The Public Outreach Guide is a road map for communication. It includes many elements such as how and when to engage your Communications team member, Communications requirements for projects and programs, available Communications resources and where to find them, Communications assets and how to use them, and how to speak with the public.
Every division within the Planning and Public Works Department is assigned a Communications team member to support their division needs. A division should always err on the side of including their Communications team member versus excluding them in an internal or external matter that may need communications expertise. Communicators are trained to identify if they have a role in the matter or not.
You can identify who your assigned Communications team member is via:
• Pierce County Intranet https://my.co.pierce.wa.us/3447/Communications
• Call or Teams Erin Babbo, Communications Manager
• Submit a project request form
The relationship with your communicator is intended to be collaborative. Communicators will work with you to better understand the goals and needs at hand so they can provide recommendations and support the implementation of the best strategy.
These are the expectations for projects and programs as they become public facing:
• All projects and programs will have a baseline of a webpage, fact sheet (downloadable), and translation tools on the website. This work will be done in collaboration between the project team and the communicator.
• All projects and programs will have a communication strategy. This communication strategy will be developed in collaboration with a team’s communicator.
• Communication strategies will be tailored to each project or program with the support of the team’s communicator. Some will require more communications tools and resources than others. We cannot have a one-size-fits-all for projects and programs because they all have a different set of demands and expectations.
• When drafting information, teams need to consider telling the story visually, verbally and using best practices like plain talk, language blocks or translation tools to make information more accessible to the audience.
We need to consider how we are talking to people about projects and programs.
Ask yourself these questions
• How does this project or program fit into the larger department and help us to tell our PPW story?
• How does this fit into PPW and countywide strategic principles?
• How does it make our community better?
• How does it deliver on our commitments?
• PPW Communications has tools available to support employees in meeting the brand and overall communications standards of our department. PPW staff can use these tools with the support and guidance from their Communications team member. The below tools can be found on the PPW Intranet under Communications.
• Communications policies or guides can be found here.
• Templates (fact sheets, PowerPoints, memos, executive briefings, charters, etc.) can be found on the PPW Intranet under Communications here
• Logos can be found here
• Fonts (necessary for correctly using templates) can be found here
• Image gallery with department pictures can be found here. You can use or upload pictures in this Image Relay gallery.
• General PPW Fact Sheets you can print out and take to open houses can be found here.
• Submit an event for the public-facing PPW or County calendars here.
• Don’t know what to do or what you need? Submit a project request here
This list is not all-inclusive. The point is to be creative and not just stick to the way we have always done things. For example, a press release is a good option but may not be the best or only way of getting a message out to the public audience. A combination of several of these can cover many different audience groups.
Websites are a key resource for the public when searching for information about PPW services, projects and programs. The County webmaster is charged with administering department web standards and PPW utilizes the PPW style guidelines. PPW has content editors in each division responsible for keeping pages up-to-date, and division Communications team members work to ensure the right content is on the site. Pierce County Communications employs a county-wide webmaster to set county-wide standards and style guidelines, work with the platform provider, and provide training to new users. Webpages are a baseline requirement for PPW projects and programs.
Social media is a good tool to share our messages and interact with our customers directly. It also helps us reach different residents than would show up to an open house, typically. These tools continue to evolve, and new platforms emerge regularly.
At this time, we are managing a PPW Facebook account and contributing to the Pierce County Twitter, Instagram, Nextdoor and LinkedIn accounts. County Communications and Department of Emergency Management also post information about PPW on the Pierce County and DEM Facebook pages.
PPW Facebook: Share information about department activities and services, share photos, provide breaking news updates (temporary road closures, inclement weather, etc.), manage questions and comments from the community.
Paid ads can also be created on social media to advertise for information or engagement on an issue/project.
Video is a great tool for engaging the public in a very visual and timely way. Pierce County TV and on-call vendors are options to help tell the story via video. We do have to pay for PCTV and other vendor services.
Newsletters/Trifolds (digital or printed) are used to share multiple pieces of information about a program, project or service.
Postcards can be used to share messages with a targeted area about road closures, upcoming events, renewal reminders, etc.
Brochures/Folios/Fact Sheets can be used to promote a project, program, product or service. These are generally promotional materials that will be relevant for an extended period of time. Fact sheets are a baseline requirement for public-facing PPW projects and programs.
Flyers/Posters may be displayed in a target area to promote an event, service, road closure, etc. They are usually displayed at a third-party site.
Advertisements (digital or printed) on websites, in newspapers, and in publications allow us to promote a service, activity, project or program to a larger, targeted audience.
Doorhangers can be used when we need to reach homeowners in a targeted area to promote PPW services, project and programs. These are often used to ask for the homeowner to take a needed action.
Project signs can be installed during construction and/or after construction to educate the community about the project. Information often includes a project overview, project benefits, funding sources, funding totals, and photos or illustrations of the work.
Translations/Language Blocks should be used to reach individuals with limited English proficiency or who prefer to speak another language. Language blocks on printed documents may direct individuals to a County webpage (which has translation capabilities) or to call a phone number, where a staff member may connect a live, third-party translator to assist.
Electronic Content (Email listservs/Alerts) is a key tool for any phase of a project/program to consistently engage your audience and ideal to use in urgent or emergency situations.
Press releases are a tool to share information about PPW projects and programs with regional media outlets in hopes that the media cover the information and share it with their audience. The press releases are also sent to all County staff and a large list of County stakeholders. Press releases are posted to the Pierce County website.
Media Calls (Please note the County Media Policy) When PPW receives a call from the media, subject matter experts are engaged by the Communications team member. Prompt responses are necessary to meet the media outlet’s deadline. We typically receive media calls during inclement weather, following the distribution of a press release, after a regional event occurs and the outlet wants a local perspective, after a major decision or policy has been announced, or as a follow up to a project or program. Communicators help strategize on the best way to respond, may create talking points and coordinate responding to the media. Communicators also assess the type of response that may be warranted. Staff is asked not to respond to the media outlet directly. Engage your Communicator first.
Public meetings, open houses (online and in person), and workshops provide an opportunity for program or project staff to share information, gather feedback, engage participants, and promote their work. This format can be useful for localized projects, but is also helpful for large, complex projects or multiple projects targeting the same area, timeline, or group of people.
PPW staff attend community events such as fairs and farmers markets to educate attendees about our services, programs and projects. Benefits include being able to discuss issues face-toface, educate people of all ages through engaging activities, and using our presence to remind people of our mission. There are overarching PPW materials that staff can bring to distribute at these events. It is recommended that staff review the PPW Calendar on the PPW internet page to see if any other divisions are attending events where cross collaboration can occur.
Communicating with our customers either face-to-face, over the phone or Teams, or via email is critical in creating a positive relationship with the public.
1. Stay professional: Maintain a professional demeanor. Avoid responding in a confrontational or defensive manner.
2. Be an active listener: Listen attentively to the concerns and grievances of the person you are speaking with. Acknowledge their feelings and show that you understand their perspective.
3. Use positive body language: Non-verbal cues play a significant role. Maintain eye contact, use open body language, and avoid defensive postures (crossed arms, finger waving).
4. Be transparent: Transparency builds trust. Provide clear and honest information, even if the news is not positive. If you don’t know something or the answer is still unclear, let them know you don’t know at this time and will let them know as soon as the information (answer) is available. Give a timeline range if you can. Or direct them to someone who can answer their questions.
5. Stick to the facts and be positive: Keep the conversation focused on the specific issue at hand. Don’t guess or provide your opinion about how you think something will turn out. Avoid getting sidetracked, being negative or dragged into unrelated arguments.
6. Be prepared: Review your key messages, facts and talking points ahead of time. Know who you can go to or direct people to if you don’t have an answer to a question or issue. Understand the objective and what needs to be accomplished at your meeting.
