Guidance for Public Sector Spokespersons and Communicators
Public sector communications officials and leaders face unique challenges in the course of their work. The sensitivity and complexity of issues may be overwhelming and finding the right balance could be difficult in a contentious political context. The following are a few guidelines that would be helpful in keeping the focus on what is most important.
- Try and stay away from the politics of the dayas much as possible. Remember you have a job to do – which is to serve the people. As much as lies with you – do your best to communicate in a way that not only paints the government in a good light but also serves the information and service needs of the people based on your statutory provisions.
- Never forget that the citizens are your stakeholders and while political leaders and administrations come and go, citizens remain and they will always remember the good and bad things that you did while leading or working for a particular public sector agency. In Nigeria today – the electricity distribution companies are still being villified for the bad reputation of the defunct public utility company NEPA – which was seen as inefficient, corrupt and very anti-people. That reputation has been transferred to all the companies who now manage those assets and none of them is making an effort to change or differentiate itself in terms of public engagement or trust. And unfortunately, the government is no longer providing the aerial cover for them as it did for the defunct NEPA.
- Do not forget that you are a public servant first and foremost. Confusing your role as a public servant with that of a political attacker for the government of the day is a costly mistake for public office holders and also for the governments/agencies they represent. We have examples of this in Lagos State (in Nigeria)where a few senior government officials are constantly engaging in media warfare with netizens on twitter in a tone that often gets very personal and is unbefitting of the office. Fortunately, this is not everyone but in the places where it exists – it leaves a bad taste in the mouth – especially when it occurs consistently.
- Respond in a constructive manner– if you are faced with a situation where you think that some antagonists are deliberating trying to misinform the public about your achievements, you can respond to that by providing context, clarification with evidence to balance the conversation. Resorting to abusive, derogatory responses or personal attacks does not paint you or the government in a good light. Even if you are cheered on by your supporters for responding in this way – please note that it does not win you any brownie points with those observing in the sidelines.
- Be more proactive in your approach to communications – Generally speaking it appears that the Nigerian public sector is more reactive than proactive in their communication. We hear of them mostly when responding to social media conversation or a negative report about their services or activities. There does not appear to be an ongoing strategic plan for communications, engagement or interaction with the citizens on a daily basis other than to open a social media account and occasionally post about events and activities attended by their senior government officials and political leaders of the day. The approach to communications is power-centric and not citizen-centred. It therefore comes as a big surprise to such establishments – when citizens suddenly aggregate on an issue with negative sentiment with many voices speaking at the same time. Contrary to what some may believe, it is not necessarily sponsored. The distrust with governmentis so high that literally anything can spike a wave of negative sentiment against such institutions.
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