SAYING IT HOW IT IS - OUR COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

Transcription

1 Authority: 20 June 2012 Page 1 SAYING IT HOW IT IS - OUR COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY SUMMARY 1.1 The Authority considered a draft Communications Strategy in September Members authorised me to amend the document to reflect their views and finalise the strategy. This paper presents the final document to Members and describes our intended approach to engaging our audiences and sustaining a continuing dialogue. Recommendation that: a b c Members endorse the Communications Strategy at Annex One; Members agree the priority actions for , which accompany the strategy; and Members note the contents of the draft Audience Development Plan and the outcomes of our initial audience perception study at Annex Two. 2 BACKGROUND 2.1 Staff, Members and volunteers all share responsibility for communicating our role effectively, listening to our audiences and adapting our services and messages according to the outcomes of that engagement. Our Communication Strategy needs to: a. state our intentions clearly and describe the strategy s purpose. b. explain why we believe good external and internal communication and engagement is important - and be candid about our starting point and future commitment. c. Spell out our priority actions and say how we will measure success. 2.2 We started the review of our current Communication Strategy last year through workshop conversations with the Strategic Leadership Team, a selection of team leaders and with the Communications and Learning team. Since sharing the draft strategy with Members last September we have conducted research among nine key audience segments as the beginning of a process of continuing dialogue. They are: External communications a. Visitors b. Residents c. Partners d. Media e. Businesses f. Under-represented groups g. Education groups and outdoor centres Internal communications a. Volunteers b. Staff 3 POLICY CONTEXT 3.1 An up-to-date effective Communications Strategy will help deliver our Business Plan and Organisational Strategy. It will also help us engage effectively with partners and audiences in delivering the Partnership s Plan. 4 OPTIONS 4.1 Option 1: Members endorse the Strategy and Priority Actions. Option 2: Members endorse the Strategy subject to amendments to the Priority Actions.

2 Authority: 20 June 2012 Page 2 5 PROPOSALS 5.1 Option 1 is recommended. 6 BEST VALUE IMPLICATIONS 6.1 The Best Value implications are: a) Challenge: A reviewed Communications Strategy clarifies our intentions when communicating and engaging with our audiences. b) Compare: We have compared our approach to that adopted in other National Parks including the Peak District, Broads and Yorkshire Dales. c) Consult: We have developed the Strategy, messages and guidance in consultation with staff, with the benefit of professional external advice and challenge and on the basis of audience feedback on current performance and suggested future action. d) Compete: Not applicable 7 FINANCE CONSIDERATIONS 7.1 There are no exceptional financial implications in approving the strategy. 8 RISK 8.1 Risks associated with the Communication Strategy are: Id Risk Consequence Controls required R1 Inconsistency and lack of coordination in the quality of internal and external communication. 9 LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS 9.1 None 10 HUMAN RESOURCES Damage to reputation. Inefficient use of staff time and resources. Staff, member and volunteer dissatisfaction. Strategic actions require a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART) action plan, monitored and evaluated quarterly. Communication and engagement actions must be explicit in service plans and performance appraisals Members, staff and volunteers all need good communication and engagement skills. Our priority action plan describes how we intend to develop and maintain the right relationship with our audiences. Our Communications Champions will be crucial. 11 DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS 11.1 This strategy is central to our commitment to our diverse audiences.

3 Authority: 20 June 2012 Page 3 12 SUSTAINABILITY 12.1 The strategy will promote engagement and inspire people about all aspects of sustainability, which is at the heart of the Vision for the National Park. Author/Post Bob Cartwright Director of Park Services Date Written 1 June 2012

4 Authority: 20 June 2012 Page 4 [This page is intentionally blank]

5 Authority: 20 June 2012 Annex 1 Page 1 Saying it how it is Our Communications Strategy Created: April 2011 Draft to Authority: September 2011 Approved: May 2012 Review Date: March 2013

6 Authority: 20 June 2012 Annex 1 Page 2 Our intention For our external communications People know why the Lake District is special. People know about our work and how we work with the Lake District National Park Partnership to achieve the Vision. We listen to and connect with our audiences in ways that meet their specific needs. People perceive the National Park Authority as a listening, receptive, cooperative, well managed organisation. For our internal communications We communicate every message clearly, easily, consistently, at the right time and to the right audience. Everyone across the organisation feels listened to and equally responsible for communication and recognises the value of good communication among their colleagues. The purpose To guide staff, members and volunteers in our communications with the public and between colleagues. To ensure our communications match our organisational objectives. To identify the most important messages we want to send inside and outside the organisation. The strategy spells out the principles of good communication. But it can t describe how we will communicate in every situation. We will review the strategy and priorities for action every year to make sure they stay relevant and respond to national and local circumstances. And just to be clear, Saying it how it is applies to every team across the National Park Authority and not just the Communications and Learning team.

7 Authority: 20 June 2012 Annex 1 Page 3 Why do we need good external communications? So staff, members and volunteers can: give our audiences, particularly our local communities, opportunities to influence our plans, policies and actions, showing that we value their input. help others recognise that the Lake District is a National Park with many special qualities make people aware of our objectives and our commitment to the Lake District National Park Partnership explain the services we offer, the information we can provide and the actions to which we are committed. Why do we need good internal communications? So staff, members and volunteers: understand our plans, aspirations and priorities and how they contribute to achieving them are well informed about the services we provide and how people can access them know what s going on so they feel valued, well supported and motivated feel able to contribute directly to organisational change and improvement are proud to be ambassadors and advocates for the Authority and our Vision are empowered to do their job feel their successes are recognised and appreciated. If we are good at communicating inside the organisation our colleagues are likely to be clearer about: who we are what we stand for what work we do our future commitment to the Lake District National Park.

8 Authority: 20 June 2012 Annex 1 Page 4 Who do we need to communicate with? Communication is most effective when it is targeted and segmented. We have many audiences, with differing needs and interests. As a general principle, good communicators will: understand and monitor their audiences needs define messages in ways that will be well received and understood choose the best ways to communicate. Awareness - Where are we now? External communications We engage with a wide audience through our highly regarded website, our media relations service and through personal staff, member and volunteer contact. Our performance indicators suggest we need to do more to engage with young people, those with limited mobility and people from black and minority ethnic communities. But we know many other people are still unclear what the National Park Authority does or how decisions are made and do not always understand our relationship with other organisations. We are committed to improving our dialogue with: visitors residents partners, particularly those in the Lake District National Park Partnership media businesses under-represented groups education groups and outdoor centres. We need to get better at using Plain English in how we present our information. Internal communications The Strategic Leadership Team and Team Leaders recognise that the flow of information between Executive Board, Heads of Service, Team Leaders and staff is not as effective as it could be. For example, in the 2011 Staff Survey 72 per cent of respondents tended to agree or agree strongly that Touchstone, Snapshot and In Focus provided timely and useful information about what is going on in the organisation. But this was down by 19 per cent compared to The survey also found that only 53 per cent of respondents tended to agree or agree strongly that communication between teams who need to work together was generally good, which was down by 7 per cent on 2010.

9 Authority: 20 June 2012 Annex 1 Page 5 We have put in place an improvement action plan to address feedback from the annual Staff Surveys, the 2012 National Park Authorities Performance Assessment and high performance culture training within our Maximising our Potential programme. This prioritises actions that will help us deliver the Communications Strategy. Communication skills and systems are part of our induction process and we provide Cracking Communications, our staff guide, when new staff members join us. The guide sets out Plain English good practice guidelines and all staff undertake Plain English training. But we don t yet apply the guidelines rigorously or consistently. We are committed to improving our dialogue with: volunteers staff. How are we going to get there? Monitoring and measuring success Our Strategic Leadership Team, Team Leaders and Communications Champions within each team will be responsible for encouraging excellence across the organisation. If the strategy is to succeed we must embed the effective key priority actions in Service Plans and in individual staff performance objectives. The Team Leader for Communications and Learning will monitor progress in delivering actions and the Director of Park Services will be the lead Director. We will monitor and evaluate the strategy through: quarterly updates to the Director of Park Services from the Team Leader for Communications and Learning on implementation of the key priority actions and Communications Champions activity. This will be available on Touchstone an annual strategy update to the Strategic Leadership Team, Team Leaders, Members and the Volunteers Forum, which will include details of progress, new developments and lessons learned the annual staff survey the bi-annual internal support services survey team health checks the audience development plan and audience interview feedback.

10 Authority: 20 June 2012 Annex 1 Page 6 Communications Strategy Priority actions External communication EC-1 Audience Development Plan: Review annually our Audience Development Plan and audience evaluation plan. Including conducting an annual face to face communications survey to identify improvements to the services we provide. EC-2 Lake District National Park Partnership: Develop a simple and transferable communications guide for the Partnership EC-3 Customer Service Excellence: Conduct the annual review of the Customer Service Excellence award and maintain a customer-focused culture EC-4 Income generation and National Park brand development: Permanent marketing expertise to be identified and developed and role to be supported by the Communications and Learning team. EC-5 Under-represented groups: Develop a communication and marketing plan to ensure that under-represented groups are aware of the opportunities that our services and activities can offer. EC-6 National Park Authority Performance Assessment Review 2012: Communicate the outcomes of the review with key audiences. Internal communication IC-1 IC-2 Communications Improvement Plan: Identify and implement key improvement actions from Maximising our Potential programme and the Staff Survey 2012 including developing the role of Communications Champions within each team. Co-ordinated audience consultations and surveys: Establish an organisationwide system to manage, coordinate, and ensure usability, of consultations and surveys.

11 Authority: 20 June 2012 Annex 2 ANNEX 2: