policy

Strategy stuff – a three pronged approach

Drawing together a few discussions I have been involved in recently about the different types of documents an organisation – such as a council – might need to put together to define its approach to engaging online, I thought it might be useful to set out how I think it could be done.

My initial inclination is always to dispense with strategy, to be honest, as process has a habit of stifling Good Stuff, and over strategising leads to attempts at control and general alienation. My second thought is that even if strategy is required, there shouldn’t be any need for anything specific for digital, as really it’s all the same – technology shouldn’t matter.

Realistically, though, at this stage organisations need to feel comfortable with what they are doing, and if that means having bits of paper explaining it all, then so be it. The important thing is to get those bits of paper right. I see a need for three types of document, each of which I will explain below:

1. Corporate strategy

A high level document explaining what the organisation wants to do, and why it wants to do it. Don’t make it tool focused, else it will go out of date very quickly. Keep it broad and general, as the specifics will be covered in the other documents. This should be the paper brought out to win arguments where necessary. Make sure people at the top of the organisation read it, and endorse it: it will be an enabler to get stuff done.

Issues it should cover:

  • How important does the organisation see the digital space?
  • What are the opportunities and risks, and how are they managed?
  • How online interaction fits in with other channels and processes
  • An overview of the approach: something like the classic listen, acknowledge, create, share
  • How are staff supported in their delivery of the strategy?

2. Staff guidelines

This is the bit which explains in clear terms what staff are enabled to do at work using the internet. There are plenty of good examples available on the web, from the Civil Service guidance, to the BBC, IBM and others. It performs an important role, and should be less about saying what people can’t do and more about encouraging and empowering staff to engage in online conversations.

This should set out how staff are encouraged to engage online, what they can do on their own, and what they might need to seek advice on. My general advice on this is:

  1. If the information or content is already published in some form or other, then it should be repeatable on blogs, in forum or whatever without the need to gain permission
  2. If something new is being generated, whether a viewpoint or a response to a question, say, then it’s best to get it checked out first
  3. If the staff member is at all uncertain, even in the instance of 1. above, get some advice

3. Individual project engagement plans

These form the nitty-gritty of the online engagement work, and there should be one for every digital project undertaken. While the other two documents I have written about are pretty high level – to ensure they remain relevant – with the plans, you can be pretty detailed and focus on activities. These plans should describe:

  • What the project is about, and how digital can support that
  • What the objectives of the digital work are
  • How those objectives will be measured – ie evaluation
  • What the roles are and who is responsible for them
  • How reporting will work
  • Which tools will be used and how
  • Some kind of timeline showing when activity will happen, for how long and how it will be shut down.

I reckon this three-pronged approach more or less covers the necessary bases. It would be interesting to hear how people are approaching this area, and how it differs to what I have written here.

Social media staff guidelines

There is a lot of discussion about social media policies, especially in government. People want documents to set out how staff can and should use social networks and other websites to engage with citizens and groups, and what the protocol should be when staff comment on blogs or forums in an ‘official’ capacity.

The obvious starting point for this stuff is the online participation guidance for civil servants. These are the high level pointers that Tom Watson requested be developed when he was Minister for Digital Engagement.

These guidelines should, I think, form the basis of any social media policy. Most organisations will, I think, probably want to refine them a bit, however.

In a recent bit of work I have been doing for a client, I wrote up an online participation policy for a specific campaign. This basically listed the standard guidelines, but on top I added three scenarios and what the approach should be to contributing in online discussion spaces:

  • If the information you are posting is already in the public domain, for example it has been included in a press release or similar communication, then post it without needing to discuss with others
  • If the information you are posting is merely a pointer to another online resources, then again, post away with confidence
  • If, however, the response you need to give is providing either new guidance or content, or is expressing a view, then check this with the appropriate policy and communications officials to ensure it is accurate and that everyone is aware of what is being said

Another good place to start for anyone developing this kind of policy would be Carl Haggerty’s blog, where he has kindly shared the document he is developing for his local authority.

If you need even more inspiration, then check out this post from Laurel Papworth, linking to loads of different examples of enterprise level social media policies. Thanks to Steve Dale for pointing out the link.

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