Communication Challenges Abound for Water Utilities
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Opening comments to "Getting Your Message Heard" panel discussion led by HomeServe USA at AWWA ACE15 in Anaheim, CA June 7-10, 2015.
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Communication Challenges Abound for Water Utilities
- 1. Getting your Message Heard Challenges Abound Myles Meehan, SVP Public Relations HomeServe
- 2. Image: Water & Wastes Digest
- 10. Rising Prices Source: Circle of Blue 2015
- 13. Multi-pronged strategy –Traditional media Bill inserts, newsletters Press releases, media briefings –Community outreach Town halls Council briefings Open houses –Digital Website Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tumbler)
- 14. Getting their message heard Jeff Raymond Jon Volzke George Hawkins
Notes de l'éditeur
- Good afternoon, my name is Myles Meehan. I am the Senior Vice President of Public Relations at HomeServe. I am very pleased to join industry colleagues as part of the AWWA event here today. As you can imagine, given my responsibilities, I have a special interest in our topics this afternoon. It was great to hear the previous speakers share a few ideas about some innovative ways of speaking with customers. Now we’ve got a – high powered team to close out today’s session…but first, I am going to spend a few minutes teeing them up, setting the stage for what I am sure will be both useful and entertaining
- Last year Water & Wastes Digest created this word cloud based upon responses to the question – “what keeps you up at night?” I’ll bet that there is more than one item on this list that you can relate to… So, I think you will all agree that in our industry today…
- Challenges abound…and sometimes internal pressures and external events create what appear to be insurmountable challenges… Let’s look a few.
- Extreme weather events have really shaped the dialogue over the last year… In the Midwest and Northeast, February 2015 ranked as one of the coldest Februarys on record for many major cities in the region. In fact, I think I read that February was the coldest since 1935 – the last year Babe Ruth played in the majors.
- On the other hand, our friends here in California // are into their 4th year of a record breaking drought, and its not just California…..but many other western states are experiencing extremely dry conditions.
- You’ve all heard the statistic - there are an estimated 700 water main breaks in cities and towns across the US each day. Over the course of a year these 250,000 main breaks will cost us more than one billion dollars. While it may seem counterintuitive, the media exposure of these - can actually become opportunities to discuss your challenges, tell your story, … sell the need for reinvestment.
- Here is another. Whether its meeting mandates to eliminate combined sewer and storm water drainage, or…
- Managing new water quality standards… Environmental compliance is increasingly part of your agenda and also increasing your need to educate the public.
- But, its not just weather, infrastructure or compliance that are driving up costs – labor, healthcare and pensions are also major contributors
- These items of course lead to rising water prices. Research just completed by Circle of Blue shows that the price of water in 2015 is up 6 Percent in 30 Major U.S. Cities; a 41 Percent increase since 2010… This has become a well publicized issue, and in some cities a politicized one. You all know to well that deferred maintenance and replacement can’t be put off any longer. Prices do have to increase to support needed investment and the ongoing costs of operations. Look as an industry, communications can no longer be an afterthought….its now a strategic imperative. We can all do a better job at selling the value of water and need for investment. So let me first suggest that you….…
- I know that this is easier said than done! Positioning tough issues consistently across your stakeholders is no small task. You know who your stakeholders are, find out what’s important to them. Maintain a regular flow of information to demonstrate your initiatives, maintain high quality water, improve service and increase satisfaction with your brand – and yes, I did say brand.
- Its your job to connect the dots for your audience. Why….because when it comes time to sell an new initiative or increase your rates - the message may not only be received …. it will be accepted. Communications, when done well, isn’t just a defensive push of information…it’s a proactive opportunity to create a dialogue, boost engagement, increase understanding and shape public perception.
- To effectively connect the dots and communicate in today’s environment - municipal systems, water districts and investor owned utilities need to embrace a multi-pronged strategy…and there are plenty of tools in the communications toolbox for this. Here are a few: Traditional media directed communications, such as bill inserts or newsletters Community outreach, like town halls Digital, naturally a comprehensive website is needed, but it doesn’t stop there - so are the social media tools, as some of the earlier speakers spoke about. Embrace these tools and others. Use them to increase understanding, gain allies and garner support. Its not easy, but as our next speakers will explain, it can be done... And done so very effectively.
- So whether your utility is a big dog or a smaller operation…you’ll find value in what our next speakers cover. Jeff Raymond Jon Volzke George Hawkins I am going to introduce all the speakers together and then hand it over. We’ll have time for questions at the end.