Promoting your programme internally. 1. Building an internal communications plan. a. Define the audience

Transcription

1 Promoting your programme internally Some key step to promote your programme internally 1. Building an internal communications plan a. Define the audience Who will be important to the success of your programme? Who gives the final approval to the programme? Who are the potential volunteers, teams, mentors or secondees? Who must provide support (or permission) to the employees? Who, outside the company, needs to know, or who do you want to know, about the programme? How much do each of the audience groups you identified know about the programme at the moment? A good programme will have support from people working in all areas of the business and at all levels. b. Choose your messages Consider the needs and motivation of your audience. What do they need to know? What benefits might the programme bring them? What objections might they have which you will need to overcome? How links are maintained to organisations that are being supported or worked with Items you may want to publicise could include: What the programme consists of, e.g. community volunteering initiatives, team projects, mentoring opportunities, fundathons, used equipment drives, helping with reading for children, trusteeships etc Quotes and testimony from motivated employees already involved How to get involved - contact names, numbers and s Publicity for recent successes, with photos Time off policies if any Commitment, support and regular messages from senior management Other support available, such as use of copiers, meeting rooms, access to other company expertise, e.g. IT, Marketing, HR, Finance, in support of organisation employee is working with

2 c. Develop a timetable Think back to your list of audience groups and plan how you can most easily ensure regular communications with each group. Develop a time-line with deadlines. d. Choice of media Consult with your company communications professionals about the choice of media you will use to communicate with your chosen audiences. Comms support tools can include: Company website and intranet Annual report and/or annual CSR report if produced One-off flyers celebrating awards, successful events, personal success stories Endorsements from the Chairman or CEO in any of the above Features in local press where events have benefited the community, with photos Regular online newsletter to address data base of key audiences In-house fairs using community groups or existing volunteers to tell their story e. Community groups If your programme involves direct liaison with community groups you will need to maintain regular contact with them. Add them to the newsletter mailing list. Telephone them to exchange ideas. Send them a feedback form at regular intervals. 2. Building a plan for staff recognition/celebrating success How recognition is given to an employee is often more important than what is given, and is a vital part of a successful communications plan. The manner in which recognition is given should fit the culture of the company. A visit, memo, letter, or other communication from very senior management can be inspiring Public recognition such as an award presentation, if employees are asked beforehand can also be hugely effective Carefully choose who you recognise and for what. The value of recognition is diminished if given too frequently to too many Thank-you letters should be sent within two weeks of the event Award money can be given to charity Being asked to speak about the achievements at seminars and other public platforms Recognise work being undertaken in the community outside of work time Types of employee recognition

3 a. Community action awards A competition in which awards are given to one or several employees who have been nominated as outstanding volunteers. The awards consist of grants to the organisations for which the employees themselves receive a small present (such as a bottle of champagne or a bouquet of flowers). The primary criteria for the award is the extent and impact of the volunteer s contribution. b. Benefits Outstanding employee involvement achievements are clearly recognised, thus enhancing the programme itself Employee motivation is improved and helps drive growth in participant numbers A great deal of publicity for community involvement can be obtained with a relatively small budget A company which is interested to find out how much employee involvement already goes on, before deciding how best to support it, can learn much by setting up an award scheme and encouraging employees to enter their own private initiatives c. Commitment Gaining support from top management is essential to the credibility of any scheme. Support may be secured on the basis of social responsibility although there is a clear business case in skills development and building motivation of staff. See 'The Business Case for Employee Engagement'. d. Guidelines Clear guidelines should be set out defining: what kinds of organisation can benefit from the company programme and any organisations, e.g. religious or political institutions, which might be excluded who is eligible to participate (contract or only permanent staff) if an award scheme is to be put in place, the value of awards available and their likely number how to apply to join the programme; clear and appealing application forms can influence the popularity of the scheme e. Administration A simple scheme with low costs is a good starting point. When established it can be boosted and enhanced. It can be administered centrally or divided by sector, and realistic time needs to be allowed between advertising and application deadlines. f. Communication Clear communication internally and externally is vital. Employees must get access to the details of the scheme in good time. g. Community investment award for departments An award scheme that, instead of recognising the volunteer achievement of individuals, recognises the department that has the best community investment activities. Involvement of employees as volunteers in those activities is one condition for winning the awards.

4 Benefits Emphasises the importance the company places on properly conducted community activities Encourages branches to be more active and innovative Encourages staff to be proud of their branch Encourages healthy competition between branches Encourages a broader sharing of responsibility for community investment 3. Finding out what is going on already: running a staff survey A good communications plan will start with an undertaking to research what activities and issues employees may already be involved with. This sends a positive message of intent on the part of the company and creates an initial interest among employees. A survey is a useful method of seeking input from employees; it is a means of involving staff in decision making and increasing ownership of the programme. Results from a survey can help make informed decisions, promote and support good programmes and give focus to communications plans. a. Why survey? The most popular reasons for conducting a survey include: 1. Evaluating existing programmes to discover: how many employees know about and use the existing company schemes how useful the scheme is what problems are encountered what benefits have been gained how employees might want to change the programme 2. Gathering information needed to carry out particular types of programme to discover what causes or social issues are popular with staff what types of support are most popular - giving skills, time or resources matching skills of the workforce with skills required by the organisation 3. Conducting an audit of employee community involvement prior to launching a programme to encourage and support such involvement: to find out how much volunteering is already undertaken by employees to find out how many staff want to be involved in community action projects, and thus get a mandate for a programme to identify employees already volunteering as possible leaders/organisers of the programme to check out reactions to possible methods of company support for employees to let employees know that something is happening and to ask them to join b. Type of survey

5 Self-completed questionnaires have the following advantages: they are low cost and cheap to administer the size of the survey can be increased at little cost administration can be standardised respondent can give more thought to questions, and consult documents potentially embarrassing questions can be posed more easily c. Survey design The questionnaire should be simple and quick to fill in using, wherever possible, closed questions (yes/no answers, check-lists) It should include space where respondents can write comments or add information It should include a phone number in addition to a return address for queries Pilot the survey on a test group of employees. Ask them about its length, format, how long it took to fill in, the feel of it, is too much personal information asked for? Are they clear of its purpose and are the questions clear? d. Increasing response rates Market the survey in advance Make clear it is voluntary and separate from personnel records Ask for minimum personal information Be clear why you are seeking the information and how it will be used Anonymity should be an option Ask 'would you like to take part in community projects?' rather than 'would you like to volunteer?' Survey no more than once a year, and avoid clashes with other company surveys, such as Human Resource programmes If possible, promote an incentive to complete and return the survey, such as a donation to a charity or a ticket in a prize draw Establish in advance, with different constituents agreed content to be published - the survey should not be focused on other topics such as morale or pay and conditions Make it easy for the survey forms to be returned e. A covering letter This needs to convey enthusiasm, to make the purpose of the survey clear, how the results will be used, and when and how they will be reported back to employees. f. Distribution The culture of the company will dictate how the survey form is distributed and in many companies local managers like to take responsibility for this phase themselves, reducing the likelihood that the survey will be seen as a directive from the top. g. Timing and follow-up Allow sufficient time for the analysis and processing of the results

6 Ensure adequate publicity well beforehand and allow three to four weeks for the responses to be returned to the central collection point Report back a maximum of six weeks after the survey. A preliminary report will suffice, but needs to be followed by a final report with action plan A recommended procedure is to organise informal briefings with employees to convey the results. This can result in the creation of new volunteer teams and projects h. Help and support Your local ENGAGE partner can advise you in detail about surveys and share various existing models with you. 4. Some issues for individuals considering community involvement These are some of the issues which individuals considering plans for community engagement commonly explore and which, if resolved satisfactorily, will contribute to successful programmes. Points to consider for employees thinking of participating in a Community Engagement programme can include: 1. Does the employee already volunteer in some capacity in their local community? 2. What personal objectives does the employee have in wishing to undertake an EE activity? 3. What skills and experience does the employee bring to the table which can make their contribution a successful one? 4. Has the employee identified development needs with line management or with HR? 5. Has the employee discussed with line management or with the HR department how EE can support their development needs? 6. If a department wishes to introduce a development assignment scheme, will the employee be able to allocate work time to it and will management be supportive? 7. Does the employee have colleagues who are already involved in EE, and who can advise on appropriate activities? 8. Are there particular social issues which the employee is interested in supporting, such as homelessness, disability, child care, conservation or education? 9. Are there particular social issues with which the employee would prefer not to be associated?

7 10. If the employee is considering a transitional secondment, will the company support the request? 11. If the employee is considering a transitional secondment, has a plan been developed to address what happens at the conclusion of the secondment? 12. Does the employee prefer to undertake an EE project near the place of work or near the home, assuming that these are geographically separate? 13. Does the employee have a car, and is he or she prepared to drive to the community organisation where the activity will take place? 14. Is the employee interested in a continuing involvement or a one-time event? 15. Would the employee prefer a team activity or to be involved as an individual?