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| 1 |
We Won't Need Consent or Support from Our Local Government Officials or Local Community |
| Many organizations have learned the importance of community relations the hard way when they have tried to clean up sites, get permits, and sites, expand, and operate facilities. It is difficult to put a dollar value on community relations until negative relations threaten or jeopardize a company's goals or operations. Organizations often do not allocate sufficient resources to community relations until it is too late. Unresolved conflicts which result from inadequate communication or poor relations can result in ugly and expensive ramifications for companies including injunctions from localities, permit denials, delays in projects, negative press, cease and desist orders, law suits, new legislation, etc. Community relations is much more rewarding and well received than crisis management. |
| 2 |
We Will Be Stirring up Trouble if We Talk to the Community |
| Many project managers are afraid to talk with the community because they are afraid that they will make things worse by stirring up issues that might not already exist. It generally works the opposite. In fact, they are usually flattered and disarmed (and maybe a tad suspicious) when organizations care enough to talk with them. If you have never initiated dialogue before, you can expect the first few times to be contentious as negative comments, complaints, and fears are expressed. But if you are committed to establishing and maintaining good relations, you have the opportunity to turn those negative comments into positive, or at least neutral and balanced, ones. That is, if your organization's plans are solid. Proactive community relations efforts are very rewarding and can actually make your job much easier in the future. You can even establish yourself as a leader in the community. |
| 3 |
We Can Improve Relations with One-Way Communications Efforts (without Interaction with Interested Parties) |
| If your company or facility is experiencing negative press or strained relations with the community, controlled one-way communication is not the answer. Human nature causes us to want to play it close to the chest. Productive (and perhaps facilitated) interaction is necessary to allow both parties to work through and resolve the issues. Many conflicts are caused by a lack of information, misinformation, different interpretations, stereotypes, repetitive negative behavior, or a perception of different interests. Many of these conflicts can only be resolved through improved, effective communication and joint problem solving that can only occur through interaction and dialogue. |
| 4 |
The Community Cannot Add Anything Meaningful to This Process Because It Is Too Technically Complex |
| We're consistently amazed at the level of contribution communities have made to a number of very complex projects that we have been involved with. When given the opportunity and sufficient time to review technical information, it is amazing how much local residents can grasp and contribute to projects. Local involvement and buy-in on engineering projects may even reduce the liability of technical decisions in the future. |
| 5 |
Community Leaders Will Request the Most Unreasonable or Costly Solutions |
| We usually approach issues based on the way we define them. As a community relations firm, we often find that the way our clients define community relations issues and the way the community defines them is quite different. We can't truly know how people will react until we talk with them. We often find that community leaders are sympathetic to companies and facilities in terms of the cost associated with regulatory compliance and environmental cleanup and are much more practical (e.g. when it comes to cleanup levels, etc.) than one might imagine. |
| 6 |
We Shouldn't Talk to the Community Until We Have All the Answers |
| Actually, you gain more credibility by being open enough to allow the community to be involved throughout the process. There is a comfort in knowing all the layers, steps, models, assumptions, and coordination that organizations are undertaking to develop and implement cleanup and other engineering projects. The more the community knows about this effort, the more credible the information will be. |
| 7 |
Consulting with Elected Officials Is Enough Community Relations |
| The old-fashioned public affairs approach focused on covering your bases with the media and with elected officials. The truth is that elected officials and the media usually tend to their constituents when issues stir up. Your efforts are better spent on improving relations with the local community. This is not to suggest that you shouldn't have relations with the local media and elected officials, but be careful of relying too heavily (or exclusively) on them when an issue escalates. |
| 8 |
If Our Relations Are Currently Strained, We Will Make Relations Worse by Communicating with the Community Now |
| The first step is to find out why relations are strained (which may require an independent reliable source to uncover). If your intentions are sound and mutually beneficial in some way, how can communication make relations worse? How can relationships get better if you don't communicate? |
| 9 |
It Will Be Easier to Implement Our Project without Community Relations |
| Reactive communication efforts resulting from unexpected community concern or media interest always seems to cause more upheaval, require more time and money, and is more disruptive to my clients than planned communication efforts. |
| 10 |
We Need to Do a Better Job Communicating the Technical Issues |
| Don't underestimate the value of the trust and credibility factors that are less technically based: caring and empathy, commitment, openness, and honesty. Messages that communicate these are much more powerful in relations building than technical knowledge. |
Contact CEC, Inc., in Aldie, Virginia, for more details about how our community relations
and public information services can help your government agency or organization..
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