Your council. We're listening. Have your say

[humptygrumpty]

I think this thread is about how the council communicates, not a place for venting, folk have already bin told.

Y not start your own thread.

 

No the topic says have your say , and I did. and its plain to see they dont communicate.

[shetlandpeat]

If you are going to achieve anything bar chest beating, folk need to get involved, not throw stones from behind high walls.

Or, get off ya butt and stand. Off topic now, but, if you ask, the returning officer will send you papers to allow you to stand, you have to ask them, and they will tell you

[SICcomms]

[No the topic says have your say , and I did. and its plain to see they dont communicate.

 

Hi there. shetlandpeat is correct here, this forum is meant for generating disucssion about how the Council communicates. "Have your say" means have your say on how we communicate. It's not about decisions the Council has taken that people disagree with.

 

We're working on a Communications Strategy at the moment and, through that piece of work, have a chance to do something to improve the way the Council communicates.

 

thanks

 

Peter

[hjt]

I understand the SIC's financial position however you have allowed the head of Housing and Finance to take this opportunity. Both of them are less than 52 years of age. :

 

Like oddtablet I was envious of such young men getting early retirement - as well as the 2 you mention, Shetland College's former director also recently retired. I think they must have had early communication that policy is about to change and got their applications in early enough to benefit from more favourable policy.

 

Communicating what it would have saved the council had these retirements been delayed till after 1 April 2011 would be welcome.

 

Over the last few months I do sense a greater urgency and determination for council departments to work together - more interdepartmental communication is good.

[MuckleJoannie]

I understand the SIC's financial position however you have allowed the head of Housing and Finance to take this opportunity. Both of them are less than 52 years of age. :

 

Like oddtablet I was envious of such young men getting early retirement - as well as the 2 you mention, Shetland College's former director also recently retired. I think they must have had early communication that policy is about to change and got their applications in early enough to benefit from more favourable policy.

 

Communicating what it would have saved the council had these retirements been delayed till after 1 April 2011 would be welcome.

 

 

Had the council delayed their date of retiral till after 1 April they would not have been able to go. The minimum age for early retirement will be 55 after then.

[Fjool]

Remember, folks, that this is a thread for discussion of communication issues. We have alternative threads for council spending discussions.

[Earl Patrick]

We're not cynical. We're not spinning. You may accuse us of being innocent or naive, but listen, we're absolutely genuine about this. And we'd really like you to respond to this thread in the spirit it's offered.

 

Tom Morton

 

Spoken like a true freelance!

[SICcomms]

Hi all,

Just to let you know that this forum will come to an end tomorrow. I think it's been a useful way of gathering thoughts and so would like to thank everyone for contributing.

In analysing the comments just now, it's clear that the Council's website and Social media are the two areas we've had most feedback on.

 

I have downloaded the comments and will take these into account as we go forward. Aiming to have the new Strategy at the Council in May.

 

There were some posts on Complaints Handling and Consultation. Those are both separate strands of the Council's Improvement Plan, so I will make sure that the posts are passed on to the relevant people.

 

thanks again

Peter

[paulb]

so your not going to listern again. no surprise there.

[peeriebryan]

Haven't contributed to this thread 'till now, but afore ye go...

 

On the subject of social media, I think it's important to distinguish between one way and two way traffic, or more accurately, how folk can contact the SIC regarding information posted on social networks and/or how the SIC moderate any commentary. Its all very well to set up presences on a multitude of social networks to encourage two way communications, but unless careful thought is put into how they'll be updated, who will do it and the policies and procedures to guide their moderation, you could be opening a can of worms.

 

For example, it would be great for the SIC to have a Facebook page where info bulletins are posted. However, if the SIC choose to allow folk to comment on Facebook posts in situ, someone from the SIC will regularly have to check the page and moderate discussions, respond to comments, remove spam, etc etc. It's much more straightforward to disable Facebook comments and provide a central email, phone number and address for people to contact.

 

Also, in response to some earlier comments that using social networks is a drain on time and resources... it's straightforward to set up a system whereby whenever information is posted on the main SIC website, updates are automatically sent to social networks, email newsletters and text messages are sent to subscribers, and/or RSS feeds generated - each with a link back to the relevant page of the SIC website where feedback can be monitored and responded to.

 

One data input point, multiple outputs across a range of mediums and one feedback point - that's the aim of the game. It's efficient in terms of staff time, its convenient for people to access info whichever way suits them and provides a straightforward and centralised method to garner feedback and respond to queries.

 

And the above system(s) can be set up using widely used media for very little cost. Or you could pay millions