We were midway through a facilitation session when one of our industry stakeholders broke down in tears.
“We’ve asked for this so many times, and no one listens. We are going to have to close our doors if we don’t get confirmation that our annual grant is being continued. It’s months overdue. We’ll need to sack our employees because we don’t know if we’re being funded or not.” She slumped into her chair. Many others were facing the same challenge.
In old-school engagement, we’d all need to wait for months until any action would take place. Reports would be filed, considered, and put into a silent decision-making process which could take many months or even years. Under the old approach, community engagement stopped at a report.
But modern engagement looks different.
As our participant wiped away her tears, the Project Leader stood and apologized. She would get an answer about the funding straight away, she said.
The Project Leader walked out of the room and returned five minutes later with an answer. The funding allocations were just awaiting signatures, and the groups should receive official correspondence imminently.
It was a small action that made an enormous difference to the lives of participants and an enormous boost to trust.
Under modern-day engagement, good practice isn’t just about listening. It’s about taking action.
The modern-day leader and the modern-day engagement profession need to extend their focus beyond making decisions and focus on enacting decisions. Only then will people truly see the benefit of engaging.
How is modern-day community engagement in Australia different from the 1990s version? Here are 6 ways modern engagement stands out.
- Community engagement is about involving people in decisions and actions that make our communities and world a better place. 🌏
- Codesign is a common approach to engagement, and not a novelty. 🧸
- Engaging young people is good practice, not an exception. 👶
- Community engagement is mandatory in lots of industries, including property development, energy, mining, water and water pricing, community plans, the health sector, and many more. ⚖️
- “The squeaky wheel” should not automatically get all the attention, and we are expected to be representative in who has a voice. 🛞
- Community engagement should be a responsibility of boards and executive teams and is now an expectation from various groups, including the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 👩🏼💼
