CorpComms Magazine

If 2009 was the year of the scapegoat then 2010 will probably be remembered as the year of the cut back. With an economy buckling under the weight of a £178 billion deficit and public anger at the size of the nation's debt, Britain's politicians have put public finances at the top of the agenda.

Cost considerations are already driving policy. The government's White Paper Efficiencies in Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government, published last December, outlined proposals to streamline the central government, releasing more than £3 billion in new efficiency savings every year. Along with reducing the relatively high levels of sickness absence in the civil service, the paper outlined plans to reduce marketing and communications spend by 25 per cent - saving more than £200 million annually.

While the focus of the White Paper was on Whitehall, local authority communicators realise that they could soon also be under the spotlight. But Ian Ratcliffe, head of marketing and communications at Stockport Council, thinks the challenge of cost constraints is not unique to the public sector. 'Even in the private sector, communications budgets are often some of the first to be cut,' he explains. 'And in the same way as central government is looking at cost cutting, we would be naive to think these comments wouldn't affect communications at local authority level.'

Even those who have no formal plans to cut budgets are still keeping a close eye on costs over the coming year. Amanda Aviss, head of communications from West Sussex County Council, says her local authority is reorganising the way it allocates resources to ensure it is getting value for money. 'We are looking at consolidating media buying, marketing campaigns and other communication activities in order to maximise economies of scale,' she says.

An integrated approach

David Holdstock, head of corporate communications at London Borough of Hillingdon, and chair of LG Communications, believes council communicators have been watching the bottom line for some time now. His council, which is London's second largest borough, saved around £200,000 a year through efficiency savings while centralising its communications staff saved £60,000. His team of 17 now includes internal communications, marketing, campaigns, new media and consultation. 'Communicators that were previously dispersed throughout the council have been consolidated. There are lots of communications links you can join up to make things more integrated,' Holdstock explains. The London Borough of Westminster saved £1 million when it centralised communications in 2004, and it currently anticipates saving a further £500,000 through the consolidation of several more disciplines including policy development. 'As well as auditing and centralising their communications efforts, councils can merge internal communications and marketing, which can have a similar function at local authority level,' explains Alex Aiken, head of communications at Westminster City Council.

Counting the cost

There could also be more help available for councils looking to offer better value services to residents. LG Communications is currently working with 25 different local authorities to update its guidelines on creating value through local government communications, while Ratcliffe believes there are myriad ways in which local authority communicators can justify their budgets.

'We know that there exists a correlation between resident satisfaction and residents being informed about what their local authority is doing for them,' he explains. 'The challenge is how to best keep them informed.'

Ratcliffe thinks updating the guidelines will help local authority professionals to create value through communications. 'We are working to identify the 12 core actions of a local authority communications department and ask what they should be doing more of,' he says. The analysis, which will be published in May, is expected to reflect recent developments, including advice on making best use of new media.

Ratcliffe and his colleagues in Stockport are currently looking at new ways to engage with the community. They have launched several campaigns aimed at educating residents about the range of services and help available to them. Their 'Stockport Boost' initiative is aimed at helping residents to mitigate the effect of the recession, while 'Kill the Chill' is designed to help residents cope in the colder weather. 'Communication needs to be integral rather than being an afterthought,' says Ratcliffe.

Increasingly, local authorities are pooling resources and working with health authorities and police forces to create better campaigns with reduced resources. 'Stockport Boost' is a coalition between the Stockport Economic Alliance, the business community and other partners including NHS Stockport, Stockport Council for Voluntary Service and Stockport Express and Times, while its recent partnership with Stockport College led to the creation of three 'Boost Centres' offering residents the chance to learn new skills. For 'Kill the Chill', the council teamed up with its primary care trust, emergency services, charity Age Concern, Stockport Council for Voluntary Service and the Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre. These multi-agency approaches have the potential to create campaigns that generate a greater impact while using resources efficiently.

Whatever approach is chosen to measure effectiveness by a communications department, it needs to be nuanced. 'When the UK audit agencies did some research to identify output indicators for functions, such as corporate communications, they decided the number of media enquiries and the number of press releases would make good indicators,' recalls Aiken. 'It was a poor quality piece of work because it looked at meaningless outputs. Fortunately they are now thinking again. We will continue to campaign for proper communications indicators.'

Simon Wakeman, head of communications at Medway Council in Kent, thinks gauging success by the number of press releases is even less relevant given the decline of the local paper. His council is currently investing in thorough research to measure performance. 'We're looking at spending more on research. We plan to launch a quarterly tracking survey that asks residents how they think the media have portrayed the council. We can then look at media monitoring to see what was actually written,' he says. Wakeman hopes the tracker will allow Medway Council to track its performance over time.

The diminishing presence of local papers need not lead to a reduction in the importance of the communications function, Wakeman argues. In fact, it can provide corporate communications with new opportunities to refocus attention from straightforward media relations to more strategic campaigns. 'The decline of the local paper also means we have to do more internal PR to make people realise that we don't just deal with local press. This is central to justifying the communications budget,' explains Wakeman.

Review and question

Aiken advises councils to undergo a thorough review of their communications endeavours. 'Take a long hard look and decide with politicians and managers, think about what you want to continue and cease doing. This is particularly relevant when it comes to the amount of paper you are producing,' he argues. He points to the recent controversy surrounding council publications. 'Councils should be reviewing very seriously what they produce. If you are thinking about making a council magazine or newspaper more than six times a year you need to be able to provide good justification.' Aiken is one of those sceptical about Tower Hamlets' decision to produce 25 publications a year. 'The council claims that it is made viable by its advertising but most of that is council advertising so you are just transferring money between departments. The surveys we've done say the optimal number of publications is six times a year.'

Cut backs do not have to spell doom and gloom for communicators. Gillian Wheatcroft, communications manager from Dartford Council, thinks local authorities have an opportunity to be successful even on reduced resources and prove their worth internally and externally. 'There is no doubt that 2010 will be a challenging year and any reduction in head count impacts the day to day operations of a busy local authority communications team,' she says. 'However, I believe it will be the way in which we adapt and integrate more traditional approaches with dynamic ones that will help determine our success in managing a reduced resource.' 

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