ATTACHMENTS:
Presentation working agenda
City of Nelson Communications Review
City of Nelson Communications Review – Appendix A Inventory
City of Nelson Communications Review – Appendix B Interview Summaries
RECOMMENDATION:
That Council receives the presentation from Jann Enns Communications and thanks her
for the presentation.
_______________________________ ___________________________
DEPUTY CORPORATE OFFICER CITY MANAGER
Working Agenda DRAFT
Committee of the Whole Meeting
Monday, October 22, 2018
Time Length Content
Purpose: Why Communications?
• Key reasons why comms is necessary
PREPARED FOR:
City of Nelson
DATE:
October 22, 2018
PREPARED BY:
Jan Enns, MA, Principal
Jan Enns Communications
Email: jan@janenns.com
What does ‘good’
communications
look like?
(City of Nelson Interviewees)
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CONTENTS
2. Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 8
5. Key Findings..................................................................................................................... 13
7. Recommendations............................................................................................................ 16
10. APPENDIX..................................................................................................................... 30
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Nelson has been working to improve how it can better inform and engage its citizens.
Communications and public engagement has been identified as key priorities in the City’s Strategic
Plan, Annual reports and resource planning.
Over the past few years, the City has grown a solid foundation for communications and engagement
that includes proactive public engagement campaigns, an active social media presence and
progressively streamlining the City’s outreach and brand.
More recently, the City has identified the need to develop a better understanding of its external
communications – how the City informs and engages it citizens. To that end, the City has embarked on
a Communications Review to identify the challenges and opportunities associated with external
communications.
This report provides an overview of the external communications and public engagement work being
done by staff – what and how they are communicating. While it does not include any audiences
analysis – how those communications are being received – it is intended to provide a high-level
overview of what’s working and areas
for attention. It is the first step of
many potential steps to improve how
the city can better inform and engage
with its citizens.
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The Inventory and Assessment provides observations about the tactics being used, including the nine
different social media sites being run by the City and its departments/affiliates (e.g. Library, Police,
Fire, Transit). The Inventory and Assessment is included in the Appendix.
The Recommendations address the themes, challenges and opportunities voiced by interviewees, the
assessment of the communications inventory, and supported by leading practices in the field of
communications and engagement. These Recommendations speak to Council priorities, assigning
resources, developing policies and procedures and providing opportunities to build core competencies
and tools to enhance the work being done by staff to inform and engage residents, business and key
stakeholders.
Finally, in order to assist with how the information might be considered, this report includes
recommended Short and Longer-Term Priorities on how to continue to build the strong foundation for
communications and engagement. It also provides options for Human Resources Allocation for
consideration on how to address these communication priorities.
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1. COMMUNICATIONS REVIEW: INTRODUCTION
Public engagement and communications is important to the City of Nelson. Nelson City Council
identified communications and engagement right from the start in their Strategic Plan and Priorities for
2014-2018 and again the 2017 Strategic Plan Update. More recently, “
Council and senior staff completed a strategic review where Achieve Excellence in
communications was identified as a key area for attention. Overall, the City Governance
goal is to promote a culture of social and public engagement to ensure A strong governance
that residents and businesses are informed, and provided ample model that is based on
opportunity to be part of Council’s decision‐making process. the principles of
openness, fairness, and
Over the past few years, the City has taken a number of proactive steps to accountability and that
improve communications, including reallocating a part-time ensures informed
Communications Coordinator to develop, implement and assist on a wide decision making
range of communications and engagement activities. throughout the
organization and draws
on the energies of citizen
Building on this foundation, the City has undertaken a Communications
participation.
Review. The purpose of the Communications Review is to identify how the
City currently informs and engages the community, and to assess the City of Nelson
Strategic Goals #4
quality and quantity of external communications and seek
recommendations for consideration.
Why Communicate?
Investing in communications and engagement is a hallmark of organizational excellence (Grunig,
James E.). Communications is a strategic business and risk management planning process that helps
ensure delivery of accurate and consistent information and provides opportunities for two-way
communications and engagement.
Clear, consistent and relevant information also helps build trust and strengthen reputation. It
reduces time and resources spent on issues management, damage control and repair. The PR Rule of
Thumb is that for every hour you spent strategically and proactively planning communications, you
can save eight to 10 hours later. More and more local governments are taking steps to ensure their
communities are informed and have opportunities to be engaged on matters that are important to
them. Public demand for information about government decision-making is also increasing (BC
Auditor General).
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Please note, this report represents a high-level review of the City of Nelson’s key external
communications activities – how and what they communicate from the perspective of the people
interviewed, as well as a review of current channels and tools and leading practices in communications.
This report does not include audience market research or analysis – how those communications are
received. Those are additional activities that may be considered in the future along with other steps
that may include the development of communications policies, plans and procedures.
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2. METHODOLOGY
The following steps were taken to inform the considerations and recommendations provided in this
report:
▪ Review of current print communications materials created by internal departments including
posters, brochures, handouts, etc.
▪ Review of online communications materials, including the website, and the nine social media
sites hosted by different departments within the City.
▪ Review of communications and consultation policies, procedures, planning processes, resources
and training opportunities.
▪ Group interviews with Mayor and Council members, key staff from each department. (See
Appendix for list of interviewees and summary of interviews.)
There was a high level of energy and engagement amongst all participants, providing for robust and
diverse conversations. Mayor, Council members and all the employees interviewed are passionate
about their work, their vision and their desire to improve how they can better inform and engage with
their respective publics, and the quality and quantity of the communications and engagement they
provide.
The summary of the interviews can be found in Appendix B. The key themes are reported in this
document as Key Findings and Recommendations.
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3. CORPORATE PRIORITIES & POLICIES RELATED TO COMMUNICATIONS &
ENGAGEMENT
The City’s Vision, Mission and Values clearly identify sustainable service delivery and good governance
as key business drivers, recognizing the importance of stakeholder relationships – both internal and
external to the organization. Of Council’s four strategic goals, the goal to ‘Achieve Excellence in City
Governance,’ most closely addresses communications and engagement. In addition, communications
and engagement is integral to achieving all strategic goals.
Key actions related to communications and engagement in the Strategic Plan include:
• Develop strategic partnerships and positive working relationships with businesses, community
groups and many government organizations who work with, for and in Nelson.
• Employee training that supports the implementation of strategic directions.
• Encourage citizen and neighbourhood engagement so that residents contribute to the affairs of
the whole community.
• Provide volunteer programs that engage and retain volunteers in a way that reflects the
changing nature of our community.
• New public engagement opportunities and initiatives that increase public participation,
including expanding our social media presence.
• Improve customer service and enhance efficiency and effectiveness through innovation, high
customer service standards, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Focus on the City’s customer service values and their
Organizational Excellence
application across departments and services.
• Continue to grow on-line options to allow customers Research in the field of public
to do business in the City. relations shows that excellence in
management works hand-in-hand
with excellence in communications.
Currently, there are limited policies or procedures in place to
Studies by the International
support these priorities. While there are guidelines for
Association of Business
managing and responding on social media, there are no
Communicators (IABC) and the
formal policies in place to provide direction for staff on
Canadian Public Relations Society
communications and engagement. Nor are there
(CPRS), show that practicing
organization-wide procedures in place on how to implement
excellence in communications and
communications. The use of brand guidelines are evolving
public relations helps organizations
with the use of simple templates for ads and posters,
achieve overall goals and objectives.
although this is not consistent throughout the organization.
Establishing a culture of
communications and engagement as
That said, there are a number of communication and
a way of doing business can help the
engagement plans developed for high profile, high impact
City of Nelson achieve its strategic
projects. These are used to successfully guide and coordinate
priorities and tactical goals.
communications and engagement activities related to that
specific project.
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City of Nelson Vision, Mission, Values and Actions, 2014-2018
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4. CURRENT COMMUNICATIONS RESOURCES
The City has a limited number of communications resources to support Council’s Vision, Mission,
Values and Actions. These include:
▪ One part-time position for internal, external and Council communications (PTCC: Ginger Lester).
▪ Department staff contacts for social media administration (City, Library, Police, Fire, Youth Centre).
▪ Department staff time used for communications on various projects such as Official Community
Plan or Neighbourhood Plan consultation, public notices, etc.
▪ Customer Service Representatives that function as a ‘one-stop’ source for information about City
programs and services.
▪ One part-time position for Nelson Hydro’s EcoSave Program Coordinator.
▪ Staff resources for the Nelson and District Youth Centre and Youth Employment Centre.
While there are a few positions allocated to communications, such as the Part-time Communications
Coordinator or EcoSave Program Coordinator, there are also a number of staff who are doing
communications and engagement work for their projects. The amount of time spent on
communications carried out by department staff is unknown, however conversations suggest that it is
noteworthy. The budgets for each of these functions are part of that specific department’s budget and
the true cost of resources for communications, both human and financial, is unknown. Concentrating
these communications in one or two specialists can reduce the time spent by department staff.
In addition, the City has engaged outside contractors and consultants to leverage the capacity of the in-
house team. This may include graphic designers, videographers and other communications consulting
services. While adding consultants is often necessary, especially for communications and engagement
on major or ongoing projects or tactical work such as graphic design or video production, it does
require staff time for onboarding and providing content.
Suggestions for increasing the staffing complement to meet desired communications outcomes are
included in the section 9. Human Resources Allocation Options.
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City of Nelson Organization Chart May 2018
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5. KEY FINDINGS
This report focuses on external communications – how each department within the organization is
connecting with its publics, whether print, online or in-person, from the perspective of Council,
management and staff.
A number of themes about communications and engagement emerged during the interviews and form
the basis for the strategic and tactical recommendations. These included the following:
Solid Foundation
There is a solid foundation for the communication program, with many proactive
communications practices already happening.
▪ Good use of multiple channels (website, social, media).
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Meet Citizens Where They Are
In order to foster community dialogue and ensure residents and businesses have the
information they need and want, the communications and engagement program will need to
find out where residents prefer to get their information and meet residents where they are.
This may be information, such as the content and the grade level, the channels they use, such
as the website or social media, or the physical locations easiest for them to attend.
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6. SECTION OVERVIEW: RECOMMENDATIONS, INVENTORY, PRIORITIES &
RESOURCES
Overview
The following Recommendations are based on the information in the Key Findings section and on best
practices in communications and engagement.
In addition to this section, an Inventory Assessment was also conducted of the existing
communications and engagement tactics. With the exception of the Social Media review, the
recommendations from the Inventory and Assessment are included in the following tables. The
assessment of specific social media sites were kept separate given the uniqueness of this channel and
the different organizations involved.
Next these Recommendations are summarized into suggested Short-Term and Longer-Term Priorities
for consideration.
And finally, a further overview of potential Human Resource Allocation Options are provided for
consideration.
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7. RECOMMENDATIONS
Solid Foundation
Continue to build on this strong ▪ Establish priority actions and resources. See section on
foundation. Priorities for suggested key action items.
▪ Establish a next steps and timeline for implementation.
Strengthen link to Council ▪ Create Council priority document and circulate to managers
Strategic Priorities, and Master and staff who work on communications.
Plans and Strategies. ▪ (In-progress) Create ‘Council Highlights’ document to be
released immediately following each Council meeting. Use this
document to promote Council priorities and decisions, and as
an information update for internal and external audiences.
Can also be used to help communications identify issues.
▪ Create key message bank to best reflect this connection and
help explain the ‘why’ behind City initiatives.
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Use Communications
Resources Wisely
Review communications ▪ Review Communications resources and consider at a minimum
resources and plan for highest increasing one Part-time Communications Coordinator to Full-
and best use of both internal time. Consider augmenting with communications budget
and external supports. currently within Departments. This position needs to be
closely aligned with Senior Management Team in order to
provide the maximum benefit of communications (a hallmark
of ‘Excellence in Communications’ - IABC, CPRS).
▪ Undertake staff resource planning for communications and
identify opportunities to enhance in future. This may include
identifying to what degree communications is a centralized
function and what would continue to be done by the
department.
▪ Consider expanding/adding a new Full-time position, such as a
Communications and Public Engagement Manager position to
expand and leverage the communications and engagement
strategy throughout the organization and optimize Council’s
strategic priorities.
▪ Build communications support through a gradual transition. In
addition to a minimum of one full-time Communications
Coordinator, actions to consider (or in progress) include:
▪ Identify internal resources (i.e. for social media and
website posting)
▪ Identify potential external resources and when to use
(i.e. outside consultant for communications and
engagement planning, implementation, graphic design,
videography, writing, etc.).
▪ Amalgamate existing resources used for
communications and use to fund central
communications staffing.
▪ Allocate percentage of project budgets to
communications.
▪ Short-term support contracted by project.
▪ Short and longer-term contract support.
▪ Part-time staff hire or re-deploy to back-fill.
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Formalize the Communications
Program
Develop and implement ▪ Need policies and procedures to guide work and provide
policies, procedures and a plan direction for staff (media, social media – including who gets to
to provide direction. start a new channel, overarching Corporate communications,
engagement).
▪ Develop Strategic and Operational Communications Plan to
coordinate communications and engagement policies,
procedures and practices.
▪ Develop Internal Communications Plan to identify, coordinate
and optimize internal communications.
▪ Include Communications as part of the quarterly Managers
Meetings to review communications procedures for current
projects and implement suggestions for improvement or new
ideas.
▪ Develop an organization-wide planning calendar to schedule
communications and engagement for campaigns, activities
and events. Use this to coordinate outreach, surveys, meetings
etc.
▪ Develop communication and / or engagement plans for all
major projects.
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Organize for Success
Enable our team with enhanced ▪ Develop Nelson Brand Guidelines (include visual identity,
access to communications and writing style guide, how images are used and a set of
engagement tools, including standardized templates for self-use in the various business
‘self-serve’ options. units).
▪ Provide orientation on Branding and Writing Guidelines,
particularly for people writing website, social media posts,
external promotional documents, to ensure a consistent
‘voice’ and ‘look’ for the City. Consider one common editor to
review all copy prior to publication (capacity dependent).
▪ Develop standard templates for: news releases, ads, posters,
Project Updates (including how to succinctly provide the
project history), Briefing Notes and timelines (a visual timeline
for an extended project like Hall Street to show progress over
time), Fact Sheets (for the budget for example) and ‘Quick Key
Messages’ (some already in place for Council, key staff and
front line staff to provide accurate, relevant and timely
information on current events and incidents).
▪ Develop guides: checklists of tools available, guides on how to
use, timing of distribution (Council, internal contacts notified
first), etc. The social media response guidelines and media
contact lists are already in place and need to be included in
reminders to staff as they are updated.
▪ Streamline review and approval systems: Ensure consistent
procedure for reviewing and approving communications and
engagement plans and materials, including Council
notification.
▪ Develop key message bank: samples of holding statements
and other standard key messages and boilerplate for news
releases. Include messaging for ‘Public Hearing Preamble’ (e.g.
brief history of project process, what has been done to inform
and engage key audiences). Also include ‘rules of engagement’
for a Public Hearing to be read at start of meetings (some
already in place).
▪ Maximize the use of the Nelson Newsletter. Use the calendar
to schedule production dates and content. Consider moving to
an online version, to complement the PDF version that is also
used as a poster.
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Organize for Success
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Meet Citizens Where They Are
Know your audience and ▪ Identify opportunities to better understand your audience,
provide the information and such as a benchmarking survey to determine how they want to
engagement they need and receive information. Consider a common question on all
want. department surveys and open house exit surveys to
benchmark results e.g., How do you want to receive
information from the City?
▪ Go where people are (channels or in person) for engagement.
▪ Provide information (the content and the grade level) as
needed.
▪ Monitor residents sentiment (media, social etc.), and respond.
▪ Establish metrics and methods to measure and evaluate
success of communications and engagement efforts.
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Develop Crisis Communication
Plan
Have a crisis communications ▪ Identify potential crises and high risk events.
plan in place, and practice.
▪ Develop crisis communications plan, including key message
holding statements.
▪ Provide orientation for all staff and training for key staff,
including related external stakeholders (e.g. RDCK).
▪ Clarify use and main persons responsible for NotifyMe and
Nelson Emergency Notification, as well as integration with
RDCK alert program.
Focus on Proactive
Communications
Support proactive ▪ Host an annual organization-wide communications planning
communications and the ability session to identify major activities planned for coming year(s).
to tell Nelson’s story. Use this to review communications, identify overlap, and
opportunities to coordinate communications and resource
allocation.
▪ Develop an annual communications and engagement planning
calendar across all Departments to ensure adequately timed
to avoid overlap of messages and potential for consultation
fatigue.
▪ Continue to build communications and engagement channels
(e.g. social, website, video, earned and paid media coverage,
key message bank, checklist).
▪ Find opportunities to tell Nelson’s story.
▪ Continue and expand leveraging each tactic on multiple
channels (e.g. news release with pictures posted on website
and TV at entrance, and shared on social media channels,
website, request that other affiliate social media sites also
share if appropriate (e.g. library, police, RDCK, etc.).
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Set the Stage for Engagement
Build on the ongoing ▪ Build engagement program (policy and procedures) with a
communications and two-way communications focus, using IAP2 as a foundation.
engagement planning. Consider adding “Level of Public Engagement’ or ‘Level of
Consultation” as a heading on Council reports.
▪ Build internal capacity to identify and implement
requirements for successful communications and engagement.
This would include planning communications and consultation
at the outset of a project, proactively managing issues,
providing ongoing key messages and updates, identifying and
orienting spokesperson and implementation as required.
▪ Provide training in communication and consultation planning
for project leads, including media and messaging using IAP2 or
similar. (Note: Part-time Communicators Coordinator is
booked for IAP2 training in November 2018).
▪ Develop communications and engagement planning templates
for project planning.
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Exploring New Ideas
Explore new ideas where ▪ Explore technical solutions such as issues and complaint
appropriate and resourced. tracking software to better manage responses.
▪ Host Council Brown Bag events where people can learn more
The following were identified about a particular topic.
by interviewees.
▪ Mail out year-end updates to homes.
▪ Develop a strategy for ‘street culture.’
▪ Engage the community in ‘Participatory Budgeting.’
▪ Consider free Wi-Fi on Baker Street, with a ‘splash page’ for
City initiatives.
▪ Provide a section on the website for visitors to Nelson.
▪ Consider ‘art’ on sidewalks
▪ Consider using ‘tree wraps’ with information placed around
trees that are to be removed.
▪ Increase the use of Jostle. Consider other technologies for
sharing ideas and information such as ‘Thought Exchange.’
▪ Add key messages to other communication pieces such as the
garbage tags.
▪ Consider Respectful Workplace training.
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8. IDENTIFYING PRIORITIES: 2018-2019
Given the wide range of recommended strategies and actions, setting priorities will help provide
guidance for potential implementation.
The following provides an overview of the priority strategies that could be tackled in the short-term,
supported by a few key tactics to build on current communications. This fall is a particularly busy time
for municipalities across BC with local government elections being held on October 20 th, so timelines
are suggested here only as a guide. While these would require further review and discussion with the
team in conjunction with decisions around resource allocations, they are presented here as a starting
point for discussion on how the City could proceed. Timelines here are suggested only as a guide. The
actual timing would be largely dependent on the human resources dedicated to the work (see next
section: Human Resources Allocation Options).
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▪ Include Communications staff in Quarterly Management
Meetings to identify, assist and monitor communications
and engagement activities.
▪ Review resources and add submission for 2019/2020 budget
(manager and/or coordinator) and placement in the
organization.
▪ Continue to monitor and respond on social media.
Identifying Priorities: Longer-term 2019 onward
▪ Develop suite of administrative communication policies in ▪ 2019 onward
conjunction with corresponding strategic plans (corporate ▪ In-house and external
comms, media relations, internal, engagement, social resources
media).
▪ Create Council Strategic Priority document and circulate to
staff.
▪ Develop 5-year external communication strategy and
corporate communication policy.
▪ Develop Engagement strategy and policy.
▪ Develop 5-year internal communication strategy and policy.
▪ Formalize media relations program (spokesperson list,
training) and policy.
▪ Develop training plan to build core competencies (how to
for communications and engagement; media training for
key staff and project leads as identified).
▪ Develop social media strategy/guidelines and policy.
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9. HUMAN RESOURCES ALLOCATION OPTIONS
The following flow chart provides three potential options for allocation of human resources necessary
to achieve the short and longer-term priorities as well as ongoing work.
For purposes of this report, communications work is divided into two main types: Strategic Work and
Tactical Work. Strategic and tactical work is closely linked, like two-sides of the same coin. There is
tactical and practical side to developing strategy, as well as some strategy around implementation of
the tactical work. Strategic work typically involves planning and leadership. Tactical work typically
involves implementation.
In assessing the Key Findings and Recommendations, there is both strategic and tactical work required.
From this stems three options for resourcing the work that could be done:
▪ Full-time position that is primarily strategic
▪ Full-time position that includes both strategic and tactical work
▪ Part-time position that includes primarily tactical work.
While the list of tasks is not exhaustive, it is intended to provide an overview of the potential
opportunities to resource the desired communications outcomes for consideration.
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HUMAN RESOURCES ALLOCATION OPTIONS (CONTINUED)
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Full-time Position. Primarily Strategic Full-time position. Both Strategic and Tactical ** PT Position. Primarily Tactical
Priorities: Short-term and Ongoing Priorities: Short-term and Ongoing Priorities: Short-term and Ongoing
(Expand on current, shift to more (Expand on Current) (Overview of Current)
strategic/planning and less tactical)
▪ Communications as part of the Agenda ▪ Communications as part of Agenda Review and ▪ Maintain Council Highlights
Review and Management Meetings Quarterly Management meetings update using the information
▪ Maintain Council Highlights, update using the from the Agenda Review
▪ Formalize branding guidelines
information from the Agenda Review meeting and meeting and Council outcomes
▪ Identify 2019 plans as part of the budget
Council outcomes ▪ Provide limited
process
▪ Develop, implement and monitor (limited**) communications guidance and
▪ Develop, oversee, implement and/or monitor
communications and engagement activities assistance on use of templates,
communications and engagement activities
▪ Formalize branding guidelines content, key messages,
▪ Reduce overlaps and gaps in outreach external resources and
activities, approvals and metrics ▪ Produce suite of templates for self-serve use
approvals
▪ Develop communications calendar ▪ Continue to monitor and respond on social media.
▪ Continue to monitor and
▪ Develop in-house and external resources ▪ Reduce overlaps and gaps in outreach activities,
respond on social media
(branding guidelines; formalized templates; approvals and metrics
▪ Develop communications calendar Priorities: Long-term and Ongoing
key messages; facilitated session)
▪ Monitor communications and
Priorities: Long-term and Ongoing ▪ Develop in-house and external resources (branding
engagement activities
▪ Develop suite of administrative guidelines; formalized templates; key messages;
collaterals; facilitated session) ▪ Produce suite of templates for
communication policies
self-serve use
▪ Create Council Strategic Priority document Priorities: Long-term and Ongoing
▪ Develop suite of administrative communication ▪ Produce materials
and circulate to staff
policies ▪ Continue to provide limited
▪ Develop 5-year External Communication
▪ Create Council Strategic Priority document and assistance to departments and
strategy and Corporate Communication
circulate to staff Council
policy
▪ Develop Engagement strategy and policy ▪ Develop 5-year External Communication strategy and
Corporate Communication policy *Plus consulting funds for
▪ Develop 5-year Internal Communication
▪ Develop Engagement strategy and policy additional strategic and / or tactical
strategy and policy
work
▪ Formalize Media Relations program, incl. ▪ Develop 5-year Internal Communication strategy and
Crisis Communications and Issues Mgmt. policy
▪ Develop training plan to build core ▪ Formalize Media Relations program, incl. Crisis
competencies Communications and Issues Management
▪ Develop social media strategy/guidelines and ▪ Develop training plan to build core competencies
▪ **Combination position is
policy ▪ Develop social media strategy/guidelines and policy more flexible but will require
▪ Manage ongoing Communications and ▪ Manage and or supervise ongoing Communication more time to complete
Engagement function and Engagement function strategic work as outlined since
▪ *Plus consulting funds for some tactical work ▪ *Plus consulting funds for additional strategic work demands for tactical work must
(i.e. graphic design) also be met.
10. APPENDIX
Appendix A: Communications and Social Media Inventory and Assessment
Appendix B: Interview Summaries
Appendix C: Proposed Organization Chart with Communications Complement
This report provides a number of options for consideration for communications and engagement for
the City of Nelson. It is intended to provide a high-level review of external communications systems
and tools as identified by internal stakeholders, the review of existing systems, channels and tools,
leading practices and the professional assessment of Jan Enns. MA. Jan Enns Communications and sub-
consultants have taken due care in the preparation of this report to ensure that the information
presented is as accurate as possible based on the information provided and interpretation of
discussions held. No guarantee is provided for the information included in this report. Please advise of
any errors and omissions. Jan Enns Communications and any co-contractors are not responsible for
decisions or actions made on the basis of the content of this report. For more information please
contact jan@janenns.com. Thank you!
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
The following document provides an overview of the various channels and tactics used by the City and associated departments. The
assessment consists of high-level observations. Recommendations are included in the Recommendations section in the main report.
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
Publicity (Earned Media)
▪ Good use of media notifications.
▪ Improvements in consistency in look and
content when aided by the PTCC (time
permitting).
▪ Media sent by other departments not
always consistent. Use of templates vary.
Not all using same. Nor using Canadian
Press (CP) style.
▪ Content often runs as sent to media. Also,
Nelson & area media media share on their social media sites,
Media Advisories, News PTCC to send.
Advertise various consumers as well as further expanding the reach of this
Releases, Public Service Others may
programs/activities consumers of their important, far-reaching communications
Announcements and Notices write and send.
social media sites channel.
▪ Lack of policies and procedures regarding:
• When to send, what to include
• How to write, who to quote
• Use of templates
• Review and approvals
• Internal notification
• Posting, monitoring and responding
on social media.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
▪ Good relationships with local media.
▪ Interviews vary by program, level of
interest and personal connection with
media reporters.
▪ No policy regarding who speaks to the
Promote various
media on behalf of the City.
programs/activities Nelson & area media
Media Interviews “ ▪ No central or shared advance notification
Respond to calls from consumers
process (i.e., if someone does an interview,
the media
no system in place to alert other internal
stakeholders).
▪ Spokespersons’ experience and training
varied.
Paid Advertising
▪ Necessary and well-used part of outreach
communications.
▪ Good relationship with media; assists with
Print ads in Nelson Daily
Advertise various Nelson & area layout.
News, Nelson Express, Nelson Varies
programs/activities newspaper readers ▪ Templates used vary. Not all using same.
Star
▪ Occasionally posted/linked to social media
sites but not consistent, missing the
opportunity to leverage these ads.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
▪ Recent good example with full page ad for
tax notices. PTCC initiated with Finance to
create, using consistent City brand. Also
posted on website and on Facebook. Will
be able to track increase in uptake of online
filing.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
Online
▪ Recently redone. Feels fresh/updated.
▪ Lots of information.
Provide
▪ Searchable from a user-perspective.
information/process
▪ In absence of brand guidelines, much work
External website (nelson.ca) for Nelson & area Varies
has been done to streamline the brand,
residents/prospective
although there appears to be three logo
residents
versions: all white, white and green and all
green.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
▪ Use of standard thumbnails keeps message
consistent.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
hazardous spills,
severe weather,
evacuation
alerts/orders and
missing persons in
Nelson and area.
Notification system
for City related non-
Emergency business
on a variety of City of
Nelson related topics
including Water ▪ Ability to build following and send
Restrictions, information such as road closures, power
Garbage/Recycling outages, career opportunities, etc.
NotifyMe/Alert Centre Week, Bid Nelson & area ▪ Power outages and weather events garner
Opportunities, most sign ups: 264 people have signed up
Weather Events, for Power Outages.
Office Closures,
Power Outages,
Water Notices, City
News, Career
Opportunities and
much more.
Council meeting
City Council Meeting notifications for
Nelson & area ▪
Notifications upcoming Council
Meetings. The Civic
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
Web Portal houses all
information related to
Council meetings,
agendas, minutes,
delegations before
Council and City
Bylaws.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
▪ Well-written easy to read
▪ Lots of pictures
Bullet point update on
Strategic Plan City of Nelson PTCC ▪ When published, promoted all media
strategic initiatives
channels with a news release.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
▪ The trend toward using standard templates,
graphics and design has improved through
the efforts of the PTCC.
▪ Some templates can be found in the Shared
Communications Drive (the common
Guidelines for Internal & key repository).
Visual Identity PTCC
branding and writing stakeholders ▪ Not all departments appear to be familiar
with and or using templates or tapping into
the limited resources of the PTCC.
▪ PTCC send emails with instructions as
updated.
In-Person ▪
Council Meetings and Public Mayor, Council and Nelson & area ▪ Council report content follows a standard
Hearings staff participate in a template that includes a Communications
wide range of face-to- section.
face activities ▪ The Communications section doesn’t
appear to be consistently used.
▪ For most of the reports, the standard
default reply under Communications is that
the information will be made available on
the City’s website.
▪ The amount of project background,
including communications activities,
provided as a preamble to the report
varies.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
▪ Time lapses between reports to Council or
Public Hearings can be lengthy, meaning
past decisions and or communications or
consultation efforts are not easily recalled.
▪ Not all gallery attendees may be familiar
with the ground rules of a Public Hearing.
Open Houses/Public Nelson & area Varies ▪ Attendance varies by topic. EcoSave &
Meetings/Events Nelson Hydro have had some well-
attended, others reported less than
desired.
▪ This has also been supported by the use of
other face-to-face meetings with
businesses and residents, as well as
supported with other promotional and
marketing activities.
Other events/ in-person Varies Varies ▪ Staff also take advantage of ‘going to where
contact they are’ as part of their outreach. This can
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
MPR (Main
External Person
Communications Purpose/Content Audience/Reach Responsible) Observations
(PTCC=Part-time
Tactic/Channel
Communications
Coordinator)
include having a booth at an event or door-
to-door visit.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
SOCIAL MEDIA
The following is an overview and assessment of the nine different City and related social media sites conducted in June/July 2018:
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
▪ 282 Followers
▪ While the posts made are lively and
local, it is not being done
consistently; five posts in June and
one was a duplicate. Consistency in
posting, sharing, responding is key to
Info for youth on local
increasing followers and
happenings
engagement. It also boosts posts
from this feed higher in followers’
To update followers in a
news feeds.
Nelson Youth Centre Facebook timely manner as to
Nelson & area youth Youth Centre ▪ Could this be combined with the
page events, incidents, and
employment site for a single robust
news and provide
resource?
information and
▪ Good use of using real photos from
processes for residents
activities, setup for events.
and visitors.
▪ Consider using video content to help
with engagement.
▪ Cross post information on this page
to the City of Nelson page to help
with engagement and draw
followers.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
▪ 593 Followers.
▪ Feels fairly fresh.
▪ Great use of cross-posting.
▪ Events are utilized but no invites sent
Info about what's to followers/friends.
happening at the library ▪ Posts could be more engaging by
/ literary commentary using more photos of the library,
staff, users, etc., as well as the use of
To update followers in a video.
Nelson Public Library Facebook Nelson residents who go
timely manner as to Library ▪ Use a call to action in posts.
page to the library
events, incidents, and ▪ Profile and cover photo of the
news and provide building without people is
information and somewhat static and could be
processes for residents updated to something more
and visitors. engaging (e.g. Library staff outside
the building).
▪ More third-party posts/shares will
help with engagement.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
▪ 646 Followers
▪ Great use of sharing information and
retweets.
▪ While active, lots of overlap with
Safety-related info \ Facebook page. Content should vary,
some lighter material with Facebook used as more of a
conversational channel and Twitter
To update and interact as more of an information channel.
Nelson Police Twitter Feed with the community Nelson & area Police staff For example, interjecting some
humor and light-hearted news is
Updates, events, and okay, but perhaps keep that content
news should go out on to FB and keep it to once a week
this channel ▪ Similar to the Facebook feed, the
posts are inconsistent and use of
content calendars will help identify
post topics for each channel, as well
as resources.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
▪ 114 Followers
▪ Small following, but appropriate for
content offering.
▪ Timely updates.
Transit-related updates
▪ Very specific info for transit users.
& info
▪ Stays on track.
▪ Could increase the use of hashtag
To update and interact
use on this channel. Consider using
with the community Nelson & area transit
Nelson Transit Twitter Feed Transit staff #NelsonTraffic as your official
users
hashtag. Encourage radio
Service updates,
stations/publications to use it as
events, and news
well.
should go out on this
▪ Bio missing from the page.
channel
▪ Cover photo should be changed to
something relating to the brand.
▪ Consider posting photos of buses
etc. with posts.
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APPENDIX A: INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT
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APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW SUMMARIES
Interviews were held in small groups, with some individuals via phone. The information captured here
represents a summary of the comments, some verbatim and some paraphrased or summarized as
interpreted. The summaries are only intended to draw out the key findings and themes used as the
basis of this report, in conjunction with the review of systems, channels and tools.
2|Page
Communication Challenges and Areas for Attention
Communications Opportunities
A number of insights and ideas for addressing these areas for attention included:
▪ Continued use of the current range of communications tactics including ads, videos, website
information, social media, website.
▪ Continue with the Newsletter, perhaps more frequently to reduce the amount of copy in each
edition.
▪ Greater use of Briefing Notes (Talking Point/ ‘Coles Notes’) and Project Updates to provide key
messages on what was considered and how it was communicated. News releases also provide a
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source for clear and consistent information. Short and succinct, similar to the Hall Street
Updates.
▪ Consider a ‘Public Hearing Preamble/Timeline’ to provide a brief history of the project and what
has been done to inform and engage to-date. This would be done prior to discussion on the
project and help answer questions for people in the gallery, and the public record, about what
has been done in terms of communications. This may also help replace some of the conjecture
and misinformation that surrounds some projects.
▪ Messages need to be consistent and link back to Council Strategic Priorities. For example, every
time affordable housing comes up, talk about what the City is
doing to address affordable housing (list projects by name)
within their area of control. This is what the City is able to do;
what areas the City can actually control vs. areas that the City
may only be able to influence because they are the
responsibilities of other levels of government or the private
sector.
▪ Keep repeating key messages.
▪ Use of positive key messages at the outset, even when not all
of Council agrees (“Everything’s going to fine. Would have liked to have seen it move in a
different direction, but now Council as a whole has decided…”
▪ Recognize the use of proactive communications as an opportunity to identify and manage
potential issues. For example, community and user-group consultation was instrumental in
developing a new Sport User policy moving forward.
▪ Need to be able to scan for potential differing perspectives and issues in advance.
▪ Provide timely alerts to advise people to attend a meeting.
▪ Develop communications policies and procedures to provide guidance and structure around
communications processes.
▪ Have a media relations policy with a proactive media strategy to correct incorrect or
misinterpreted information.
▪ Have a single person responsible for communications.
▪ Currently implementing an ‘Accountability Model’ and perhaps this is an opportunity to add
communications.
4|Page
Overall comments on the message and information included:
▪ Have a ‘hook’; to get people’s attention.
▪ Be clear, consistent in look and feel (use of Nelson’s brand).
▪ Be ‘youthful’ and engaging.
▪ Be clear and consistent in messaging.
▪ Accessible.
▪ Easy to understand.
▪ Use visuals to tell the story.
▪ Fun, friendly, not too ‘professional’ (we are a DIY Community).
Department Contacts
Interviews held with Department contacts provided a rich source of information about the current
state of communications and ideas for improvement. While each interview identified a wide range of
perspectives, the following is a summary of the key points and themes.
CAO/Corporate Services/Communications
▪ Both the Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Services Director oversee the part-time
communication function carried out by Ginger Lester as the
Communication Coordinator. This has been an evolving
process, much in part due to support for this function and
Ginger Lester’s personal initiative.
▪ Envision communications as a support similar to a
consultancy for the organization: provide access to ‘self-
serve’ tools and templates, provide assistance via Ginger, and or provide access to external
consultants.
▪ Managing the City’s social media has grown the City’s own site to more than half of the City’s
population.
▪ Managing responses on social has also been a concern and a social media policy and response
guide has been developed. That said, it still takes time and resources to consider how and when
to respond.
▪ Orientations have been held with other departments who operate their own social media sites
(see Inventory and Assessment in Appendix).
▪ Recommend using the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) Spectrum of
Public Participation as the standard for communication and engagement. This is an opportunity
to manage expectations when the level of consultation is identified in advance. This can also be
included as part of the Council report, linking back to the strategic priorities.
▪ Working on developing a centralized repository as a source for information and templates for
internal clients to address: accuracy and consistency in message and brand use. Ginger has
been slowly working on this as part of growing this function within the organization, given the
limited resources allocated. Tools identified included the use of templates, branding guidelines,
5|Page
orientations for projects, key messages and briefing notes and the use of checklists. Improving
the use of Jostle was also identified.
▪ Recognize the need to create a consistent brand for the City.
▪ A formal process for managing issues was also identified as a concern: how to identify an issue,
determine priority, steps to mitigate, provide key messages.
▪ Recognize the need and importance for Council to develop policies and or strategies to guide
communications and consultation efforts.
▪ Also recognize the need to assess the amount of resources being used on communications
activities throughout the organization and how this could be better managed. Currently, there
are a number of individuals creating campaigns, brochures and other materials. While Ginger
may have a final ‘look over’ to avoid surprises, it could use a more strategic approach.
Financial Services
▪ Undertakes communications tasks as required by legislation (e.g. Annual Report, tax sales,
budget) as well as those necessary to support operations (e.g. water and sewer utilities,
licenses, etc.).
▪ Working with Ginger to expand communications over and above legislated requirements
including the use of templates for inserts, flyers.
▪ Recent example of a full page ad in the newspaper to remind people about property tax
deadline, how to pay online and promotional information about property taxes (e.g. how much
is collected by the City, where it goes). This was also leveraged by sharing on social media and
the website. Currently tracking to if an increase in online payment in response to the call-to-
action.
▪ Concern over cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness of certain communications tactics. For example,
how effective are tax notice inserts vs. Facebook posts?
▪ Are there other ‘touchpoint’ opportunities to get our message out? For example, adding a
message to the garbage stickers that residents need to purchase.
▪ Budget open house, while not well-attended, provided an excellent synopsis of the year in
review as presented by the CAO. Is there a way to expand the reach of this information?
▪ Challenge is also partially with scheduling. A content calendar or schedule could help identify
overlap. It would perhaps also help reduce some of the anger from residents when they claim
they weren’t notified about something. Need to improve how we can inform people ahead of
and explain the why.
▪ Important to have a better understanding of how people want to receive their information so
we use the most effective communications channels and tools.
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Information Technology and Nelson Fibre
7|Page
was mentioned in a few interviews), create a ripple effect and can damage the reputation of
the City, impacting trust levels of future communications.
▪ Recognize the need for additional resources to bolster communications, noting the cost of
communications and engagement is worth the effort. For example, working with Ginger on the
Cannabis strategy, including the ease of being able to do videos has been extremely helpful.
And especially having someone in-house as it ensures we build our internal capacity: “We
provide initial content and then having someone be able to edit, format and post/produce is
key to maximizing our efficiency.”
▪ Having in-house expertise for public engagement is important: Someone that knows the people
and places and able to assist with planning and implementation of public engagement projects.
▪ Hiring external consultants, while necessary, can also be a time-consuming process, writing the
RFP, bringing them up to speed on local state of affairs.
▪ Identified a number of opportunities including:
▪ Templates for ads, poster and one-pagers.
▪ Use of briefing notes or project updates to provide a ‘Public Hearing Preamble’ that
includes a brief history of the project, and what has been done to inform and engage
those impacted.
▪ Use of a timeline to show the City’s location in a process, as a visual aid for Public
Hearings and Council meetings. This is especially important given that it may be months
between staff reports to Council on a specific project.
▪ May also consider a discussion of the ‘rules of engagement’ at the start of a Public
Hearing to help manage expectations (limitations on delegations, comments from the
floor, consideration of new information, etc.).
▪ Use of key messages and briefing notes for projects.
▪ Use of a checklist to ensure consistent use of communication channels (e.g., letter to
applicant, website update with one pager, ad in paper, social media posts, etc.).
▪ Communications policies and procedures to provide direction to staff, Council and
community.
8|Page
▪ Working with Ginger has helped streamline the branding process somewhat, although there is
still inconsistency in the look and content.
▪ News releases and notices can be inconsistent. Recommend use of templates for consistency.
▪ Have been liaising with Ginger to make videos using an external consultant. Very successful to
date.
▪ Need more media relations training, including policies and procedures to ensure the correct
contact is being interviewed and providing the correct message.
▪ The use of Quick Key Messages has been helpful. Need to have these written in advance.
▪ Need to find better ways to engage our employees so they can share information both when
they come into contact in the course of doing their duties, but also through their personal social
media channels. Ideas included Quick Key Messages, briefing notes for staff meetings, Jostle
and better use of the CSRs to direct calls to appropriate source. Staff often get wind of things
first and it’s extremely helpful to have them report back (the ‘No Surprise Rule’).
▪ Technical solutions such as issues and complaint tracking software were identified as possible
solutions.
▪ Overall a communications policy would be valuable to provide clear direction from Council. A
key document to help clarify the bigger picture of what they are seeking.
▪ A calendar to help with coordinating the planning between department initiatives would also
be beneficial.
9|Page
Nelson Hydro and EcoSave Program
▪ Nelson Hydro is unique in that its customer base includes the City of Nelson and rural
customers in the RDCK. For the most part, communications target both
audiences through the use of household mailers, door hangers, posters,
media releases and advertising. There are a few communications tools
that target City of Nelson citizens. These include City of Nelson website,
the newsletter and social media.
▪ Nelson Hydro is also unique in that it is highly regulated by the BC Utilities
Commission so quasi-independent from the City of Nelson.
▪ Nelson Hydro has been proactive using advance communications
to improve the ability to complete tasks, such as vegetation
management program. Use of advance notification tools such as
door hangers, advertising, news releases, etc. has helped to
reduce number of complaints. Uses recorded messages and
provides information to Ginger Lester for sharing on social
media.
▪ The EcoSave Program Coordinator is also proactive, hosting open houses, meeting with key
stakeholders, regular ads (‘Ask the Professional’ ads in the Nelson Star), writes news releases,
social media posts with the assistance of Ginger.
▪ Has used a letter from the General Manager to share Nelson Hydro strategic vision in past.
▪ Has a number of good news stories to share via media, social media and newsletter and need to
find more resources to help coordinate.
▪ Interested in a process for getting the good news stories out more often, as well as responding
to negative stories.
▪ Would like to improve planning process for newsletter including scheduling content and
amount of space available.
▪ Web content needs an update and interested in finding ways to streamline the process.
▪ Interested in the use of templates, a list of communication channels to use and consultants to
call for outsourcing.
▪ Recognize that while communications can help improve the clarity and consistency of
information, there are limited resources to implement. Appreciate the support and guidance
that Ginger is able to provide, however, more communications support is needed.
▪ Training in communications would help, including when to use news releases, how to write,
media relations and messaging.
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Nelson Fire Rescue Services
▪ Fast becoming known as the ‘library of things,’ the Nelson Public Library
has expanded its offerings and its use of communications tools over the
past few years. This includes the use of social media, media relations,
radio talk show, posters, events, media ads, theatre ads. While this is
well-supported internally by a staff member who has a background in
journalism, other staff members preparing materials and
communications have varying backgrounds. Training and orientation is an option.
▪ Has a Facebook page (see Social Media section in Appendix A: Inventory and Assessment).
▪ A separate Board governs the library and branding and messaging are separate from City.
▪ Recognize the need to find ways to integrate and share communications, both as a way to reach
the internal audiences, and also to use the City’s communications channels to spread the word
about events. Consider Jostle, although reportedly this platform isn’t being well-used.
▪ While the City may share the Library’s social media posts, the Library does not typically share
the City’s information.
▪ Identified a need for a crisis communications plan and procedure, specifically regarding media
relations. This also includes managing the media message if questioned about City Council
perspective or action.
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Nelson Transit
▪ Communications for Nelson Transit are closely linked with BC Transit, the
lead for transit communications for the Province.
▪ Locally, ads, posters, social media and other promotional activities are
intended to augment BC Transit’s campaign and provide a local feel.
▪ Has a Twitter profile. (see Social Media section in Appendix A: Inventory
and Assessment).
▪ Looking at ways to be included in more of the City of Nelson
communications, such as the City’s newsletter.
▪ Involved in media interviews as the local for Transit Appreciation Day.
▪ As a result, some communications are under the BC Transit banner and others may be under
the Nelson Transit banner and may or may not have the City of Nelson brand/logo.
▪ Does have a local Twitter account and is seeking to increase number of followers.
Youth Centre
▪ With the recent departure of the Centre manager, only the social media sites were reviewed at
this time as part of this process. (See Social Media section in Appendix A: Inventory and
Assessment for both the Youth Centre page and the Youth Employment Page).
▪ A separate Board governs the Nelson City Police. Personnel were not interviewed as part of this
process.
▪ Has a Facebook page and a recently established Twitter profile that were reviewed (see Social
Media section in Appendix A: Inventory and Assessment).
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APPENDIX C: PROPOSED ORGANIZATION CHART
Short-term 2018/2019
APPENDIX C: PROPOSED ORGANIZATION CHART
Longer-Term