Communication Strategy
REFERENCE NUMBER: IN-252
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
AREA:
Corporate
NAME OF RESPONSIBLE Nicola Plumb
COMMITTEE /
INDIVIDUAL
NAME OF ORIGINATOR /
AUTHOR
Nicola Plumb
DATE ISSUED
16th October 2014
REVIEW DATE
DUE FOR REVIEW:
August 2015
Date Ratified
RATIFIED BY
Trust Board
TARGET AUDIENCE /
DISSEMINATED TO
All staff
VERSION CONTROL
Version 2
Added to intranet by:
Mark Dobbs
Directorate:
Corporate Office
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Date added:
23/10/14
October 2014
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Communication Strategy
Communications Strategy
2014-2017
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Communications Strategy 2014-2017
1.0
Purpose of this document
2.0
Background
3.0
Role of Communications
4.0
Timing
5.0
Challenges
6.0
Principles
7.0
Objectives
8.0
Key work streams:
9.0

Internal communications

Editorial and narrative

Digital

Media

Events

Brand identity
Evaluation
Appendix A: Action plan 2014/15
Appendix B: Related staff insights
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1.0
PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT
This communications strategy sets out how a coordinated and consistent approach
to our communications will support Dorset HealthCare to constantly improve the
services it delivers to the people of Dorset and beyond.
The document sets out some of the existing communications challenges, the
principles of our approach, overarching communications objectives and the tools and
channels we expect to adopt and strengthen. All of this will introduce a consistency
of voice and aims to ensure consistently high quality standards in all of our
communications activity.
This is not a communications ‘and engagement’ strategy. It is a given that
communications is about flows of information and not about broadcast. It is
assumed that our internal and external communications activity is ‘two-way’ and
interactive. The Participation Strategy deals with the way that we will co-produce
with, and listen to, the voices of the people we serve and our partners.
This is a three-year document and annual action plan that will be reviewed and
updated annually, designed to support delivery of Dorset HealthCare’s strategic
business objectives.
1.1
Related documents
The communications strategy should be read alongside the strategies for
participation and for organisational development. High quality, consistent
communications channels are important for improving the flow of information and
fundamental to supporting the creation of an open and transparent environment.
The communications strategy should also be read alongside the Trust’s Blueprint
published in May 2014. The Blueprint sets out the recent journey of the Trust and
this document is designed to support delivery of our vision in the Blueprint and for
Dorset HealthCare to become exemplary in all that it does.
2.0
BACKGROUND
The Blueprint details recent improvements made at the Trust as a result of action
taken by the Care Quality Commission and Monitor. By October 2014 the Trust
expects to have recruited to the remaining board post and the new leadership team
will work together, and with staff, to come back to the core purpose of Dorset
HealthCare, why we exist and how we serve local people.
The move to personalised, integrated locality working will address inflexible
management structures and processes. A refreshed approach to communications
will support that transition, flowing information across professional and functional
boundaries and bringing to life an environment of openness, transparency and
participation.
Externally, the Trust is one of four large Foundation Trusts within Dorset and must
actively compete to set out its offer to local people and staff, to build its membership
and to ensure that it is responsive to need and held to account.
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The Trust has historically had a very small, dedicated in-house communications
team, with access to external expertise as required. The creation of a board-level
post to lead organisational development, participation and communications reflects a
renewed focus and commitment to developing in these key areas.
3.0
THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATIONS
Sharing clear, consistent and meaningful information is a critical objective but not an
end in itself.
High quality communications activity is everyone’s business and directly contributes
to delivering high quality outcomes for those accessing our services. Clear
information for service users, common understandings and expectations of our
services, being held to account by those we serve and an engaged workforce are
just some of the reasons to communicate clearly and consistently.
A robust communications service sits alongside strong leaders throughout the
organisation, who role model our behaviours and share information amongst and
across teams, services and with service users. Corporate newsletters, patient
information and a digital news service will never take the place of people talking to
one another, whether that is within our teams, across teams or in the relationships
formed between clinicians and patients and service users.
4.0
TIMING
This is an ambitious document that also needs to be realistic in its objectives. We
are reframing our communications alongside a new leadership team establishing its
role and the structural transformation to integrated locality teams.
This means we must revisit and ensure the effectiveness of our communications
infrastructure, to support organisational changes and phase our communications
development so that it is done in partnership with staff.
We propose three distinct phases of activity:
Phase one: August to December 2014: Planning and development of
communications infrastructure, working with staff in localities to identify internal and
external communications requirements.
Phase two: January 2015 to March 2015: Testing and implementation of refreshed
channels and products.
Phase three: End March 2015: effective communications re-launch, including brand
identity.
Between August 2014 and end March 2015 we are developing the basic platforms
and products from which to launch our more ambitious initiatives.
5.0
CHALLENGES
Effective, integrated communications activity will raise the profile of the Trust, help to
build relationships and can help to overcome a wide variety of challenges where
clear and consistent information establishes trust and understanding.
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Some of the key challenges our communications activity will help the Trust to
address include:

Supporting staff through the establishment of 13 integrated locality teams at
the same time as building a strong Dorset HealthCare brand that amplifies our
values

Building trust and empowering clinical staff, undoing a top-down management
culture

Attracting staff to join the Trust, becoming an employer of choice and
projecting a strong employer brand through the county and beyond

Understanding the people we serve and what they want to develop with us

Establishing voice and position in the local health community and beyond
6.0
PRINCIPLES OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS
We are single-minded about patients and quality: our communications will
constantly promote quality and single-mindedness for patients and service users.
We will be accessible, one size won’t fit all: we will tell our story consistently, with
conviction and in meaningful language, accessible to all. Our communications will
seek to set the vision, articulate the common fixed points in development, map the
critical moves and set out the golden rules (openness and transparency).
Locality first: we will seek to achieve consistency without control, using brand
Dorset HealthCare to support and amplify our 13 localities
We embrace digital: we will encourage everyone to tell their Dorset HealthCare
story: twitter, blogs, Facebook, YouTube and other digital channels empower people
to connect, without hierarchy, function or role. We will amplify those stories.
We will be open and transparent in real-time: we will coordinate our channels and
information so that everyone receives the same information within the same time
frame.
We will nurture collaboration, encourage networks and connections and work
in partnership: bright lights, innovators and early adopters will be encouraged to
share and inspire, gathering others around them to constantly improve for our
patients. We will work in partnership as often as possible, to avoid duplication and
achieve a greater outcome for the sum total for our efforts.
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OVERARCHING COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

To raise awareness of who we are and the services we deliver and position
Dorset HealthCare as the trusted local provider of personalised, integrated,
locality services.

To ensure consistent and timely internal communications so that information
flows through and across teams, functions and services.

To improve the quality and accessibility of the information we share and
exchange with our patients and service users, partners and local
communities.

To develop the communications skills and capacity of Dorset HealthCare and
its people.
Complementary communications strategies and action plans for specific initiatives or
issues will be developed according to the principles of this strategy, including for
example, infection control and winter vaccination campaigns.
These plans and those developed to support the above overarching objectives will
include stretch targets, key performance indicators, where appropriate, and
mechanisms to evaluate effectiveness, reach, profile and so on.
8.0
KEY WORKSTREAMS
Internal communications
Our internal communications infrastructure is in need of renewal and currently
unable to meet the needs of an organisation with a workforce of 5000 people
working from more than 250 sites in Dorset.
Robust and far reaching internal communications channels will enable us to involve
staff in the organisation’s development, encourage people to work across traditional
boundaries and promote awareness of our strategic objectives and common
corporate goals. We will promote co-operation and collaboration around key issues,
to unleash creativity and drive innovation and learning.
We will develop a standalone internal communications plan that will refresh our
channels and include, but not be limited to: the intranet, staff briefings, senior team
briefings, raising board visibility, noticeboards, induction, staff recognition and
celebration, Roundup and other newsletters, Trustlink, podcasting, web chats and
discussion boards.
Editorial and narrative
We will craft a strong voice for the Trust, with a quality improvement narrative at its
core. We will be clear on our proposition for staff and for local people and will
translate these into loud key messages that will constantly reinforce who we are and
what we stand for. We will use story-telling and narrative to bring the organisation to
life through the 5000 voices of our staff, our patients and service users.
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Digital
A separate digital strategy will set our vision for the future as we improve our existing
platforms in a priority first step. The digital strategy will set out how we will operate
across web and social media platforms and make use of applications to share,
engage, interact and co-produce with those we serve and our partners.
Effective use of digital will allow us to:
Listen: understand what people are saying about us and our services and respond to
them in real-time.
Share and explain: publish information and data, promote standards and innovation,
report on service improvements, and explain the decisions we have made.
Amplify: provide content that is reusable, which can be adopted and used across
partner and media channels, raising our profile and reach; including videos, blogs
and audio.
Engage: create public and private spaces for co-production, sharing and innovation;
including webexes, Google Hangouts and other collaborative platforms.
Media
A rolling programme of media activity will amplify our successes and raise our
profile, both locally and nationally. The overarching media plan will map outlets,
journalists and columnists, enabling us to target our activity; while a forward planning
grid will identify key milestones and achievements, ensuring we miss no opportunity.
We will identify staff who can talk to journalists with confidence and passion,
projecting our clinical leaders and positioning Dorset HealthCare as the local expert
for the delivery of integrated, locality working. We will target local and regional media
and, when appropriate, trade and national outlets.
A combination of press briefings, news stories, features, interviews and fireside
chats will deliver a steady state of coverage in local and regional press, raising
awareness with local people and demonstrating to staff that we will always seek to
recognise and celebrate their achievements.
Events, meetings, forums and conferences
We will plug ourselves in to the local community, identifying opportunities to
contribute, share and engage, listen and learn. We will seek to be visible at the
heart of the communities we serve, attending school fetes, partner events, summer
festivals and similar. This will keep us connected to our partners and local people,
drive collaboration and forge strong relationships. Local people will have the
information to hold us to account and know how they can participate in our work.
Brand identity
We will develop a strong visual identity for Dorset HealthCare that reflects and
promotes our organisational integrity and amplifies our vision and purpose. We will
give staff the knowledge and tools to produce high quality and consistent products,
without having to rely on external expertise.
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EVALUATION
We will need a range of mechanisms to assess the impact of our activity, specially
designed to evaluate individual channels, products, campaigns or initiatives. For
example, there are a range of sophisticated tools and metrics to evaluate digital
activity, from reach and impact, to tone of voice and website usage.
We will develop a scorecard of metrics to routinely evaluate progress against this
strategy and for those individual action plans and campaigns to come.
The commitment here is to plan for evaluation in advance, so that we may collect the
appropriate data and insight.
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ANNEX A: 2014/15 Action plan
To raise awareness of who we are and the services we deliver and position
Dorset HealthCare as the trusted local provider of personalised, integrated,
locality services.
Develop and deliver an integrated media strategy including
evaluation and monitoring, identification of annual milestones
and robust systems for out-of-hours and major incidents
August to
December 2014
Develop and deliver a targeted recruitment marketing strategy
to amplify Dorset HealthCare and attract new staff to the Trust
August to
December 2014
Develop a stakeholder engagement strategy including a
comprehensive programme of events and detailed mapping of
our stakeholders and partners
January to March
2015
Develop an online Directory of Services for GPs, partners and
the public
Complete end
December 2014
Co-produce with staff and widely share a narrative for Dorset
HealthCare, including a regularly updated introductory
presentation and key facts and figures
January to March
2015
Digital strategy development including, securing external
expertise to work with staff on redevelopment and re-launch of
the Trust website
Re-launch end
March 2015
To ensure consistent and timely internal communications so that information
flows through and across teams, functions and services.
Convene an internal communications working group to explore
existing channels and work with staff to co-produce the
infrastructure of the future
August to
December 2014
Secure external expertise to work with the Trust on
redevelopment of its intranet and re-launch with an enterprise
social network
August to
December 2014;
testing January
2015
Develop and deliver integrated internal communications plan,
including activities to specifically involve staff in development
of Quality priorities, the Cost Improvement Programme and
ideas generation
August to
December 2014
To improve the quality and accessibility of the information we share and
exchange with our patients and service users, partners and local communities.
Identify and review existing resources as far as possible,
including corporate products and service-led products such as
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templates, leaflets and digital resources
December 2015
Convene a group of staff and patients, service users and
carers, with representation from each locality to review existing
patient information across service lines and articulate our
needs moving forward
August to
December 2015
To develop the communications skills and capacity of Dorset HealthCare and
its people.
Design and resource a corporate communications function
August to
December 2014
Investigate roster arrangements to achieve best value for
money for those specialist services we will always outsource,
such as design, print and digital development
January to March
2015
Introduce a programme of communications training and
development opportunities available to all staff in specialist
areas such as digital literacy, web content uploads and media
interviewing skills
January to March
2015
Refresh existing corporate document and presentation
templates such as ppt and word to ensure staff can easily
produce high quality products
January to March
2015
Review existing, and ensure we provide appropriate
communications policies in order to guide and support activity
January to March
2015
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APPENDIX B: Related staff insights
At a series of engagement events in December 2013 and January 2014 staff were
invited to feedback about various aspects of their experience of the Trust. Below is a
selection of the comments that were used to inform this strategy.
“More positive stories about our services in the local press are needed to counter
balance the ‘bad news’ stories nationally to improve staff morale”
“Staff want to see a “new unified corporate image to help leave the past behind”
“…no one will give us a straight answer.”
“We need a new Trust image. What is our image and branding anyway? I would like
to feel excited and motivated by my organisation but I don’t. Let’s start afresh and
create an image for ourselves that unites us all.”
“Capture the enthusiasm and dedication that practitioners continue to demonstrate”
“Messages get lost by the time it gets to Team Meetings. Staff would appreciate a
direct conversation too.”
“Need to raise GP awareness of services we offer/provide.”
“Communications with staff is poor and information is poorly organised and
inconsistent; phone directory, induction and intranet particularly poor; lack of
consistent and up to date information.”
“We need an identity we can be proud of”
“A better website similar to search engines – put in a word and it gives you what you
want, ideas, something vaguely similar.”
“Interactive directory on the web, thoroughly cross referenced with name, job title,
location etc. Put all Trust localities in a geographic map form on the web”
“How it feels as if we have no voice”
“What about a leaflet about Dorset HealthCare that we give to patients at first point
of contact, we have a service leaflet but not a DHC one”
“What about an online map of who’s who”
“We need a new Trust identity, name and rebranding”
“Networking and conferences to share best practice”
“Training with GPs to promote awareness and understanding of each other’s roles”
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