Category: Government Reputation
Lobbying & Advocacy Resource
I came across a book called Lobbying & Advocacy by Deanna R. Gelak at Exclusive Books in Hyde Park last week and immediately thought of those who specialise in Government Relations, lobbying & advocacy work.
Although this book has a lot of US examples it is FULL of useful techniques and practical tips that I think will help any Corporate Affairs department a lot. It is available for R740.
It contains a lot of information on how to manage a Government Public Affairs Outreach Department. All you have to do is to supplement the information in the book with how to engage with Parliament and various Government Departments in South Africa, and you should have the best of both worlds.
Here are the links:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/10975815/Lobbying-and-Advocacy-sample-pages
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Lobbying-Advocacy-Strategies-Recommendations-Compliance/dp/1587331004
The book contains:
* Practical resources and methods for maintaining compliance and staying abreast of ethical and legal requirements.
* Practical tips, research based methods, and step-by-step guides for communicating with policymakers in every venue most
effectively, including telephone calls, emails, Congressional meetings, testifying before Congress, building coalitions, and working with the press.
* Extensive list of Lobbying and Advocacy Resources.
Hope this info is useful.
Too Busy to Reflect?
Yesterday I visited the office of the Department of Home Affairs in Randburg yesterday with an old lady in her 70′s after her ID was stolen.
It eventually took someone in one of the queues to help me in the right direction. There were no one in the Information Office. No seating for old people.
No directions. A Simple Flowchart on the wall explaining where to go or what procedure to follow could have helped. Staff behind counter helpful, but so busy with tasks that there is no chance for reflection and strategic thinking.
Simply too busy to stop and rethink the visual, auditory and kinaesthetic experience of the customer.
To be blunt, the photographer in the parking lot was more helpful and customer orientated.
What the Department of Home Affairs need to do is is to run a strategic workshop and retrace the customer’s experience when they come for help and assistance. Working backward, then design their systems around the experience. We all know that there is fraud and corruption in the Department, and I know why!
To facilitate the process, you have to know the ins and outs. I was offered that service in the parking lot at a cost. So what eventually happens is that it takes money to cut away red tape and speed up a process.
And to think that maybe a simple flowchart can aid the anti- corruption process!
