Reputation Management and External Communications Strategy ... · Reputation management and...

Reputation management and

external communications strategy

2004-6

June 2004

Contents 1. Introduction

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2. Council image, reputation and branding Our reputation and why it’s important Vision and key messages Corporate identity Partnership branding Customer services Receptions Complaints

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3. Communications with residents Council literature and accessibility Resident’s magazine Corporate publications Electronic communications Consultation and community involvement

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4. Media relations Performance reporting and planning Organisation and working practice Resources Media training and protocols Relations with local media Business Gazette

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5. Partners and opinion formers Partners Local, regional and national opinion formers Publicising achievements

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6. Resources

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7. Measuring success

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8. Action plan

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1. Introduction The county council agreed its first communications strategy in September 2002. Two-thirds of the actions in this strategy are fully achieved with the remaining actions in progress. This strategy builds on the solid progress made since September 2002. It is divided into sections, by stakeholder groups, with each section containing analysis of: • Current stakeholder perception - where we are now • Identification of areas for improvement - where we need to be • Practical actions for improvement – how we are going to get there. The county council has sustained long periods of critical media comment following highly critical reports from the SSI and Audit Commission. The impending referendum on reorganisation of local structures will see the county council’s reputation and standing come under close media scrutiny. The prime objective of our external relations over the next six months will be to address this situation by countering adverse impressions and securing an improved public perception of the work of the county council. To achieve this we will need to: • Improve the visibility of our work in the county through all available realistic

means • Promote positive images of our work in the county council’s media • Counter incorrect or misleading adverse assertions or comment speedily and

effectively. The actions are based on a communications audit. This included desktop research, a communications survey of 1200 Community Voice panel members, a visual audit of council publications, signage, livery and an independent evaluation of our web site. The findings of a current performance and improvement assessment (CPIA) into communications in June 2004 have been considered. At the end of this strategy is an action plan indicating actions, responsibilities, outcomes, timelines, resources and measurement. An integrated internal communications strategy will be developed following a staff survey by September 2004. This strategy must be owned by the whole organisation and driven by members, corporate directors and heads of service. This strategy supports other important strategies and for this reason some actions fall into other unit and directorate work programmes.

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2. Council image, reputation & branding Objectives: Communicate the council’s vision, priorities and achievements through clear, well focused communication. Restore trust in the county council as an honest, competent, well managed organisation that delivers quality services to all its citizens.

The county council’s reputation and why it is important Local councils are complex organisations that deliver a range of diverse services to many different stakeholder groups. How we communicate and consult with these various stakeholders determines to a great extent what they think of us. Our reputation as an organisation, both as a service provider and employer, is shaped as much by our ability to communicate and consult as it is by the actual quality of the services we provide. Whether it is consciously or unconsciously developed every council has a brand. The visual side of the brand – the corporate identity – is usually well understood. Organisations, particularly councils, find the less tangible side of their brand, the corporate ‘personality’ or reputation much harder to define and influence. The perception of Cumbria County Council’s brand can be divided into key components: • Its overall purpose – what is it there to do? • The values that underpin it – what drives it to do the things it does? • The key messages – what is it saying about what it can offer? • Its delivery – does it give people what it promises? • The behaviour of its staff – how it treats customers and its own people? • The ‘look and feel’ about how it goes about its business. Trust in public organisations is driven by two major factors: the quality of service people receive and whether they think organisations are honest and competent. Trust is increased when staff treat people well, when friends and family say positive things and when public organisations are seen to keep promises and learn from their mistakes. Trust is lost when the public believes they have poor quality leaders and managers and when the organisation is perceived to be not interested in people’s views. MORI research (2003) showed that people are generally critical of the level of information provided by local authorities. On balance staff are seen to treat people well. But authorities are most likely to be associated with poor quality leadership and management. They are seen as unlikely to admit fault or learn

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from mistakes, and the public sees councils as not interested in their views. Full details of the survey can be found on www.audit-commission.gov.uk There is significant evidence in the communications audit to suggest that stakeholders hold these views about Cumbria County Council. Cumbria County Council’s reputation – where we are now A basket of corporate indicators have been developed from the communications audit to measure the council’s reputation, its standing in the community and how well it communicates. These indicators are measured annually and are shown in section 7 of this strategy Measuring success. The county council has been subject to severe criticism by the local, regional and trade media over SSI (October 2003) and CPA (December 2003) reports. This has clearly undermined public trust and confidence in the authority which will take a concerted effort and considerable time to restore. Most of the research referred to in this strategy was carried out before the SSI and CPA inspections were made public. Residents’ satisfaction survey The 2000/01 BVPI user satisfaction survey found that 55 per cent of residents were satisfied overall with how the council runs things. This compared to a county council average of 61 per cent, making Cumbria within the bottom quartile of all county councils. The improvement target for residents’ satisfaction in 2003 was 60 per cent. However, the 2003/4 BVPI survey showed satisfaction with county council services has declined to 52 per cent. The target for 2007 remains 60 per cent. In common with many county councils, some high-profile services achieve individual high satisfaction ratings but these services are not always seen as part of the county council (by residents and staff). This is to do with the silo nature of some authorities where services are branded individually causing so the council is not seen as one organisation. The 2003/4 BVPI user satisfaction survey found that 48 per cent of respondents thought the county council kept them informed about the services and benefits it provides. It is noted that the 2003/4 BVPI survey had an unrepresentative sample and is to be carried out again. Communications survey A communications survey of 1200 Community Voice panel members in 2003 found that respondents correctly identified the many county council high-profile services, such as highways, education and libraries. However, a significant number incorrectly thought the county council provided the police (71 per cent)

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and health (39 per cent). High percentages of respondents thought the council provided many district council services such as refuse collection (48 per cent) and housing (40 per cent). Twenty-six per cent of respondents thought the county council took their views into account to some extent, 40 per cent said sometimes and 34 per cent said hardly ever. The survey asked respondents to name the first three things that came to their mind when they thought of Cumbria County Council. A summary of the negative comments includes: • Remote, faceless and doesn’t listen • Bureaucratic and slow to react • Ignores the south/Carlisle centric • Insufficient repairs to roads • Poor managers • Social service failures • Don’t provide enough information to residents. Although very few positive statements were made, respondents did identify that the council was generally helpful if asked and that it was trying to make improvements. Full details of the survey can be found on www.haveyoursay.org.uk Media relations Media monitoring has been taking place since March 2004. Over a period of time this information will build up an accurate picture of trends which can be used to assess the council’s reputation. The quarter March to May 2004 shows media coverage as averaging 60 per cent positive, 31 per cent neutral and 8 per cent negative. See Media relations section. Summary While some individual services achieve high satisfaction levels, overall the county council has low residents satisfaction with services. Over the last three years satisfaction has fallen. National research has shown a direct link between residents’ satisfaction with services and how well they feel informed about those services. Less than half of residents believe the council keeps them well informed about services and benefits. And only just over one-quarter believe the council takes their views into account when making decisions. In common with many two-tier systems of local government, there is a high degree of confusion about which public body provides services in the county. The county council is not seen as one organisation.

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Vision and key messages Where we are now The county council has set out its values and vision in its corporate strategy 2004-7. The council’s six priorities are: • Putting the public first – improving council services • Enhancing economic well-being • Promoting the well-being of vulnerable people and their carers • Promoting learning in Cumbria • Improving the safety of people’s lives • Protecting and enhancing the environment The communications survey did not test stakeholder perceptions of the county council’s values and vision. It was felt unrealistic to ask residents these questions when there had been no significant activity to communicate these. It is clear, however, that the council’s vision and priorities are lengthy and complicated and are difficult to communicate, in their current form, to internal and external stakeholders. Where we need to be Communicating the council’s vision and priorities to external audiences is challenging. For this to be effectively achieved the vision has to be more succinct and the corporate priorities need to be translated into simple key messages which are constantly repeated and reinforced both internally and externally. Related to this is the need for the county council to brand itself more forcefully as one organisation instead a collection of individual services. All stakeholders need to know what services the county council provides, what the organisation stands for and what it is trying to achieve. The council’s priorities should form the basis of the communication’s team annual work programme for undertaking public relations campaigns. All current and proposed campaigns should be prioritised against the council’s strategy. The council needs to be wary of creating too many new brands or strap lines which dilute the key messages. In order to focus the communications team’s work it should launch just two campaigns each year and back this up with a full programme of activities spanning every directorate. Co-ordinated by the corporate team, every directorate should be expected to contribute. Any other public relations campaigns should be avoided as this will simply dilute the council’s overall message. The communications team has the following public relations campaigns running: • 30 years • Rural matters

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• Killed and seriously injured • School attendance. How we are going to get there - actions • Review council vision to make it more succinct and memorable. Promote

council as one organisation. Develop simpler key messages based on the council’s six priorities (test messages on focus group).

• Establish focus groups to examine findings of 2003/4 best value satisfaction

survey. Use focus group to explore communications, brand and test key messages.

• Develop four high-profile public relations campaigns over the next two years

linked to the council’s priorities that promote the council as one organisation. Up to two of these campaigns to run at any one time. Directorates to input into campaigns via communications champions group.

• Produce a succinct, user-friendly, annual progress report, reviewing the

council’s achievements over the past year and setting priorities for the coming year (corporate strategy) using Rough Guide format. Set up road shows/presentation opportunities for staff and partner organisations to communicate progress against strategy.

Corporate identity Where we are now The first section of corporate identity guidelines on the use of the logo were agreed and communicated in 2003 and this has led to some improvement. However, the council is still struggling with enforcing the use of its logo and design standards. Further strengthened guidance on the use of the logo will be published through an on-line communications toolkit in June 2004. The visual side of Cumbria County Council’s brand is identifiable but not coherent. An analysis of the county council’s literature conducted as part of the visual audit indicates there are still a high number of legacy publications in circulation. Even some recent leaflets flout the guidelines. The county council’s signage and livery fare no better. Where signage has been recently updated (eg Libraries), it looks professional, with the service, address, web site and telephone number included as well as the corporate logo. But the audit revealed signage (both internal and external) is of a mixed and generally poor standard (including schools). Signage at many of the council’s main public buildings such as The Courts and directorate HQs is not well

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branded. Many vehicles either do not have the county council logo (eg CCS) or it is used incorrectly (eg fire vehicles). Where we need to be The key to good corporate identity is consistency of application. Obtaining this consistency should be the main focus of the council’s effort over the next 12 months. The county council needs to proactively communicate its corporate identity guidelines to service managers and take account of any difficulties they have in using the logo. Senior managers must endorse and support efforts to police a consistent corporate identity. The council needs to take a pragmatic approach to improving its corporate identity with signage and livery updated on a rolling programme to avoid unnecessary costs. The communications team should use the design services contract with CAPITA to more effectively enforce corporate identity. This will require CAPITA becoming more familiar with the council’s corporate identity guidelines and house style. The communications team must ensure that briefs and expectations are clear. The council spends £750k - £1 million per annum on job recruitment advertising and public notices. Just over half of this spend is placed with local newspapers. This represents a significant opportunity to promote and reinforce the council’s brand, key messages and achievements. Job advertisements and recruitment material should be consistent with other visual branding materials. Job adverts should also be targeted at specialist media to ensure to encourage a diverse workforce. How we are going to get there - actions • Complete the corporate identity manual (as part of the online communications

toolkit), ensuring there is firm guidance and enforcement on plain English, RNIB clear print and alternative formats and other languages. Deliver communications training programme to key managers on online communications toolkit. Liaise with media manager.

• Establish a robust system for ensuring corporate identity compliance. Ensure

CAPITA acts as the council’s brand guardians, so all publications, signage and livery conforms to corporate identity guidelines (as part of the CAPITA contract performance measure).

• Carry out an audit of all building signage and livery to include estimates for a

programme of replacement or upgrading. Consider use of a specialist consultant. Bid for resources through directorates and agree an ongoing replacement programme.

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• Revise recruitment advertising corporate identity and job application material

to ensure consistent branding. Agree style guide for job adverts to include plain English copywriting and presentation.

Partnership branding Where we are now The county council has significant problems with its joint branding with CAPITA. The joint branding is unclear and very often not included on partnership work. Good examples of this are major road work schemes carried out by CAPITA which have little or no indication that it is the county council funding them. The county council experiences problems gaining recognition for projects and initiatives it joint funds through, for example, regeneration or community grants. There is not an established procedure where the council insists, as part of its grant allocation, that it receives proper recognition from organisations it allocates grants to. Organisations that receive grants should be expected to include a standard set of words naming the county council in any publicity it produces and liaise closely with council’s media team to produce joint news releases. Organisations that receive larger grants should be expected to carry joint logos on their stationery and signage etc. Where we need to be The joint branding of CAPITA should clearly indicate to residents that it is the county council that is funding services, whether this is through publicity, news releases or letters. The county council must get public recognition for the grants it allocates to organisations. How we are going to get there - actions • Review joint corporate identity and communications strategy with CAPITA.

Develop more memorable corporate identity and ensure the county council is acknowledged for funding works improvements etc.

• Progress ‘getting credit’ work to put in place procedures as part of grant

allocation process to ensure county council receives appropriate recognition, media coverage and publicity from grant-funded organisations.

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Customer services Where we are now Customer contacts form an important part of a user’s experience of the county council brand. The council has no single view of its customers – who they are (including equality issues), how often and what channels they use to contact us or how they would prefer to access services. The 2003 communications survey of 1200 Community Voice panel members contains the most up to date information. The survey found that 27 per cent of respondents had contacted the council in the last 12 months. The most preferred method was the telephone (68 per cent), followed by personal visit (15 per cent), letter (11 per cent) and email (2.5 per cent). Sixty per cent of respondents were very satisfied or satisfied with their experience when they contacted the council. The survey found that one-in-seven respondents would prefer to receive information from one-stop face-to-face/telephone centres and via the web site. The county council does not have corporate service standards (how quickly phones are answered, letters and email replied to etc) or any procedures in place for monitoring or reporting customer service performance. Where we need to be While the county council has yet to make a high-level commitment to improving customer services, the ICT partnership has an early works customer access strategy project. In summary the project will: • Assess and analyse current practice, systems and how the council interacts

with customers • Develop recommendations for customer management responsibility • Make recommendations on technology requirements (customer relationship

management). This project aims to make its recommendations by August 2004. The head of communications is the project sponsor. Agreeing and publishing customer service standards will not, on their own, improve county council services. The council can only improve customer services if staff and managers understand and own the standards, and deliver them day in and day out, consistently throughout the organisation. Every member of staff needs to understand what is expected of them and share the council’s sense of purpose and corporate priorities.

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The county council is planning to carry out a best value review of customer care in 2004/5. It is recommended this review is deferred until the customer access project is completed. How we are going to get there – actions • Complete the ICT partnership customer access project. Project includes

benchmarking with leading county councils, robust consultation, potential for joint working with partners. Establish corporate capacity and responsibility for customer services.

• Consult on, develop and publish customer care standards and guidance. As

part the customer access project establish procedure and monitoring systems to report how the council is meeting these standards and improving services.

• Gauge present staff and management understanding and commitment to

customer services through staff survey. Benchmark findings with similar authorities. Take appropriate action.

• Issue clear guidance to staff and managers about how to achieve and exceed

the service standards (build on leadership behaviours framework). Develop corporate training programme for staff and managers for customer services linked to service standards and complaints procedure.

Receptions Where we are now The county council has 142 buildings open to the public and none of these meet the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requirements. As part of this review, random checks were carried out in the receptions of ten council buildings. Checks focused on the standard of meet and greet, those staff wearing ID badges, availability of courtesy phones and information on display. The review found that: • Generally reception staff are friendly and helpful • The general fabric of most receptions is of a low quality • There is no corporate signage • Many receptions do not have any facilities for people with disabilities (access

and counter) • Reception staff do not wear uniform or ID badges • No standard use of courtesy phones • Limited public accessible confidential interview space • Leaflet dispensers are of a poor quality

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• Leaflets are not always up to date are uncoordinated, with most receptions displaying their own directorate’s leaflets.

The current ‘meet and greet’ in key council administrative buildings is very poor, particularly The Courts reception which is not permanently staffed by customer services staff. This is the council’s flagship office where a range of key opinion formers visit the Leader, Deputy Leader, chief executive and other senior managers.

Where we need to be The council needs to move towards a better service standard and consistent look and feel at all of its reception centres. How we are going to get there - actions • Carry out an audit of county council reception areas as part of the visual

brand audit. To include disabled access and other equality issues such as minicom and alternative language provision. Develop costed programme for improvements. Prepare a bid for resources through directorates and agree ongoing improvement programme.

Complaints Where we are now The BVPI residents’ surveys in 2000 and 2003 provide an accurate picture of complaints and how they are handled by the authority. Both surveys found that 13 per cent of respondents had contacted the council with a complaint in the previous 12 months. In 2000 the overall satisfaction with complaint handling was 46 per cent which compared to a county council average of 41 per cent. In 2003 the overall satisfaction with complaint handling fell to 31 per cent. No comparative data for 2003 is available yet. The Ombudsman’s annual report in 2003 to the council indicated that 36 complaints were received of which five were premature and ten outside jurisdiction. The Ombudsman commended council officers for their professional response to complaints, but did note that all four of the complaints that required settlement were in the highway’s department. A number of suggestions were made to improve complaint handling in this department. Where we need to be Reporting and managing complaints is an important indicator of the county council’s overall performance. Progress in this area will strengthen the council’s overall drive to improve performance management in the organisation.

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The county council must publish widely its complaints procedure (the current procedure is under review) as part of its customer services work. Complaints need to be logged and dealt with by directorates but corporately monitored to ensure the council learns from complaints and makes service improvements. Complaint reporting, resolution and trends should be reported to the performance management working group. The ICT partnership customer access project should include complaints procedure, handling and monitoring in its scope (as part of any CRM solution). Complaints and enquiries from MPs, MEPs, county councillors and other major partners/opinion formers must be dealt with promptly and form part of any future monitoring system. How are we going to get there - actions • Update the complaints procedure including a corporate database (CRM

system) that allows the county council to log, monitor and learn from complaints. Procedure to have regard to how equality-related complaints are monitored and reported. Establish reporting framework.

• As part of ICT partnership customer access project review corporate capacity

and responsibility for dealing with complaints. • Develop corporate training programme for staff and managers on how to deal

with complaints (as part of customer services work). Publicise the complaints procedure widely.

• Ensure CEE directorate is acting on Ombudsman’s recommendations for

complaint handling. • Devise and publish guidance for county councillors on how to deal with

constituent issues and complaints, including training at induction. • Set up a fast-track process for logging, monitoring and resolving complaints

on behalf of constituents from county and district councillors, MPs, MEPs. Communicate process and guidelines.

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3. Communication with residents Objective: Improve overall satisfaction with information provision to residents. Why improving communications with residents is important National research for the ODPM Connecting with Communities project found a direct link between residents’ satisfaction with the council and how well informed they feel. This is stronger where standards of service are generally good. Even with a considerable push to improve services, overall residents’ satisfaction ratings may be slow to rise without commitment to improving levels of information. The 2003/4 BVPI user satisfaction survey asked how satisfied residents were with the county council for keeping them informed about the services and benefits it provides. Forty-eight per cent said very well or well and 37 per cent said neither. The 2003 communications survey of 1200 Community Voice panel members found that only just over a quarter (26 per cent) of respondents thought the county council took their views into account to some extent. Forty per cent said sometimes and 34 per cent said hardly ever. MORI research shows trust is lost when an organisation is perceived not to be interested in people’s views. Preferred sources of information The 2003 communications survey found that respondents preferred to receive information about council services from their local newspaper and a council magazine above picking up leaflets in public offices. The survey also found that one-in-seven respondents would prefer to receive information at one-stop face-to-face/telephone centres and via the web site. There is no specific research on the preferred sources for information of ethnic minority groups. Council literature and accessibility Where we are now The literature audit reviewed branding, design, content and accessibility issues across approximately 30 publications and leaflets in ten receptions. Overall, the display of publications and leaflets is not well co-ordinated, displayed or branded. While the council logo is generally used on publications, there is not a consistent look and feel particularly on size and location of the logo. This is despite guidance in the corporate identity manual. Some information is amateurishly designed and printed on light-weight paper causing it to flop over in the stands. Other leaflets are badly written, use jargon, long sentences and paragraphs or a small point size (less that the 12pt

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recommended by the RNIB clear print guidelines). Many leaflets do not have information about how leaflets can be obtained in alternative formats. There is not a consistent house style used across publications or consistent contact information. The council has a seven-year contract with CAPTIA to provide all graphic design services. The annual target turnover figure the council is required to achieve is £300k. The quality of graphic design and the general service from CAPITA falls below what is required by the county council. Where we need to be The overall quality of design must be improved to create a stronger and consistent brand identity for the county council. Improved design would not only make the publications more attractive, but more easily identifiable. Improved design and layout using the RNIB clear print guidelines would improve legibility and accessibility for a wider audience, with standard use of translation panels and consistent contact information. All council publications must conform to plain English guidelines and the council’s house style. Publications must conform to the guidelines in the equality strategy. There should be a consistent use of alternative information on all council literature. This should include translation paragraphs and strap lines making the customer aware that the document is available in large print, in text only, in Braille or on audio tape if requested. New measures should be put in place to improve the project management, outcomes and service quality from CAPITA design services through robust collection and monitoring of performance information. There needs to be a focus on improving account management and also providing a wider range of services such as copywriting and events management etc. The importance of compliance needs to be understood by managers and more effectively enforced by the communications team. How we are going to get there - actions • Ensure all requests by directorates for publications are clearly thought

through. Greater emphasis placed on understanding audience, channels, budget and evaluation by the communications team. Explore using more creative methods for public relations campaigns.

• Develop ‘families’ of leaflets, with a common design theme and template so

customers can easily recognise county council leaflets and gain stronger brand association.

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• Produce a house style guide (as part of the on-line communications toolkit) and ensure all writing conforms to this.

• Ensure all officers responsible for writing leaflets etc (including

communications team) receive ongoing plain English training and/or journalism training.

• Ensure that all council literature meets accessibility standards in line with

RNIB guidelines and the equality strategy – using plain English and carrying consistent alternative format information. Aim to gain the Plain English crystal mark for all key publications. Use the social services reader panel more widely to check publications for clarity.

• Ensure that good follow up contact details are included on all publications,

giving customers as many options including phone, typetext, web, email address and opening hours etc.

Residents’ magazine - Your Cumbria Where we are now The residents’ magazine was launched in October 2003. With a budget of £100k it represents a significant commitment by the county council to improving communication to residents. It is produced three times a year (March, August and November) and distributed to every home in the county by Royal Mail. Editorial content is agreed by the cross-departmental communications champions group. The 2003 communications survey found that 64 per cent of respondents identified a magazine as their preferred source to find out about council information. This is significantly higher than national research for Connecting with Communities which showed 36 per cent. A readers’ survey found 80 per cent of respondents thought the information in the magazine was useful and 76 per cent thought it represented value for money. An independent consultant’s evaluation praised the magazine, giving it an 8/10 score. The cost of the magazine per issue is average when compared to seven other county councils. External and internal advertising is sold in the magazine, with an overall income target of £25,000 pa. Where we need to be The magazine is a key channel for promoting the county council’s services and brand. Importantly, the magazine content must promote the council’s key priorities and achievements through short, well written, human interest stories.

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A range of performance indicators have been set up to measure the effectiveness of the magazine (see section 7 Measuring success). The CPIA review recommended that the frequency of the magazine is increased to quarterly. This could be achieved within existing resources, through advertising income. How we are going to get there – actions • Monitor effectiveness of Your Cumbria through agreed performance

indicators. Gain more quantitative and qualitative feedback on the magazine through the annual communications survey and focus groups.

• Ensure all stories are clearly linked (by page branding and content) to the

council’s corporate priorities. • Ensure Your Cumbria is available in alternative formats – distributed on tape

through the talking news network and in large print etc). • Review potential of increasing frequency of magazine to quarterly within

existing budgets, paid for by advertising. • Establish a robust distribution system to key public buildings and

supermarkets through branded dispensers. Corporate publications Where we are now The communications audit showed there is a high degree of confusion about what services the county council provides. There are no generic leaflets describing council services, decision making arrangements, who your councillors are, spending and what the council’s priorities are etc. This type of leaflet could be used for potential and new employees (at induction), the general public and for events. There is no budget for these types of corporate publications. Where we need to be A generic set of coherent corporate leaflets should be available and widely distributed. These leaflets should be supported by information in Your Cumbria and be available on the web site.

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How we are going to get there • Develop a range of corporate council literature (backed up with information in

Your Cumbria), that is always available at reception points and on the web site. This should include:

o An overview of the county (location, size, population etc) and brief

summary of community strategy o What the council is aiming to achieve (a short digest from the council

strategy, including what’s been achieved etc in rough guide format) o What services the council provides, an A-Z of services, and how the

council spends council tax payers money (explore partnership possibilities), local committees and neighbourhood forums.

o Councillors, MPs and MEPs (who they are and what they do) o Customer service standards, complaints procedure and comment form.

• Establish a central system for storing, ordering and distributing corporate

publications. • Liaise with district councils to explore potential of producing a ‘welcome pack’

for new residents. Electronic communications Where we are now The 2003 communications survey of 1200 Community Voice panel members found that 60 per cent of respondents had home internet access. In line with national trends those in lower social grades are less likely to have internet access. Again, in line with national trends, access to the internet drops as age increases. Although the council web site is one of the primary communications channels used by the county council, of those with internet access only around 20 per cent have visited the site. Of those who visited the site, 73 per cent found the information was easy or quite easy to find. Most respondents thought they would use the site for informing the council about problems, filling in forms or voting online. There was less support for making payments. There was a consistent 30 per cent of respondents who would choose not to interact with the council on line at all. Between August 2003 and April 2004 9.25 million hits were made to the county council’s web site (approximately 1 million per month). In May 2004 the council commissioned an independent company to conduct an accessibility audit as part of an overall review of the site. The audit found that the site does not meet the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) A or AA standard.

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The main areas where the site failed were lack of ALT tags, lack of redundant text links on image maps, poor use link text, use of absolute sizing of objects and text within the site, despite the use of style sheets, poor use of frames and accessible scripting. The council’s web site in an ongoing commitment both in-terms of resources and time. Where we need to be The county council needs to significantly improve its site. It needs to improve accessibility, interactivity and usage. The site must meet the WAI accessibility AA standard by November 2004. How we are going to get there - actions • Develop a strategy to promote the council’s web site – including a dedicated

section in the new corporate identity manual on web site technical standards. Set performance targets to improve hits and usage.

• Improve accessibility and navigation to achieve AA standard by November

2004. • Complete the introduction of the Tridion content management system. • Agree a long term development strategy for the web with the e-government

officer by March 2005. Consultation and community involvement Where we are now The 2003 communications survey of 1200 Community Voice panel members found that just over one-quarter (26 per cent) of respondents thought the county council took their views into account to some extent. Forty per cent said sometimes and just over one-third (34 per cent) said hardly ever. The MORI survey (2003) on trust in local authorities showed that trust in local authorities is lost when an organisation is not perceived to be interested in people’s views. Neighbourhood forums are the council’s grassroots public consultation and involvement mechanism. Their purpose is to create a forum where the council can speak to local people, local councils and community groups and respond to local concerns and issues. The communications survey found that 42 per cent of respondents had an awareness of the forums, with 58 per cent unaware. Those in social classes AB and C1 are more likely to have an awareness of the forums.

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The county council manages the Community Voice citizens’ panel which it shares with partners (districts, health and police). This is an efficient way of carrying out scientifically robust consultation. The county council has considerable experience in consulting with local people, with many examples of good practice. However, this is not consistent across the council. When consultation is poor it tends to suffer from four key problems:

• Insufficient time is allocated, making good quality work more difficult. • It is too often seen as an end in itself (a “tick box” exercise) rather than

about improving service provision. • It is an afterthought, “bolted-on” at the end of a process where it has the

least chance of meaningfully influencing decisions. • Failure to feedback the results of consultation to participants and to show

how the consultation has impacted on the decision making process leads to a vicious circle of cynicism about consultation from both citizen and council perspectives.

Where we need to be A consultation strategy was approved in 2000 and a consultation toolkit produced in the same year. The strategy is not well known either internally or externally and needs to be reviewed, updated and publicised. The consultation toolkit contains comprehensive information. However, feedback from users within the council has highlighted it is overlong and intimidating. Generally the council suffers from not having a clearly defined and publicised commitment to consult, and equally importantly, to act on the outcomes of consultation. A clear emphasis needs to be placed on how we consult with ethnic minority groups. Additionally, the central co-ordination of consultation activity is poor. It would currently be extremely difficult for any stakeholder to get a clear picture of the council’s current consultation activity or the outcomes of past projects. The council must build on its good practice to improve the quality of consultation across the council. This will require training and improved co-ordination and monitoring of consultation activity by the corporate centre. How we are going to get there – actions • Set up a shared consultation diary and information resource (extranet) with

partners including the district councils, the police and health authorities. • Deliver specified standards for community engagement in 2004/5 (CEE

action).

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• Review, update and widely publicise the consultation strategy and toolkit. Ensure the strategy confirms the council’s commitment to consult and act on the outcome of consultation.

• Support the strategy, toolkit and consultation diary with a training programme

for relevant officers. • Devise an on-going integrated publicity and media campaign to promote and

inform residents about neighbourhood forums. There should be a specific focus on equality issues around informing hard to reach groups about the forums.

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4. Media relations Objective: Improve positive media coverage of the council’s vision, priorities and services. Where we are now and where we need to be The 2003 communications survey found that 64 per cent of respondents preferred to get information about council services from the local media. While this is slightly lower than Connecting with Communities research (76 per cent), it clearly shows the local media is a key influence on the council’s reputation in the community. The CPIA review noted that like all county councils Cumbria is perceived to be distant from local communities and the public has a limited understanding of services provided. Creating a positive media image is difficult in these circumstances, and the task is complicated because the authority is labelled a weak performer and the local media appear to be hostile. Performance and evaluation The county council issues approximately 660 news releases per year and receives 2,500 media enquiries. This compares with a national benchmarking survey of 11 county councils which found the average number of releases was 569 and average number of media enquiries was 2,430. An annual journalists’ survey, carried out in January 2004, showed positive feedback on the general performance of the media team. However, it highlighted several areas for improvement, particularly improving the quality of news releases (quotes) and the availability of team. Following this feedback the team has improved its cover rota and telephone service and is taking action to improve news releases. A range of performance indicators have been developed that are included in the communications service plan. These include targets to increase the number of releases; hits and positive coverage etc (see section 7 Measuring performance). The county council has installed a media monitoring data base (Newsflash) to evaluate its proactive and reactive media relations. The system records all media enquiries, logs responses and response times to calls. In addition the media team set up an extensive print media monitoring and evaluation system from March 2004. This monitors overall coverage in terms of good, bad, neutral and uptake of key messages etc). A monthly report is produced for the interim chief executive indicating trends, issues and actions. Print media evaluation for the quarter March – May shows: • 361 county council related stories appeared in the print media

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• 72 per cent of stories explicitly mentioned the ‘county council’ • Three stories appeared in the trade press. None in national media • 38 per cent of stories included a picture • 61 per cent of stories included a council quote • 43 per cent of stories were generated from council news releases • 32 per cent of stories contained council key messages • 60 per cent of the stories were positive, 31 per cent neutral and 8 per cent

negative • 52 per cent of stories were from CEE, 19 per cent were corporate, 16 per cent

were education, 7 per cent were social services and 6 per cent were public protection.

• The two daily newspapers (North West Evening Mail and News & Star) account for 55 per cent of all coverage

• 56 per cent of media enquires came from the print media, 21 per cent from radio, 16 per cent from television and 5 per cent from specialist press.

The key issues arising from this information that the media team need to take action are: • Place more focus on communicating the council’s key priorities/messages • Improve coverage in the national, local government and professional press • Review use of placed photography to generate more photo opportunities • Review why a high proportion of council stories are getting into the media not

via news releases • Increase the number of positive council stories that explicitly mention the

county council The media team is reviewing how the broadcast media can be monitored within manageable costs. Performance reporting and planning Media evaluation information needs to analysed and reported more widely to cabinet and senior managers. The media team will produce a detailed report each quarter for each service directorate management team. The relevant media officer will attend the management team meeting each quarter to present the report and discuss issues and actions arising. There are weekly media planning meetings which review the key issues and agree messages. The meetings review cabinet and council reports (about three weeks in advance) plus key matters arising from the Invest to Save initiative. These meetings are attended by the leadership support officers who provide a political steer on media issues.

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The media team currently monitor media coverage on a daily basis and take appropriate action if incorrect or misrepresentative stories are printed. A weekly media monitoring report will be brought to the media planning meeting to review coverage and take appropriate rebuttal action. This weekly report will be circulated to cabinet and COG. Following each cabinet there is an agenda review where media issues for the forthcoming cabinet are discussed. Organisation and working practice The stakeholder survey in February 2004 showed that the media team has good working relations with departments. However, the team needs to build on this to improve the flow of good news stories. The CPIA review identified that the team needs a ‘more dynamic and outgoing style’ in order to more proactively engage with service staff and identify good news stories. Media officers will establish a programme of regular visits to key officers in service departments. Key officers in service departments should attend media training. Some councils (Lancashire CC and Liverpool) have re-defined how they provide their media service and focused it into a ‘news centre’. This structure aims to generate a more proactive approach to media management. It also sends a clear internal message that the service is about news and promoting the council’s services and priorities. The county council will review this type of organisational and cultural change for its media team. Resources The CPIA review found the media team has adequate resources in terms of media officers. However, the administrative resources available to the communications and media team are inadequate. The CPIA review recommended that the amount of time media officers spend at county council meetings (particularly local committees) should be reviewed to try to free up more time. Media training and protocols The team runs well-regarded media training for members, officers and school governors etc. A media training programme for 2004/5 is currently being finalised and includes four member and four manager training events. Local journalists attend the training sessions. All councillors should receive media training as part of their induction in 2005/6. A brief ‘handling the media’ guide is being developed to support the training. A media protocol has been written to establish clear guidelines under the new working arrangements for members and managers in the context of publicity

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elements of the 1988 Local Government Act. The Constitution introduced in 1997 did not contain guidance or protocols on arrangements for dealing with the media. Relations with local media The journalists’ survey showed the media team has good relations with the local media. The team makes regular visits to media establishments to cement these relations. However, politicians and senior managers need to establish closer relations with local editors through regular meetings/lunches, breakfasts. Business Gazette The county council funds (£15k per year) a double-page spread in the monthly Business Gazette published by the CN Group. This is seen as a proactive way of delivering key messages about the council’s priorities to the business community. The editorial content of the council’s pages needs to be agreed more strategically and the publication needs better evaluation to ensure it is reaching its target audience. How we are going to get there – actions Performance reporting and planning • Ensure agreed media performance targets are met eg increase in number of

releases issued, response time to enquiries, hit rate and positive coverage. Specifically review: • Review use of placed photography to generate more photo opportunities.

Set improvement targets. • Identify targets and strategies for gaining coverage in key professional and

local government publications (LGC, MJ, TES, Community Care etc). For example two per annum per service directorate.

• Identify targets and strategies for gaining coverage in national media. • Ensure all news releases promote the council’s priorities and key

messages and that this is translated in to media coverage • Take action to ensure media correctly associate the county council when

reporting service stories (such as education and fire service). • Review editorial and evaluate effectiveness of Business Gazette. • Review media coverage at weekly media planning meetings- strengthen

rebuttal system. From analysis, identify specific areas that are creating negative coverage and set up plans and focus resources to deal with. Eg develop specific media campaigns around social services, highways etc.

• Issue quarterly media analysis reports to COG and directorate management

teams using template. • Provide a weekly report of media coverage to Cabinet and senior managers.

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• Establish a cost effective mechanism for evaluating broadcast media. Organisation and working practice • Refocuse the media team into a ‘news centre’. • Develop a more proactive approach to identify good news stories. Establish

closer links with service departments through regular visits and networking with key officers.

• Review allocation of media officer time to service directorates to achieve

greater resource to public interest stories and issues (eg highways). • Review media officer attendance at county council meetings to free up more

time for proactive media work • Issue media protocols for consultation and agreement. Publicise widely. • Establish virtual press office (VPO) on web site for the media to access

background information on the council, issues and list of achievements, downloadable photographs etc.

• Review out of hours duty officer rota to ensure 24/7 cover is in place. • Reduce reliance on voicemail and ensure that media office is always staffed

through a rota. • Continue programme of regular team visits to media outlets. Set up and

manage regular meetings with cabinet and senior managers and editors (lunches, breakfast meetings etc).

Training • Deliver four members and four officer media training days per annum.

Ensure all new county councillors receive media/communications training as part of their induction inn 2005.

• Issue guidelines on handling the media in printed form and online through

communications toolkit.

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5. Partners and opinion formers Objective: Improve two-way communication with partners and opinion formers to create a better understanding of the county council’s priorities, key messages and achievements. Partners Where we are now The county council has a wide range of partnerships including contractual partnerships to deliver services (CAPITA), the Cumbria Strategic Partnership, local strategic partnerships, health, police, and partnerships with voluntary and community groups. At present, there is little hard evidence to assess partners’ perceptions of the county council and how well two-way communications works. It is clear the council needs to work more closely with its partners if it is to deliver on the shared priorities. Where we need to be The proposed CPA 2005 will focus on the council’s community leadership role and achievement against shared priorities with government through Cumbria Strategic Partnership and local strategic partnerships. The council needs to understand how a range of partners view the authority, how they can jointly contribute to improving the image of the county and how two-way communications can be improved. How we are going to get there - actions • Commission research to find out how two-way communications between

partners and the council can be improved. • Set up an annual conference or networking events for community and

voluntary groups to publicise more about what the county council is doing (promote priorities), advise on council and other grant streams.

• Set up and maintain mail and email lists of key partners by theme (health,

regeneration etc) so targeted information can be directed at regular intervals. This needs to be corporately managed to ensure co-ordination and presentation etc.

• Set up partners’ networking breakfasts or lunches on themed issues (eg

transport, regeneration, rural matters) and publicise these to the community and voluntary groups as well as the council’s strategic partners.

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• Use the residents’ magazine, Your Cumbria, to publicise the work of community groups and partners, making their role more visible and promoting joint working.

Local, regional and national opinion formers Where we are now The county council needs to work harder with key local, regional and national opinion formers to better communicate its priorities and achievements such as RAZ, rural proofing and ISI etc. Where we need to be The county council should set up a series of business breakfasts or lunches based on themes that reinforce the council’s corporate priorities. Local, regional and national opinion formers could be invited to speak, while the council explains its plans for the future. As well as a good consultative process, this type of forum will provide a better understanding of the issues facing the council and how the council is achieving its goals. These events could be backed up with a quarterly publication, including commissioned articles from opinion formers and the relevant portfolio member. This publication should be delivered on line and made available on the internet. Sponsorship of local and regional events presents good opportunities for the county council to promote itself and be associated with high-profile events. The council currently sponsors some events (eg The Herdies) but not others (eg Pride of Cumbria business awards). Events that directly support the council’s vision and priorities should receive preference for sponsorship. Consideration must be given to equality issues when agreeing sponsorship. Event sponsorship should be reviewed and the budget centralised to ensure the most effective co-ordination. There is currently no budget for any of these activities. How we are going to get there - actions • Develop a list of key local, regional and national opinion formers. Include

information on GIS map data base. • Set up quarterly business breakfasts or leader’s lunches with opinion formers

on themed issues that will help promote/progress the council’s priorities. Use outcome of events to develop quarterly newsletter/direct mail shot.

• Develop and implement a public affairs strategy linked to the council’s

corporate and sub-regional agenda. This should identify campaigns and key

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audiences/organisations to influence. Consider use of public affairs agency to achieve this.

• Review current sponsorship activities to ensure better focus and co-

ordination. Centralise budgets and increase where necessary. Publicising achievements Where we are now Despite some service weaknesses, Cumbria County Council has a good track record of innovation. The council has established partnership working with contractors that has brought much-needed investment into the county, creating jobs and wealth (eg CAPITA, ICT and other ISI partnerships). Following FMD the county council has also made enormous progress on regenerating the economy, particularly its work with rural communities. Despite these achievements, the county council is not always recognised by its peers or national opinion formers for its innovation and the improvements it is making in its services. It is essential the council raises its game to attract further government funding and acknowledgement, and to attract high calibre staff to the county. The county council receives many approaches from national media to place advertisements or advertorials. Many councils use publications such as the LGC or MJ to showcase their authority and achievements. Traditionally the county council has declined this type of promotion although some advertising is taken out on an ad hoc basis. The Business Gazette is used to promote key messages to local businesses. Where we need to be Competitions need to be entered into more consistently to ensure the county council’s achievements are nationally promoted. This will also help staff to feel their hard work is valued both by the county council and on a national level. In key areas where it will benefit the council to have a higher profile for its work (eg rural matters) or to publicise its key messages, the council should proactively offer up speakers to national conferences. As well as promoting its achievements, the county council will be sharing the best practice it has developed with peers. Similarly the council should promote its achievements more in the national, trade and specialist media (through paid advertorials and news releases).

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How we are going to get there - actions • Introduce targets/guidance for directorates to encourage them to enter

national awards. Build up expertise on presentation and tactics to get short listed. Consider consultancy advice on applications.

• Introduce targets for directorates to encourage them to speak at national

conferences. Produce template slides and key messages etc. Provide advice and training on presentation skills.

• Actively invite ministers and key civil servants to visit projects the council is

proud of or to the launch of new projects. • Review approach to advertisements in key professional media to promote

council achievements and take appropriate action.

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6. Resources Where we are now This strategy sets out objectives for the next two years with practical actions designed to achieve these objectives. While a number of the actions can be achieved without additional resources, if the council is to meet its ambition to significantly improve communications it will require additional resources (staff and running costs). The national communications benchmarking group provides summary information about team sizes and budgets. Although some caution needs to be attached to making comparisons, the average team size for a county council communications unit is 16, compared to Cumbria’s 10. A recent benchmark visit to Stockport MBC found that a similar size communications team had four administrative support officers. The county council’s communications team has half a dedicated administration post which means that too much time is spent by officers on routine administration tasks. For example, the media team spends over 40 hours per month monitoring the media. Improvements to the structure and organisation of communications should be reviewed to improve effectiveness. The CPIA review found that the media team was adequately resourced but that the communications and marketing function was under-resourced and needed strengthening. The team would benefit from the inclusion of marketing, consultation and internal communications specialists. Service directorates employ up to six marketing/communications staff to promote services. The specific service areas are archives and libraries, Sure Start, transport, fostering, and CCS activities (school meals, Cumbria Care etc). These marketing/communications staff work independently of the corporate centre and generally work on the promotional side of the marketing mix. There is little forward planning or corporate co-ordination of activity. The CPIA review found that it may be feasible to transfer skilled marketing staff from CCS who could resource internal and external communications. However, this will not add significant capacity if their existing work allocation is not reduced. The communications team spends too much time reacting to unplanned requests for work, rather than concerting its effort on planned strategic public relations campaigns that support the council’s corporate priorities. The media and communications teams are located in separate buildings which impinge on effective working and collaboration on joint projects.

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Where we need to be The county council needs to strengthen its corporate marketing function, both in terms of personnel and skills. The role of the communications champions group needs to be strengthened in terms of the staff time the group is currently able to commit to communications and marketing issues. Individual group members should be more proactive in identifying communications activities in their directorate and ensuring they are corporately co-ordinated. A strengthened marketing communications team will have the resources to work with service managers and the communications champions. Directorate and service units should identify communications activities for the coming year as part of their service plans. This information could then be put in a communications diary to help plan and co-ordinate communications activities, particularly linking them with national campaigns. The county council has ambitious LPSA targets to achieve particularly in reducing road deaths and injuries and domestic violence. These campaigns would benefit from having a temporary dedicated communications officer managing them, particularly as they have significant resources. There needs to be a dedicated internal communications officer responsible for writing and producing the fortnightly Update, Newsroom, team briefing and organising internal Frontline Focus events such as managers’ conferences etc. Following the staff survey and internal communications strategy this work area is likely to significantly increase. How we are going to get there - actions • Review the current provision of marketing by service directorates and

recommend how existing resources could be better deployed or co-ordinated for the benefit of the whole authority. Focus on potential of transferring CCS marketing staff to corporate communications to build capacity. Or recruit an additional full-time marketing officer and internal communications officer.

• Ensure that communication, consultation and marketing activities are planned

by directorates as part of the service planning process. Liaise with performance and policy to agree a template service plan.

• Establish a communications/events diary. • Review potential to recruit an additional communications assistant post to

work on projects and assist with administration. • Recruit an additional temporary comms/marketing officer to manage the

LPSA road deaths and domestic violence campaigns

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• Relocate the communications and media teams in the same location to

encourage greater cross working and more effective management • Review potential for carry over funds from 2003/4 or bids to new policy

initiative fund one-off expenditure identified in this strategy (eg corporate publications, signage, brand reviews etc).

• Review membership and terms of reference of communications champions

group. Strengthen role to ensure more effective corporate co-ordination of communications.

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7. Measuring success Communications service - local performance targets 2004/5

Indicator/target Measure 2003/4 Actual

2004/5Target

2005/6 Target

2006/7Target

Evaluation method

Communications (external) Overall, how satisfied are you, overall, with how the council runs things? (BVPI 3)

Very & fairly well satisfied

55% (2000/1)

52% (2003/4

60% Best value user survey every three years or annual Community Voice panel

How satisfied are you with Cumbria County Council for keeping residents informed about the services and benefits it provides? (BVPI?)

Very & Well Neither Fairly dis Very dis Don’t know

48% 37% 8% 3% 4%

60% 25% 8% 3% 4%

Annual CommunityVoice panel survey or best value user satisfaction survey

Has Cumbria County Council got better, worse or stayed the same for information provision over the last 12 months

Better Same Worse

8% 82% 10%

25% 70% 5%

Annual CommunityVoice panel survey or best value user satisfaction survey


2004/5Target

2005/6 Target

2006/7Target

Evaluation method

Residents’ magazine Do you think the information in Your Cumbria is useful?

Very useful Useful Neither Fairly Not very

33% 47% 3% 6% 11%

40% 40% 3% 12% 5%

Annual CommunityVoice panel survey Readers’ survey Focus group

Your Cumbria costs 20p (now 15p) per issue for each home. Do you think this represents value for money?

Very good Good Neither Not good

35% 41% 9% 15%

40% 40% 15% 5%

Annual CommunityVoice panel survey Readers’ survey

How often do you recall receiving a copy of Your Cumbria in the last 12 months?

Once Twice Not at all Can’t say

No data this year

75% 65% 25%

Annual CommunityVoice panel survey

Advertising revenue from Your Cumbria Directorate contribution

External income

Internal transfer

£10,000£15,000

Have you visited www.cumbria.gov.uk? YesNo

23% 77%

40% 60%

Annual CommunityVoice residents’ panel survey

Visits to web site Pages visited, length of time on site

Actual count TBD

9.25m Web counter

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http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/


2004/5Target

2005/6 Target

2006/7Target

Evaluation method

Ease of finding information on the site?

Easy Difficult Don’t remember

72% 18% 10%

80% 10% 10%

Annual CommunityVoice residents’ panel survey and online questionnaire

Web site accessibility indicators AA standard AAA standard

No YesYes

Yes

SOCITEM evaluation

To what extent is the council doing a good job generally?

High Neutral Low

N/A Newindicator

To what extent do you think the council is remote and impersonal?

High Neutral Low

N/A Newindicator

To what extent do you think the council is in touch with the needs of local people?

High Neutral Low

N/A Newindicator

Media coverage Number of news release issued, percentage taken up by media and percentage containing key council messages

No. issued Taken up Key messages

580 not measured

not measured

630 95% TBD

Newsflash report

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2004/5Target

2005/6 Target

2006/7Target

Evaluation method

Critical success of media coverage

Positive Neutral Negative

N/A 65%25% 10%

Professionalassessment each week with quality control

Customer care No indicators for 2004/5 – awaiting establishment of service standards and operational responsibility. (See BVPI3)

TBD N/A

Communications (internal) Overall satisfaction with internal communications

TBD Staff autumn 04

Staff survey or mystery call

Percentage of staff who feel internal communications has improved

60%

Overall satisfaction with managers’ conferences

Every quarter Overall satisfn

90% Feedback forms

Satisfaction with staff magazine (Newsroom)

• Rec’d every qtr

• Clear & easy • Information

useful • Producing it

good idea

85% Not asked

Not asked

Not asked

90% 85% 65% 85%


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2004/5Target

2005/6 Target

2006/7Target

Evaluation method

Advertising revenue for Newsroom Income N/A £4,000

Satisfaction with Update • % received • Easy to read &

understand • Interesting &

relevant • Improved

comms

85% 85% 60% 60%

Satisfaction with team briefing

Rec’d 8 weeks Keep informed

N/A 75%75%


Satisfaction and usage of internet site TBD

N/A TBD Staff survey Online questionnaire

Consultation Does Cumbria County Council take local people’s views into account?

Some extent Sometimes Hardly ever

26% 40% 34%

30% 50% 20%


Has Cumbria County Council got better, worse or stayed the same for listening to local people over the last 12 months?

Better Same Worse

8% 82% 10%

25% 70% 5%


Overall satisfaction with Community Voice

TBD N/A Survey of panel

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2004/5Target

2005/6 Target

2006/7Target

Evaluation method

Team performance Overall satisfaction of team Excellent

Good Average Poor Unacceptable

22% 59% 17% 2% 0%

35% 60% 5% 0% 0%

Annual stakeholder survey

How do you rate the way Cumbria County Council’s media team deals with enquiries?

Good/excellent Acceptable Poor

70% 18% 12%

80% 15% 5%

Annual journalists’ survey

Does the media team sufficiently understand your needs and deadlines?

Yes No

84% 17%

95% 5%


Response times to media enquiries by team Response times to media enquiries by dept

No. of enquiries % answered 4 hrs

2,500

N/A

N/A

95% TBD

Newsflash report

How do you rate the quality of Cumbria County Council’s news releases?

Good Acceptable Poor

55% 35% 10%

70% 20% 10%


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2004/5Target

2005/6 Target

2006/7Target

Evaluation method

How does Cumbria County Council’s media team compare to other press offices you deal with?

Better About the same Worse

48% 44% 9%

65% 30% 5%


Can you get hold of someone in the media team when you want to?

Usually Sometimes Rarely

60% 32% 8%

75% 25%%


Media training for councillors

No of sessions Overall satisfaction

N/A 6 90%

Post course evaluation

Media training for senior managers No of sessions Overall satisfaction

N/A 4 90%

Post course evaluation

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8. Communications strategy action plan See separate spreadsheet

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