A couple of weeks ago I interviewed Leigh Carter (she's Manager of Communications the Comox Valley Regional District's Director of Communications) about her presentation at a recent gathering of communications pros. We talked about lots of things, but the focus was on how to do your job well if you're the one given the "communications" job in an organization. You can listen to that conversation here.
A policy guy I'm not... a KISS guy I am!
My eyes have glazed over countless "good examples" of organizational communications policies. These examples proliferate as social media make the job of "managing" communications a Herculean task (I'm thinking the contract-killing he did way back in the day, of the many-headed Hydra).
We don't have a Hercules to hire for the job today. Given the proliferation of today's communications Hydras (always growing new heads, tails, legs, and minds-of-their-owns, etcetera), it'd be too much for one guy anyway. Even if he were the son of Zeus. So what's a communications managers supposed to do?
Most turn to policy (imagine the video version of this article: at this moment my eyes are glazing over and rolling back in my head as I type the word "policy").
Others (and, thankfully, Leigh is one of them), put on their thinking/editing caps and hand out the KISS version for those of us with policy-impairments.
This doesn't help us slay the beast (it's beyond slaying). It doesn't even help us "tame" the beast. But it does make co-habitation possible. That, after all, is what most of us (going by the near-exponential growth of participation in the messy world of online networks or social media) seem to want: fulfilling co-habitation with the many-headed experience of social media. I'll paraphrase Shel Israel (Twitterville) again: We're social creatures; we like to be social; we'll always be finding ways to get more social, more ways to get around the limitations that managers, with their firewalls and their policies, put in place to keep us in line; we don't like being "managed."Having a KISS approach gives us a heads-up on how to keep it simple, and how not to be stupid.
btw: Despite the pic, I don't mean KISS as in Gene (no matter how much my Dad loves to quote him at me – and what's with that anyway? Why is my dad quoting Gene Simmons?). By KISS I mean Keep It Simple, Stupid. KISS. I'll repeat: having a KISS approach means non-policy folk like me can, maybe, stay out of trouble.
Kudos...
Thanks to Leigh for coming up with the two sets of KISS communications guidelines posted here. One's her own – the 5 keys to communications success; the other, in keeping with the sharing spirit of the internet, is an adaptation from a blog post by Augie Ray on 7 things social media is forcing organizations to pay attention to.
Kudos are also in order for other reasons. I've talked about things like GOV2.0 and also about how local government gets no respect (many times, in many places). I'm going to give the local regional district some respect right now, in part because they've paved the way for some GOV2.0 to happen here one day soon.
Here's the story: the old Comox-Strathcona Regional District took a big step into the future when they hired Leigh Carter in 2005. Someone was smart enough to realize that local government needs to communicate effectively with the community, with the 5th estate (the press corps), and the citizens who vote and pay taxes. They hired a pro. They also hired a pro who is not afraid of where communications is going. It's no surprise that peers (and that includes some in the local press corps) are singing praises about what Leigh and her team have done. The CVRD is seen as a leader, in a context where many other local governments on the Island are struggling to "get it" when it comes to doing responsible and responsive communications.
And folks, this is NOT a time to be struggling. It's a time to be experimenting, taking small risks, engaging in conversations and collaborations. Kudos to any and all local government folk who are testing the waters of the new communications opportunities. I may not agree with you, or even like all that you're doing or saying; but at least I get to know who you are, how you think, how you operate – and that's good for citizenship and governance. Thanks for taking the risk.
hanspetermeyer
21 May 2010
LEIGH CARTER'S
TOP 5 STEPS TO COMMUNICATIONS SUCCESS
1. The best communications cannot fix bad policy, planning, or operations.
Say this at the beginning of every project, to the project team. Communications is used effectively when it’s brought in early, anticipates issues and doesn’t futilely try to clean up a mess after it’s happened.
2. Get as close to the senior table as you possibly can. If communications is to be truly effective it needs to be recognized that it’s as important a part of an organization as the operations, policy and planning areas. The part of the company that is responsible for its ‘public face’ cannot do that job well if it’s viewed as just a ‘pair of hands’ to write a nice story.
3. Understand that “spin” is dead. In today’s world there is no hiding information. You can “frame” a message, by giving information and highlighting positives, but you will get nowhere and lose all credibility if you try to gloss over a reality or ignore a real negative. And if you’re in communications and you are asked to do that . . . look hard for another job.
4. People have an enhanced expectation of getting information and getting a response to questions. Communication abhors a vacuum. We’re never going back to the “old days” when the organization crafted a message, in its own time, put it out and just let it stand on its own, confident that if a company president said it, the world would go “ooohhh” and believe. If people don’t get the information they need, they will make up their own version – and it’s almost always worse. Be prepared to be transparent, fast and real.
5. Be prepared to be a pain in the neck. You will often have to be the one to hold the organization’s feet to the fire – to keep poking an unpleasant reality to have an issue managed in advance, to be the bearer of unpleasant truths – both internally and externally, and to be relentless in your diligence of managing the reputation of your organization. You can’t be worried about someone finding you annoying – sometimes you just will be, but it’s necessary and goes with the territory.
SEVEN THINGS AN ORGANIZATION MUST DO – BECAUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA (Leigh Carter paraphrasing and adapting Augie Ray's post)
1. You must be proactive. Nestle knew the palm oil/deforestation issue could blow up, but did nothing about it until it did blow; and then they were coming from behind the viral wave.
2. You must improve customer support. Poor customer service now has the potential to do widespread damage to your brand. Marketers must view their customer service organizations as a key component in brand-building efforts.
3. You must listen. It’s becoming more and more important for organizations to monitor online discussions to avoid escalating issues. There’s no risk – if you’re not listening to online conversations about your brand, you’re neglecting your brand
4. You must participate. You don’t lose control when you participate in online conversations; you gain the opportunity to be heard. What’s more, it’s easier to address an issue on a central property than in a fragmented environment, which you may have to do if you don’t have a place to engage.
5. You must respond. Inaction breeds frustration, annoyance and distrust.
6. You must move faster. Responding to an issue in days risks the accusation of moving slowly. Expectations have shifted, and people expect organizations to respond quickly.
7. You must realize every employee is a marketer. Your employees can affect your brand messages just as much as broadcast messages in traditional media.
Thanks to Leigh (and Augie) for sharing ツ
(cc) hanspetermeyer.ca / 2010
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