Institute of Internal Communication

Vicky Burman (vicky.burman@breathemail.net) spent five years in internal communications at HM Customs and Excise, and as a freelancer her main clients are the Department of Health, Learning and Skills Council, Department for Transport and Inland Revenue. In this feature she looks at why communications planning is so important in the public sector.

Planning is crucial to public sector communications. By their very nature, public sector organisations have to be openly accountable, laying them open to frequent critical media and public interest. And you need to be in a position to respond to that interest.

In the public sector, you need to prepare for both the expected and the unexpected. By 'expected' I mean the things that happen on a regular basis, and which you know in advance will need to be communicated to different audiences. These may not come within your control.

For example, to a certain extent you can plan ahead for:

• The Budget and funding announcements;
• New legislation, and its implications;
• Seasonal issues e.g. the Inland Revenue's self-assessment campaign;
• External evaluation reports e.g. Ofsted 'league tables', NHS trust and social services 'star ratings'.

Of course, in many of these situations, you may not know exactly when major announcements will be made, and the crucial information you need to manage your own communications may be under embargo until late in the day. But you can still plan ahead, so you are as prepared as possible.

• Keep an up-to-date set of national communications guidelines on key areas. These may include templates that you can adapt for local reports and press releases.
• Keep your own lines of communication open. Make sure you are not missed out when information is cascaded from the centre. If a national announcement is made, you need to be ready to respond at local level.
• Maintain contact with communications colleagues, both internally and at other organisations. Identify opportunities for joint responses.
• Find out who within your own organisation can give you background information or be put up for interview on issues that are likely to be raised. Prime them in advance on what you may need from them.
• Have communication mechanisms in place to reach all your audiences as simultaneously as possible. A frequent complaint is that public sector staff hear what's happening in their organisation from the press before they hear it from their employer. Using your intranet and electronically cascading information can help but many public sector employees are not office-based, don't have PC access, or may work odd shifts.
• Learn from previous experience. You may not know exactly what a report or announcement will say, but chances are you already have information on the subject from other occasions.

So what of the unexpected? In fact, the same rules hold true. In an established organisation, it's highly unlikely that something completely new will crop up. Yes, you may not have foreseen this latest report, but you'll probably have dealt with press enquiries on the subject before. Try to keep track of current research, enquiries or initiatives that may arouse media interest.

Many public sector communicators at local level feel their work is mainly reactive. But although you can't control whatever initial incident or announcement sparks off media and public interest, you can turn it into an opportunity for proactive communication.

Again, it's a matter of being prepared and having the information ready to turn potential negatives into positives. On its own, a new staff training programme may not be big enough news to attract media interest. But responding to an adverse incident could provide the opening to explain how this training will reduce the risk of future similar incidents.

On a practical level, a wall planner for the year ahead is a good idea. Make the most of the fact that, largely based on previous experience, you can foresee certain 'hot spots' of media and public interest.

You can contact Vicky via e-mail at vicky.burman@breathemail.net or visit her website at www.vbeditorial.co.uk