City of Longmont. Public Information. Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 City of Longmont Public Information Strategic Plan

2 Message to the world Longmont is a unique, freestanding, business-friendly community that reaches from its deep agricultural roots all the way to the high-tech and biotech global economy. We are leaders and innovators who know how to work hard and have fun. We are a compassionate, active community that cherishes our unique history, ensures that all are successful, has an educated workforce, fantastic opportunities and a view of the Rocky Mountains that can t be beat. Explore Longmont and you will know what it is like to have big city amenities without losing the small town feel. It s all waiting for you in Longmont a great place to live. Vision We will promote, advertise, inform and even excite people about the amenities provided by their local government. We will protect people with our words and help them find their way during tough times, all while creating media that are reliable as well as dynamic and far-reaching. Mission Through reliable and timely communication, education, partnership and support from the City, residents, employees and visitors can access the information they need to make informed choices. Elements of successful communication Create a link or connection with the community. Build relationships. Build trust, be genuine, admit mistakes. Know and understand your audience. Be a good listener. Encourage two-way communication and immediate feedback. Create opportunities to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Recognize the art to communication; it s not just a set of rules. Use multiple channels effectively; reach people through multiple methods. Respect different perspectives and cultures. Make sure information is timely plan ahead. Know what you want to communicate; identify key messages. Organize information well. Avoid jargon. Be enthusiastic. Keep a sense of humor. Be the communication you want to see in the world. City staff who provide public information Provide timely, reliable, useful and important information through all appropriate media. Encourage departments to market their unique services. Appoint the best person to speak to the media, one who knows best about the issue. Inform employees impacted by a situation. Recognize and promote our staff, community and their accomplishments truly gush about the positive. Always tell the truth. Are innovative and forward thinking. Always make the time to listen to residents, employees and visitors. Along with all employees, make the City of Longmont a great place to live, work and visit. 2

3 Goals 1. The latest technology is used to provide efficient, appropriate communications while not leaving anyone out. Analyze technological needs in all departments of the City and compare these with current trends in public information. Budget and advocate for efficient financial investment in communication technology. ( ) Implement a web redesign project that places the City s web site at the cutting edge of municipal sites, is informative, easy to use, provides great customer service, and people think wow - this is great! ( ) Consolidate and pool resources to support technology purchases. ( ) Research possibilities around webcam/flipcam communication. ( ) Analyze and implement more 24/7 e-government applications. ( ) Analyze use and issues of real-time chat function on Lotus Notes for internal communication. ( ) Analyze the best uses for and implement social media programs when appropriate, and educate staff about methods and trends. ( ) Provide more access to the public about information currently available, break down barriers to access (cable, Internet, phone). Provide first-class e-commerce applications on the City s web site. ( ) Place yellow pages (CRTS) information online, to assist with self-service. ( ) Enhance marketing of and use e-news and the e-alert system and implement reverse 911 strategies and define roles with the e-alert system. (2011) Provide more access to the public by streaming the broadcast of Council meetings. ( ) Provide web access for all residents. ( ) Enhance marketing of City Source and its availability via phone and Internet update quarterly to ensure latest information. ( ) Analyze and enhance use of the Channel 16 electronic bulletin board. ( ) 3

4 2. We promote ourselves, the great work of our staff, and Longmont as a great place to live (innovative, fun, progressive and forward thinking). Create a media campaign to advertise not only City services to residents and businesses, but the City of Longmont as a community to the world, highlighting central location to Denver, CU, CSU, business-friendly aspects and the value that residents and businesses get from being here. Produce videos targeted toward residents and businesses that focus on what is great and unique about Longmont - branding. ( ) Use social media to advertise Longmont (YouTube, viral videos, work with existing bloggers). ( ) Produce glossy print media to accompany videos for new residents and prospective businesses. (2011) Use national magazines or other national media to publish stories and pictures of Longmont. (2011) Create photo/video collage on web My favorite things about Longmont and use those videos/photos throughout the web site. (2011) Communicate with the contributor and increase content on 1060 AM and Channel 3 in addition to social media outlets. ( ) Enhance the use of video to portray City messages. Partner with Channel 3 staff to create vibrant videos and other innovative programming, including exploring a new Longmont Listens show. ( ) Build partnerships with local TV stations 2, 4, 7, 9 and 31. ( ) Use these videos on the web and on social media (YouTube). ( ) Include viral videos (not production quality) for mini-faqs. ( ) Highlight stories about staff and volunteers, in addition to basic information. Recognize publicly groups doing great work in the City and those with outstanding accomplishments. ( ) Run articles regularly on City staff and volunteer activities to highlight the more personal side of the City. ( ) 4

5 3. Employees are well informed and feel comfortable representing the City as a communicator. They feel part of the organization. Clarify roles and responsibilities of the Public Information Team as communication leaders in the organization. Encourage teamwork and not silo-thinking in our actions and words. ( ) Remind staff that they should share important updates (updates from Finance Director as an example). ( ) Encourage PIT members to go outside of their own team to work on projects with other departments, creating new ideas or enhancing traditional ideas. ( ) Encourage employees to share City information with neighbors, citizens, vendors and friends. (2011) Set up, advertise and attend City Manager/employee meetings. ( ) Survey employees to determine if they are/feel connected and informed. Conduct small focus groups across traditional lines. ( ) Regularly provide an employee newsletter with important and meaningful information, as well as a little fun! Revamp Employee Connection to give a different look. ( ) Highlight volunteerism by employees and their work in making the community better. ( ) Pilot employee surveys/games with prizes in Employee Connection. ( ) Enhance Intranet pages. Add photos and employee bios. ( ) Highlight the accomplishments slide show and City accomplishments. ( ) Create employee listserves to streamline employee information. 5

6 4. The City provides exceptional outreach to multicultural, monolingual, multilingual and multigenerational customers. Create community listening opportunities by developing relationships and demonstrating trust, by making our outreach more personal. Form a Speakers Bureau/cultural ambassadors or a group of City employees who can talk about multiple events and services offered by the City. Staff can use the contacts in the Speakers Bureau to inform, advertise and market upcoming events or programs, and members of the Speakers Bureau will carry information into their naturally forming groups. ( ) Create a citywide campaign to promote Spanish-speaking staff members in each department pictures, phone numbers, etc. ( ) Implement a Spanish-only telephone hotline for monoligual community members. ( ) Develop resources for all employees on how to reach every resident, including youths, seniors, Latinos, and others. Create a list of Latino businesses that agree to disseminate information as well as be a venue for conversation and relationship building with City staff. ( ) Evaluate Spanish web pages for effectiveness and updating, including a central access (doorway) page created in Spanish; explore automatic translator for Web (e.g., BabelFish). ( ) Continue conversations with multicultural audiences to create a written resource for how to build relationships, access, inform and ask for feedback from multicultural community members. (2011) Continue to provide City Line translated into Spanish and increase the efficiency of its distribution in El Comite, Intercambio, etc. ( ) Broadcast City Council meetings with Spanish subtitles. ( ) Increase advertising of City Source as a resource to Spanish-speaking public. ( ) Enhance and organize Spanish collateral information, ensuring that translations are of a high quality. ( ) 6

7 5. Residents, businesses and visitors are as informed and involved as they choose to be, from knowing the basics of City services and how to get more information to being involved in the decision-making of the City of Longmont. Make information EASY to find and survey to determine effectiveness. Create a truly comprehensive new resident/business packet, including information currently sent by the utilities and police to each resident. ( ) Build partnerships with Boulder County and the St. Vrain Valley School District to make sharing information easy and fair. ( ) Build partnerships with the business community to assist in getting the word out by adding our information to their newsletters, e-news, etc. ( ) Assist with the creation of the emergency management plan, including a complete plan for public information components. ( ) Regularly survey our customers through the Customer Satisfaction Survey and other methods. ( ) Implement the Community Involvement work plan. Provide resources for the organization to engage the community. ( ) Provide training for facilitators. ( ) Partner with other community involvement entities. ( ) Maintain high level of quality and consistency in current channels of communication with customers. Create a proofreading plan. Analyze our efforts, update this plan and continue to improve our communication. 7

8 6. Staff in the City Manager s Office and members of the PIT are comfortable and competent in their specialty areas and also are cross-trained to provide an efficient, brilliant, fun and effective public information structure. Explore creating a public information intern program. Intern programs in public information writing, project management and video production (in partnership with Channel 3). ( ) Partner with St. Vrain Valley School District and colleges to establish an intern program in public information. (2011) Provide media training for City Council and staff ( ), including: Media relations Social media Magazine writing What s new trends in technology and communication Photography Web content design and writing Partner in implementation of Economic Development branding effort to inform and update citywide guiding marketing principles. ( ) Analyze budgeted staff hours and partner with PIT to provide more proactive (less reactive) media work. Contract with graphic designer for use citywide. (2011) Begin PIT strategic planning meetings to determine national trends and strategically market stories about Longmont to national media based on those trends. (2011) Facilitate the PIT, supporting them to be at their best: engaged, synergistic, collaborative, creative, innovative and supportive. Bring guest speakers to PIT (LAVA, La Ley, etc.). (2011) PIT members encourage others to come to meetings, perhaps revamp official PIT list. (2011) PIT should be more involved in department goal setting, attend staff meetings and know what is going on in their area. ( ) Market the actual PIT representatives to the organization. ( ) Continue regular PIT meetings, round robin sharing with an agenda ahead of time. ( ) Design systems that support catching all of the details (no one is left out). Create a systematic way for employees to receive information. (2011) Create tiers of need to know lists. ( ) Review the responsibilities of PIT in getting word out in their own departments. ( ) Create a clear staff structure with delineated areas of cross-training so that our team works well together; we live the City s values and have fun (work hard, play hard)!! 8

9 7. Council members feel that their vision is being carried out and communication needs are being met that they are partners with City staff. Work to establish positive relationships with diverse members of the media. Write guest editorials to correct misinformation but also to be proactive in showing the community the value of Longmont local government. ( ) Meet regularly with members of the media, including prominent social media contributors. ( ) Continually build upon relationship with Longmont Times-Call, our daily community newspaper. ( ) Improve the visibility of Council at community events. Assist the Mayor and City Council in efforts to get out in the community by holding open sessions in naturally occurring groups, such as neighborhood meetings, churches, service organizations, writing congratulatory letters (e.g., births, achievements). ( ) Continue to have booths at significant City events, such as Rhythm on the River, Cinco de Mayo, ArtLink, Festival on Main, etc. ( ) Partner with other agencies to determine other opportunities for Council outreach at community events. ( ) Continue Coffee with Council and other creative methods and venues to communicate. ( ) Provide opportunities to Council to get out in the community by helping them know the events that are happening around the City. ( ) Communicate well with City Council and staff on the status of the Public Information Strategic Plan and current efforts in the City of Longmont. Meet with City Council and City Manager annually to review and evaluate communication efforts. ( ) Provide regular updates on the status of the Public Information Strategic Plan via PIT to departments, on the Intranet and regularly to the City Council. ( ) 9

10 8. Our look is pulled together and professional while personable and approachable. Provide a graphic standards manual and web style guide for staff use and when redesigning to ensure consistent elements (City Line, Longmont Life, web) Create a style guide for City Line and other publications to create consistency and promote creativity. ( ) Revisit web deadlines to meet needs of individual department schedules. ( ) Spearhead overall campaigns for the City (volunteers, Shop Local, etc.). Improve direction and share resources for enhanced promotion of City programs (formalize a process to make program promotions more efficient). ( ) Create an overall proactive media relations strategy for use by all departments. Create citywide guiding marketing principles to assure consistent messaging with each event and issue. ( ) Provide excellent, catalogued photography for use citywide. Organize City-taken photos for use by all staff and create an opportunity for other departments to include their photos. (2011) Provide stock photography to staff for both the web and print publications. ( ) Research clipping service. ( ) Train PIT on graphic design requirements of different media (i.e., print requirements vs. web photos). ( ) 10

11 9. Citywide initiatives and events are advertised and marketed well to contribute to their success. Collaborate proactively with the Public Information Team on upcoming issues and events. Use Intranet more provide valued information so people seek it out. (2011) Hold joint meeting with EAG, Common Treads, Diversity Committee and Employee Recognition Committee. ( ) PIT members update each other more than once a month, perhaps using Intranet or social media outlets for an idea exchange. ( ) Encourage use of documented techniques (PIT checklist) for public outreach through training and marketing. Educate staff on how to use the checklist, perhaps citywide training. ( ) Keep checklist updated. ( ) Use Employee Connection as a tool to talk about the checklist and how to market your department. ( ) Continue to enhance Longmont Life. Pursue collaboration with the school district and Boulder County without taking away needed space from City information. ( ) 11

12 Great quotes from the process About Longmont It s waiting for you in Longmont. We go the second mile. There s only one Longmont in the world. Every person in Longmont is part of the marketing staff. Small town feel with big city amenities. Kids go away to school and come back here to raise their families. Something for everybody. My hometown. Longmont: Where the mountains meet the plains and where innovation meets the future. Themes to highlight Economic development and business friendliness/opportunities. Environmental balance. Parks and open space opportunities; events, fun and youth activities opportunities and activities for all. Employee and citizen accomplishments (DPBAA Decent Person by All Accounts). Focus on Longmont initiatives. Awards won and national articles written. The value of what businesses and residents get from living here. Tower of Compassion as a symbol that our residents pull together to do amazing things. 12