Annual Report

Communication Manager

COMMUNICATION MANAGER

With external communication strategies now well-established and proven to be effective, 2008-9 was a year focused more on enhancing internal communications.

We had greater interaction with the membership than in previous years on a wide range of issues important to them as individuals, managers and members of the Association.

The report from the Command Resilience Business Area later in this document details how the production of the ‘Be a Better Superintendent’ toolkit involved an enormous amount of work but was worthwhile with the final product proving so popular across the Police Service. This was an excellent example of communicating with the members via a personal health survey, analysing the results, listening to their concerns and providing something meaningful to help them overcome obstacles to a healthy work-life balance.

Another information mechanism was introduced with the first annual Branch Survey where Branch Secretaries were asked to provide data on a number of key issues around membership numbers, secondments, allowances, on-call arrangements and provision of benefits. An executive summary of the initial findings was circulated to Branch officials and National Office has received a number of requests from Branches asking for comparative data with other forces to help them with local negotiations with their Chief Officers.
 
When the President, Ian Johnston, first took office, he vowed to consult widely at every opportunity. When we were given the opportunity as an organisation to comment on the Government’s Green Paper, ‘From Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our Communities Together’, every member received a personal invitation from the President, Ian Johnston asking for their views. These were then incorporated into the official response submitted by the Association to ensure it reflected the experiences of members in a variety of roles across England and Wales, not just the National Officers.

National Conference was a successful event with high profile speakers and guests, challenging debates and extensive media coverage, particularly on the theme of public confidence.

The four Briefing Days were well attended and enabled in excess of 100 new members - and prospective new members - to discover a little more about the Association and how it can benefit them throughout their time in our ranks.

I attended a variety of meetings with peers from ACPO, the Police Federation, NPIA and APA as we try to foster increased joint working opportunities, acknowledging that the Service is more powerful when it speaks with one voice.

One such arena where we meet is at the Workforce Modernisation Communication Group. Each organisation contributes its views on the roll-out of this programme and has helped shape the communication strategy for this sensitive issue to keep the public and staff alike informed about progress.

The NEC Digest launched last year has gone from strength to strength. It is a monthly publication featuring notes on developments and actions from meetings attended by NEC members and National officers to keep them abreast of issues between NEC meetings. It ensures that NEC members, who all have operational jobs within forces, have an update on all Association issues. The extensive and varied content I receive for editing and producing the final document shows the vast array of arenas in which the Association is involved.

Sarah Gibbons
Communication Manager