications Officers once or twice a year and contains items about members of staff e.g. births, marriages, new appointments, achievements in and out of work. Members of staff will be encouraged to contribute to the newsletter, which will be posted on the intranet.

10.2.12 Staff Surveys

Staff Surveys will be commissioned by the Corporate Team and will be used to obtain a view on how staff feel about the Partnership, and other general work-related areas. Questions will be put together by members of the Business Improvement section. The Survey will be conducted anonymously with no responses able to be linked to a specific member of staff. Findings will be discussed by a team of Officers drawn from across the Partnership, and recommendations then made to the Corporate Team. Findings will be made available to staff.

10.2.13 Suggestions

The Suggestions box on the intranet will be a means for members of staff to post suggestions for improvements to the working practices of the Partnership. They will be posted anonymously, though staff will be encouraged to give their names so that they can be recognised if their suggestions are taken up. The suggestions will go through to a member of the Business Improvement team who will forward them to relevant Managers or Heads of Service for a response as to the practicability and value of the suggestion. Responses to the suggestions will be posted on a monthly basis on the intranets by the Communications Officers.

10.2.14 Team Brief

The Team Brief will be produced on a regular basis by the Communications Officers. It will be the primary tool used to communicate items of relevance, importance and interest to staff, but will focus primarily on the key aims of the partnership and our progress in achieving them. Although Officers may submit articles falling within this category, it will be the Corporate Team that decides its contents. The Communications Officers will also identify items of relevance for inclusion. The Brief will be posted on the Intranet so that staff can read it before their team meetings, where they will also be able to raise any concerns or ask questions. Together with other items, managers will use the Team Brief at team meetings as a reference tool for discussion, feeding back any questions on the Team Brief they are unable to answer back to the Communications Officers.

10.2.15 Trades Unions

We recognise the importance and value of Trades Unions and will ensure that there are regular opportunities for them to engage with staff and senior managers both informally and formally (e.g. Joint Consultative Group).

11.0 OUTCOMES

The successful implementation of the Strategy will lead to e.g.:

11.1 Externally:

 residents being fully informed about the Partnership – achievement of

key aims, why it is needed, what it has achieved, what it is planning, the savings it has secured;

 positive views of the work of the Partnership and each Council

individually;

 public knowledge of the services provided by the Partnership and how

best to access them; and

 the Partnership being viewed locally, regionally and nationally as forward-thinking and successful.

11.2 Internally:

 staff will understand and buy into the Partnership’s priorities and values;

 staff will be provided with the information necessary to do their jobs;

 staff will be kept up-to-date on news relating to the Partnership; and

 staff will understand the need for good communication and provide Communications Officers with stories to publicise.

12.0 EVALUATION

The Strategy will be evaluated using the following:

 number of positive articles about the Partnership in the media;

 number of page views for relevant news pieces on dorsetforyou.com (&

other partnership websites);

 number of hits to links given in press releases;

 focus groups;

 responses to relevant questions in residents' surveys;

 responses to relevant questions in staff surveys;

 number and type of questions seeking clarification of Team Brief articles;

 page views of intranet articles; and

 systematic monitoring of communications issued that can be mapped against Corporate Plan objectives.

13.0 REVIEW

The Strategy will be reviewed six months after adoption, and annually thereafter.

END OF STRATEGY