Policies and guides

Your policies set the standards for your organization, guides for processes such as a writing and style guide, and an engagement tool kit will help keep everyone paddling in the same direction.

COMMUNICATIONS POLICIES are essential for municipal governments as it establishes clear guidelines on how to communicate effectively with the public, media, partners, and internal teams. Here are some key reasons why municipal governments need communications policies:

• Consistency and Clarity
• Public Trust and Transparency
• Crisis and Emergency Management
• Effective Public Engagement
• Internal Alignment and Efficiency
• Reputation Management
• Media relations
• Guidance for Digital and Social Media Use

You can roll it all up into one policy or have separate policies to best suit your needs. Your policies should cover essential issues such as communications standards, digital presence, social media, and media relations.

AI POLICIES are in high demand. Research estimates that between 70% and 80% of your office staff are using it right now at work. Your policy will protect you from reputational and legal risk but also give your staff room to explore and find new efficiencies in their work. The policy will cover governance, definitions, permissions, risk classification, bias checks, disclosure and attribution, as well as audit and incident responses and more. It will directly respond to the current climate and your needs.

WRITING AND STYLE GUIDES ensure your organization communicates with one voice consistently. It will tell your staff and your contractors what plain language is and how to use it, how to write inclusively and accessibly, and what your standards are. Do you always use the oxford comma? Do you use am? a.m.? or AM? Your guide is the broad strokes and as far into the weeds as you need it to be.

ENGAGEMENT TOOLKITS are pure gold for small and large organizations. The toolkit is for staff in every department. It helps them decide IF they need to engage, how to identify their audience, the key issues, the key messages, a timeline, a budget, and even some of the best ways to engage. THEN they can pass their completed work over to the communications staff for review and development of a robust engagement plan–well before the shovels are in the ground!