Make more of an impact with your stakeholder communications: Simplify. Target. Repeat.
With the call for “greater transparency” being the phrase du jour among those keeping a close eye on public sector entities, it is becoming quite easy for those responsible for dispensing said “transparency” to get tied up in knots trying to do so.
It’s important to first take a step back and realize that the push toward extreme austerity that has dominated the political talk of the last several years has led to the supposition that every organization that relies on tax funds must be inefficient and that its inefficiency is being artfully hidden behind a web of processes designed to confuse. Those who have this view assume that all such entities are guilty, until they prove themselves to be innocent. And, unfortunately, the limited attention spans of typical news consumers will have them hearing that sound bite, and not paying attention to the facts.
The reaction among school district leaders to such a “charge” that they lack transparency – whether explicit or implicit – is to overwhelm the marketplace with a mountain of details that makes the case on their behalf quite clearly…at least in their eyes. Unfortunately, to typical residents, it’s more than they care to absorb, spoken in a language they do not understand. The result is that they will likely retreat to the safety of the sound-bite world, and the district will not have advanced its relationship with them any further, despite its efforts.
This case study may be timely, but the lesson, therein, is timeless. No matter what the topic, school districts routinely err by burying the masses in details and “inside-baseball”-type terminology that only a handful of zealots really cares about. This leads to a chorus of “We already told them about that, didn’t we?” the next time the subject comes up in the community, and the cycle starts all over again, with even less chance of success.
Even the most savvy school district leaders fall victim to the “We’re excited about this, so we’re sure you are too!” trap every once in a while. Here’s how to avoid it, and really use communications to build a meaningful relationship with those who are important to your district’s success.
Simplify. Hold your own feet to the fire in terms of how you put together content, to make sure it is easily “digestible” by the audience you are aiming to reach. Take out the school-speak, and make certain your news makes it clear why the reader, viewer or listener should care about what you are sharing. Want to really see if your content passes the test? Find someone outside of the school world to give it a quick read first.
Target. Our research results consistently show that 80 percent of typical residents only want the basic facts related to your “news.” Save the chapter-and-verse details for your website. Use this approach, and both types of residents will feel better served by you.
Repeat. If anyone ever says, “Haven’t we told them about this enough?” the answer is always a firm, “No.” If you doubt that, walk down the street and ask 10 people to explain the difference between a bond issue and an operating levy proposal. Or what capital outlay funds are used for. Or the balance between local and state funding. Or whatever is unique to your situation. How many of those 10 do you think would be able to offer a simple, relatively accurate answer? Exactly.
