5.55 pm – Verbal Report
Minutes:
The Deputy Leader and the Communications and Marketing Manager gave a presentation on the development of the Communications and Engagement Strategy.
The existing External Communications Strategy, Internal Communications Strategy and Community Engagement Strategy had all come to an end, and the presentation updated Members on the outcomes of those strategies, which included:
· The introduction of video as a communication channel for the Council, which had proved very successful with video clips embedded within websites and social media;
· The significant growth in social media to enable two-way communications with residents, businesses and visitors;
· The creation and then implementation of a Council brand - use of the corporate branding had become more consistent, including in publications and on vehicles, buildings and signage, and it had helped to transform the commercial offer;
· A new Council website had been implemented, enabling access via mobile phones and tablets. This had been followed by an extensive programme of content updates;
· Relations with local media organisations had been pro-actively developed;
· Results from the employee survey showed a higher proportion of staff felt well informed. The introduction of the aspire intranet had helped to improve internal communication, along with a focus on improving team meetings;
· The membership of the corporate Community Engagement Group had been revised to provide better representation across Council services and to enable engagement activities to be better coordinated and supported.
To build on this for the future it was proposed to produce a combined Communications and Engagement Strategy, rather than continue with the three separate strategies. This was currently being drafted for presentation to Cabinet in June and to Council for approval in July 2018, and would be based on the following objectives:
· Continue to do the basics well;
· Make better use of customer data, intelligence and feedback to improve communications and engagement;
· Tell a clear story to explain what we are doing and want to achieve;
· Increase the use of video and infographics to tell the story in a simple and engaging way;
· Engage residents in online conversations where they are happening (e.g. Facebook groups);
· Use technology upgrades and developments to improve conversations with customers;
· Complete the rollout of the visual identity aspect of the corporate branding to Council buildings and land;
· Reach out to staff and councillors through engaging delivery of key corporate messages.
Arising from Members’ questions it was noted that use of various communication channels would need to be maintained, including through local councillors, and that the Council already had a YouTube channel, with many video clips also being embedded in Facebook and Twitter. It was recognised that there was only a small corporate communications team to manage customer service enquiries coming through digital media channels.
The Committee expressed its support of the work being undertaken on the development of the combined Communications and Engagement Strategy.
The Chair thanked the Deputy Leader and the Communications and Marketing Manager for their contribution to the meeting.
RESOLVED –
That the presentation and the Committee’s support of the work being undertaken on the development of the combined Communications and Engagement Strategy be noted.