The Campaign Company Blog

Making the most of your Governors

The latest analysis commissioned by Monitor indicates Foundation Trusts are making real progress in bringing local accountability to the NHS. This is fantastic news for hospitals and healthcare services and the communities they serve. Real people are finally feeling they are having a real influence on decisions that affect their healthcare. But what makes for a successful Trust? The answer lies in the Governors...

A successful Trust recognises that it's Board of Governors are, or should be, at the heart of their future plans. If FT's are about giving people on the front line more freedom, and patients more choice, then Governor's have a crucial role to play. They become the watchdogs where the Government has stepped back, and they become the hospital's advocates to the public, assisting in patient choice.

But this is a new role, even those that have been in place longest have really only been operating under their current set-up for a few years at most. Many have never done anything like this before. Indeed, it is questionable whether there has ever been a role like this before!

Monitor highlight that 4 out of 5 Governors are now clear about their roles and responsibilities, around half have exercised their statutory powers and many feel that they can adequately represent the needs of their constituents. But the real key to the success of the Governors is in the relationship they are able to build – and maintain – with the Trust Board.

At TCC we have found that empowering Governors to be effective in their roles requires offsetting high aspirations with realistic management of expectations. A committed, enthusiastic group of Governors is useless if their Board doesn't listen to them. Likewise, a Council of Governors ready to make executive decisions on the remuneration and allowances of the chair and executive board, for instance, is ineffective if they don't understand the roles and pressures of those they are keeping in check. It is vital that Governors are supported in their roles by the Trust Board, that they are given all the information and tools they need in order to be effective.

The next step, inevitably, will be to mobilise the Governors in helping create an engaged and active membership base for their Trusts. Where the focus has been on numbers, more numbers, attention is now shifting to engagement. Sustained membership recruitment will always be a concern for Trusts as patients continue to exercise their choice or move away from the area, and it will be the role of the Governors to keep their interest and to keep them involved. Creative communications techniques that are effective at getting information moving in both directions will be crucial where budgets are already stretched.

You can check out, but you can never leave...

Realising that I had double cover I phoned the AA (automobile association) last week to cancel my membership.  On ascertaining my reason, they didnt try to argue with me but simply said, "ok, but would you like us to suspend your membership for five years.  You dont pay anything and if after five years your circumstances have changed and you would like to restore your membership, you will keep the benefits you have gained by being a member before?".  Of course I said "alright go on then".

So at little cost to them, they have not lost me as a member completely.  They obviously still have me on their database and I expect to get suitably crafted communications from them - not banging me over the head about becoming a member, but possibly offering affinity products and maintaining the relationship.  As we know it is always hugely more expensive to find new members rather than keep existing ones.

It struck me that this simple tactic may have application for other membership based organisations - particularly trade unions and political parties.

Take political parties.  People join a political party in numbers when its values strike a chord with them but particularly when they see it as a vehicle to express opposition to something (the government of the day or some injustice for example).  When circumstances change - the most obvious example being that their party gains office and turns out to be less than ideal! (Ring any bells?), it is inevitable that a proportion will not want to sustain their membership.

If a political party in such circumstances were to offer them membership suspension instead of grudgingly having to say "ok go on leave then!", there would be a much better chance of maintaining some form of relationship and getting them back in future.  Of course some people will jump ship to another political party or will be lost forever.  But a proportion will always remain closest to the party they were a member of and will therefore be within reach.

Spieling about health

A fascinating article in today's Times ''Spiel at the wheel?'' discusses how taxi drivers are being harnessed as word of mouth marketeers, with an interesting example about one cabbie promoting the delights of a holiday in Bangkok following a 5 days all expenses trip to Thailand! And - as people become more and more overwhelmed by traditional forms of advertising confronting them in every aspect of their day to day lives - new and different approaches such as 'word of mouth' marketing are having increasing appeal.

This is absolutely our experience at The Campaign Company. In our work with NHS organisations - particularly foundation trusts - we have done considerable work helping Trusts build their membership communities. (Working with over 50 Trusts we've recruited over 160,000 public members - about 1 in 5 of the current public membership) We've found that traditional forms of advertising - the leaflet, the poster, the join on-line form have limited impact. People are much more responsive to a direct ask - particularly one-to-one. And we take this a step further by encouraging 'member get member' recruitment and the development of 'Membership Champions'. Someone who has already joined will be be a powerful advocate to their friends, family and those in groups and organisations they belong to. They'll know how and when to get attention and be able to hone the message to the person they are talking to - because they know them well. And they will be listened to - because they are trusted and known to them - the 'word of mouth' approach in the FT context!

And in their foundation trust members, NHS Trusts have a fantastic resource at their disposal - these people are so well placed to become the 'word of mouth' advocates not just about membership but about the Trust itself - health marketeers! And as 'Patient Choice' becomes more of a reality - Trusts must embrace their FT members as a key element of their marketing mix. These are the people out there in the community; they are the people in the pubs, clubs, workplace, playgroups, bus queues, school gates. Of course - not every member is a 'word of mouth' marketeer - the trick for the Trust is to learn more about it's members - segment and stratify - and find those who are. Then it's about building the relationship - giving them the information and then sinply 'getting them talking'!

And taking this a step further - these people are just so well placed to pass messages back - let the Trust know about the things going well - but more importantly provide quick feedback about things not going so well.  Bad news always spreads so much faster than good news - so Trusts need as many mechanisms as possible to get that valuable 'early warning'! 

What about the FT Governors?

The Local Government Association is today calling for 'NHS Trust directors (to be made) accountable to the elected representatives of the area' - Call for council power to fire hospital and police chiefs .Tonight Gerry Robinson is once again fixing the NHS in Rotherham on BBC2. What these two stories have in common is that they both ignore the potential role and mandate of the elected Governors of NHS Foundation Trusts. And who can really blame them? It must be a cause of anxiety for all FT enthusiasts (of which TCC is one) that FTs are finding it difficult to establish themselves as reference points when it comes to either democratic accountability or as an instrument to drive up service standards.

Is Civil Society Prepared for the Future?

Geoff Mulgan wrote in the Guardian yesterday about the Carnegie UK Trust Inquiry into the future of Civil Society. He was Chair of the Inquiry and in his article summarises some of the key findings.

Quite a few findings were pessimistic. Societal fragmentation, inequalities, racial tension, loss of public spaces (both physical and intangible) and increased fear through raised security against terrorism were all issues that could challenge civic society.

Third sector involvement in the delivery of public services was expected to modestly expand, but there was an issue of the private sector displacing the third sector in areas where it was established.

At the same time there was much greater debate, public awareness, government interest and cross-party consensus over the need to support civil society than the past and no senior politician ever argues "there is no such thing" nowadays!

Geoff Mulgan concludes by posing the question:

"So is civil society prepared for the future? Probably not. Most organisations have to live hand to mouth, juggling short-term funding and perpetual minor crises. Even the bigger ones rarely get much time to stand back and look at the bigger picture. Many are on a treadmill chasing after contracts and new funding."

This is probably the biggest challenge out there. Only through more wide ranging community engagement and public debate can we perhaps address the question posed.

Advice for Campaigners

An interesting article by Chris Stalker, head of campaigning effectiveness at NCVO in Guardian Society this week examines some of the issues faced by campaigners at a time when "people power" is being enthusiastically welcomed in government circles.

As well as setting out some of the challenges faced by voluntary sector in its relations with the government - some of which I personally think are a little pessimistic, - the article also makes some telling points regarding how the voluntary sector campaigns:

"We must be clear about what we want to achieve, and have a narrative and model for change. We must target and influence the relevant decision makers, be agile, and monitor and evaluate for impact. The importance of assessing and demonstrating impact to stakeholders is critical at a time when campaigners are increasingly in the public eye and when weak campaigns can be exposed for setting inappropriate objectives around promotion of the organisational brand and growing levels of funding support, rather than explicitly seeking social and political change."

This is sage advice and something that TCC stresses in both the advice we give and the hands on engagement we do in partnership with many organisations.

Union Modernisation Fund

Round two of the Union Modernisation fund is now underway and it seems likely that competition for funding will be even keener this time than in 2005 – so applications will need to be particularly relevant and well structured to stand a good chance of success.

The Campaign Company wrote five of the successful bids in round one, securing nearly £300,000 of DTI funding for our trade union clients.

The priority themes are largely unchanged from round one:

• Improving the understanding of modern business practices by full time officers and lay representatives, to better enable unions to work constructively with employers
• Capacity building to support training and development for equality representatives.
• Improving two-way communication between unions and their members, leading to a potential for greater participation of members in the union
• Improving the ability of unions to respond to the increasing diversity of the labour market, and to supply services geared to the needs of a diverse membership
• Developing the professional competence of union officers; and applying modern management methods to the running of unions as efficient, outward-looking and flexible organisations
• Assessing the challenges and opportunities of union restructuring and union mergers.

Many trade unions are now thinking about submitting an application to round two. Applications have to reach the DTI by 20 April 2007 which does not leave a great deal of time to prepare the detailed submission the DTI guidelines require.

Once again The Campaign Company is offering  help and support to unions in identifying innovative areas for development and constructing appropriate bids which meet the very specific guidelines and constraints set by the DTI as well as assisting in the delivery and management of their successful UMF funded projects. We have first hand experience of the pressures and constraints facing trade unions and the context in which they work.

If you would like to discuss the possibility to The Campaign Company providing your union with some additional support please get in touch with kathryn@thecampaigncompany.co.uk

Blogging in the Balkans...

This is a first-a posting from outside the UK! David and I are back in Croatia working with our friends from the SDP helping them with their preparations for elections in November 2007.Whilst there is much that is different from the UK - it's still a relatively new democracy, it has PR and a list system,coalition politics etc. there is so much more that is the same.Principally the need to (in the words of Ivica Racan former Prime Minister and Party President) "Moramo biti sposobni odgovoriti na pitanje ne samo kako pobijediti na izborima, vec i zasto pobijediti na izborima"  - "we have to be able to answer the question ,not only how to win the elections but also why."

TCC will be working on a Training programme over the next 12 months looking at campaign message strategy and communications.www.sdp.hr

For more photos, view the gallery by clicking here.

Trustee Talk

A new blog designed to support young trustees has been launched today. Kay Ritchie, new chairperson of the British Youth Council will be 'dishing the reality' of her weekly experiences in her role as a decision-maker and trustee Check it out here

Kathryn Carver the Conference Character

The latest edition of the Foodworker has now been published and 30,000 copies are wending their way through factories and bakeries as we speak. This newsletter is created by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union for their members and staff, and there are articles on the food industry, the union and related issues.

This edition, however, is of particular interest to The Campaign Company as Kathryn is on the front page, sharing photo space with the great and the good, including Councillors and Solicitors. This is in reference to the Annual Conference in Bridlington where Kathryn spoke about the UMF projects that BFAWU is working on.

The Membership Systems and Communication project is now drawing to a successful close, which has resulted in a specification for new membership system software, together with recommendations for a broader communications strategy.  This will enable the union to modernise and improve its communications with staff and members at all levels.