Internal Comms Presentation
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Transcript of Internal Comms Presentation
The PR challenge for Associations
Getting maximum bang for minimum bucksWhat every Executive Director should know
Who are we?
• Four Winds Communications specialises in comms. services for
Associations
• We provide:
– Strategic comms. planning
– Media management/training
– Lobbying/advocacy
– Membership comms. services
• All tailored specifically for the unique needs of Associations
Membership organisations
• Hundreds of associations
• Think of an industry – there’ll be an association e.g.
– NZ Sheep Breeders Association
– The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand
– NZ Continence Association
– NZ Poultry Association
– NZ Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association
– NZ Tourism Industry Association
Some of our Association clients
New Zealand Veterinary Association
• 1780 members
• Members include vets in rural and urban practices, government
service, universities, technical & research institutes,
pharmaceutical companies & other related industries & students.
• 80% + membership of all registered veterinarians
• Microchipping was big issue
• Advocates on NZ’s biosecurity + codes of practices for urban
vets
Taxi Federation
• Represents an industry of over 3000 members
• Taxi organisations, limousine services, and shuttle services from
co-operatives with 700 plus taxis to single unit operators
• Stamp out the cowboys (restrict industry entry)
• Access to bus lanes
• Compliance and relationships with city authorities
GANZ
• Six big members + further 45 associate members
• Represents organisations in gas sector involved in transporting
and trading gas
• Interests from major pipeline coys to appliance sellers/installers
• Advocating for fuel switching in energy policy + range of technical
regulatory issues relating to pricing
What makes advocacy organisations different?
• Diverse internal audiences
• Significant size disparities in membership numbers
• Not-for-profit
• Must meet a range of different comms. expectations
Membership organisations:A communications challenge
• Membership organisations have unique comms. challenges
– Not as well resourced as corporates
– Small budgets
– But wide range of comms. issues
– Resources & budgets split across many fronts
– Must deliver perceived value for money
– But the biggest challenge is …
Keeping the membership happy
• Massive differences in the business focus/interests of members
• Often differences in business acumen
• Differences in business imperatives
• Different hot/cold buttons
• Massive differences in the comms. tools they’ll use/respond to, or
think are warranted
• They’re not always easily reachable
Members versus staff/shareholders
• Members more active/demanding/vocal
• Members demand service/profile
• They expect their Association to protect their regulatory
environment
• They want quality ongoing comms. (it’s usually a KPI)
• They want to be fully consulted
• They want everything yesterday!
Keeping the bosses happy
• Controlled by board or council
– Often has conflicting views/agendas
– Can be captured by dominant personality, or hindered by lack of
consensus
– Part-time decision-makers
– Making comms. decisions when not experienced
A broad comms. focus
• Broad business and stakeholder focus = broad comms. focus
• Mix of strategic and operational comms activities
• Real need to demonstrate value for investment
• Very easy to measure effectiveness of comms.
Comms. techniques
• Strategic
– Audit and analysis, planning, counsel, training crisis/issues management
• Public relations
– Media management, stakeholder relations, public information campaigns,
marketing comms.
• Govt. relations
– Lobbying/advocacy, submissions, ‘intelligence’, policy analysis
• Membership comms.
– Publications/writing, website management, information sharing, professional
development initiatives, event management
Most useful internal comms. tools
• Newsletter/magazine
– Short, pithy, Trans-Tasman style, issues and outcome-focused
• Txt on key issues to selected members
• Email briefs (where appropriate)
• Members’ intranet
• Using sector leaders/influencers as networkers to membership
• Phone calls to smaller members every so often
Getting bang for buck - externally
• Operate smarter
• Be selective – especially relationship management, lobbying,
media
• Use leverage
• Set realistic expectations
Getting bang for buck - internally
• Understand members’ needs
• Consistent and frequent
• Make the conference count
• Nothing wrong with low tech.
Measuring effectiveness
• Done by survey
• Members actively complain/leave
– Direct impact on management
– Direct impact on income
• Executive Director reports progress monthly to Council/Board
• Budgets and progress assessed against KPIs
Membership satisfaction
---Decreased
substantially
-13%19%Decreased
11%33%31%Stayed the same
67%47%37%Increased
22%7%12%Increased
substantially
200620032000
--Inadequate
11%27%Satisfactory
78%67%Good
11%7%Excellent
20062003
Membership satisfaction
Lessons to be learned
• Be smart
• Spend time
– Assessing/understanding the issues
– Learning about your audience(s)
– Understanding the operating/business environment
• Think “Benefit/Cost” not “Cost/Benefit”
How what you don't know
you don't know
can ruin
an otherwise great staff comms. plan
OR
When visions and missions miss the point
The background
• Wellington SME
– Long-established
– Grown well
– Mix of domestic and light/heavy commercial work
• Trade company
– 16 vans on the road
– Mix of vets and apprentices
• CEO pro-active
• Went into liquidation
The issue
• Company was not making money
• Growth had stopped
• Repeat business hard to come by
• Overheads higher
• Staff were ‘aware of the situation’
The plan
• Company operated internal comms plan
• Had company mission
• Had company vision
• Had structured staff briefings
• Had little news sheet
• CEO managed by walkabout
Our role
• External marketing
• Profile-raising
• Business development
• Engage/brief staff
What we did
• Interviewed all staff
• Developed collateral material
• Agreed target markets
• Established ‘time and motion’ study
What we found
• Staff knew their jobs
• Good at their jobs
• BUT …
• Staff didn’t feel ‘involved/engaged’ with the company
• No reason to go above and beyond
• Lack of sense of responsibility for the company’s performance
• Comms. plan wasn’t working
What the CEO said
• Read and aspire to the vision
• To be recognised as the best xyz company in the Wellington
region
• Read and aspire to the mission
• To deliver professional, leading edge, prompt and customer-
friendly service to all customer
• Comms. activities all geared around vision and mission
What the CEO didn’t know
• Neither the vision nor the mission
meant anything personal to staff.
The solution
• Make them meaningful rather than vague/loose
• Give staff actual targets to aim at
• Make progress measureable
• Engage their competitiveness
• Link it tangible rewards
Examples of visions
• Xyz is committed to brewing the best beer in the world and the
international awards we have won are testament to this.
NZ Brewer
• To constantly develop skills, technology and people to provide
customers with best practice energy solutions which allow them
to maximise their business operations, or home environment and
to be recognised, through our efforts, as New Zealand's …
Leading energy supplier
Some more …
• A world class professional State Services serving the government of the
day and meeting the needs of New Zealanders.
Govt. department
• A healthy environment which sustains people and nature.
Govt. department
• To be a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and
reinsurance broking, financial planning and employee risks and benefits
Large corporate
• … to provide academic and creative excellence
Well known boys school
The lesson
• Visions/missions are tools
• Need to be used effectively as part of a plan
– Not treated as wall hangings/website decoration
• Not all comms. plans are good comms. plans
• Need continuous improvement targets and measurement criteria
• Need to monitor staff ‘engagement’
• Often what people don’t know they don’t know
Thank you
Daniel Paul
Four Winds Communications Limited
(04) 499-0873
(021) 400-993