Communicating brilliantly with your customers

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Communicating brilliantly with your customers
(so theyll love you more)
Fiona Narburgh Head of Strategy Communications

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What people see, the services they get and the
information they read influence perceptions.Its
every call, every contact, every experience.
Managing these well improves reputation and how
people feel about you

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Today I will explore

• What success looks and feels like for us
• Why communicating well makes the difference to
  performance and perceptions
• The Wychavon journey living proof!
• Why communications are not just about your
  publications but behaviour too
• Things that make most difference
• And the joy of 2 tier

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What people see, the services they get and the
information they read influence perceptions.Its
every call, every contact, every experience.
Managing these well improves reputation.

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All behaviour is communicationWhat you say you
do has to tie up with what you do(Comms cant be
too far ahead of delivery thats spin..)

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About Wychavon and our communities

• 117k pop, South Worcs
• 350 staff ...growing!
• Flat MD/Hds of Service
• Wychavon plc ethos
• Some rural isolation,
• more older people,
• more families than av.
• High satisfaction
• - with area 78
• - with council 65
• - and services and comms

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What people say

• Excellent CPA and 4 VFM/ UoR Audit Comm.
• Improving and high PIs Government
• Council of the Year LGC
• Best Communicator CIFPA and LGC
• Reputation for delivery partners
• Times 2nd Best Council to work ... staff
• Customer Chartermark for all services .
• Top quartile satisfaction for all services by
  our most important customers residents

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The Wychavon Way - what we stand for

• High Quality great services, everytime and
  delivering our promises
• Value for Money a good deal for your council
  tax, efficient and spending on the right things
• Brilliant customer service understanding your
  needs so we get it right on the phones, face to
  face, and in services too
• Innovation being brave and taking risks,
  trailblazing for others and always improving
• Fun a motivated, positive team enjoying what we
  do, so we do a better job

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I have not seen toilets as immaculate as these
since a recent visit to Harrods (Feedback on
Viaduct Meadows, Evesham)
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But we didnt put out (risk being sued!)

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It wasnt always like this Where we
were.Performance was average, inspection meant
interference,staff werent proud to work here,
customer focus was patchy, departments did
their own thingAn average District doing OK
.

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What made the difference..

• Looking out learning from other councils and
  especially our communities
• Team Wychavon trust and open relationships
• Building staff pride do a better job, positive
• Celebrating the good things, tackling whats not
• Communicating well inside and out, active
  reputation management
• Energies and time on doing what we can, not
  moaning what we cant change eg, 2/ 3 tier
• And being very clear what we are here for

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What success looks and feels like

• Satisfied residents who feel we care
• Staff and members who feel loved
• Partners who feel wanted and clear on our role
• And happy auditors and Government

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How we find out what people think?

• Representative surveys like Satisfaction and
  Simalto budget choices
• Focus groups on specific issues to ask why and
  what eg, waste
• Ward walks with members
• Parish and Town Council events eg, on hot
  issues eg, Gypsies
• Events eg, parties in the parks, PACTs, flooding
  open days
• Comment cards, How was it for you? on some
  services eg, planning, housing
• Online consultations
• Asking people what they think we could do better
  eg, away day partners perspectives
• We also went through Chartermark that pulled it
  all together and where we can do betterand
  helped clarify what needs COMMUNICATION not
  CONSULTATION

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The Reputation Project

• LGA/ MORI/ IDEA Project
• No National local government brand
• Developed by local government people
• 2 themes communications and liveability (clean
  and green and street scene)
• It set out the things that councils should be
  doing well to improve reputation

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Five Communication Actions

• Effective Media management
• Key products, A-Z through the door
• Magazine/ newsletter to residents
• Branding badging council services
• Internal communications
• Misses lots members in community role,
  partnership credit, web, contact but a useful
  start to get hold of reputation management

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Information residents want

• What the council does
• Services - What? Where? When? How?
• Where does my council tax go?
• How can I get involved?
• Why did you do that?
• Did you listen to me?
• Source Connecting with Communities
• See also the LGA/ IDEA Reputation Pack

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The Business Case for Communications making
people feel happier with their council

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Satisfaction with our services (1)
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Satisfaction with our services (2)
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Satisfaction with our services (3)
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Keeping residents informed
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Value for Money Perceptions
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Communicating well with residents creative and
open communications to engage people in our
services

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Readable Residents Magazine
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Communicating well with residents getting out
and about to build awareness of our services

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Councillors go back to school
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Communicating well with partners and auditors
without design by committee!

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Communicating well with staff helps create
happier staff wholl do a better job

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Do you enjoy your job?
Base 2002 (50), 2004 (42), 2006 (61)
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Motivation - whats very important?
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Are you proud to work for us?
Base 2004 (134 responses), 2006 (215 responses)
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Things weve learned

• Deliver the reputation actions well not just
  products but presence visible branding
• Creative appealing publications we compete to
  be read good design costs no more than bad
• Knowing who were here for - residents
• Clarity of message - clear and simple
• A plan for hot issues top table approach
• Hands up and honesty works and builds trust
• Get out there not really hard to reach
• Build champions - its everyones job

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As performance improves then right brain
approaches help get even better
Right creative Innovative, imaginative,
problem solving, risk taking, feeling, intuitive,
belief, values, looks at whole Change through
culture, building champions, passionate
persuasion, hearts and minds.just do it, brave,
breaking rules..
Left brain logical Reliable, proven, detail,
facts, analysis, rational, objective, looks at
parts Change through policy, procedure,
systemstried and tested, safe
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4 Ps Formula for success

• People
• Plans
• Performance Management
• PR Communications
• Successful performing councils
• Ie, great services and strong community
  leadership

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• People
• Trust, through delivery
• Strong relationships
• Motivated and happy
• Team working

• Plans
• Shaped by community
• Motivating
• Specific
• Pinned down for clarity

• PR Communications
• Engaging, creative
• Selling the good news
• Building pride
• Confidence!

• Performance Management
• Progress checking
• Finances and strategy
• Guts to confront
• Clear to do lists

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Final things to take away

• Celebrate success not failure cycle of success
  gets people excited in and out
• People will love you more if you tell them more
• What you say needs to tie up with what you do
• Here to help people and make lives better
• Raise expectations and meet them!

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Here to help! 07974 029091 fiona.narburgh_at_wychavon
.gov.uk