Eureka! A holistic approach to engagement – By Anita van Mil

It’s interesting how many years it takes many small and medium sized enterprises to really get to the heart of what they’re good at and what they stand for. At Hopkins Van Mil we’re no different.

A flying start

We got off on a flying start six years ago, teaming up the skills and networks of two women in their mid thirties, one Dutch, the other English, sharing heaps of experience in and enthusiasm for the culture and heritage sectors. Our common ground was a desire to work flexibly, allowing for a greater work –life balance than we had experienced in full time employment, as well as opportunities to work with organisations at both grass roots and policy level.

Plenty of skills

We have done quite a bit of juggling since finding ways to match our ever developing skills base with the demands of the sector. Times change, the needs of the sector change, and of course we change as well. Coming from a policy background and being trained in marketing, communications and international collaboration we can take on pretty much any piece of work. We’re quick on our feet and have the ability to research new contexts in no time; we thrive on facilitating complex processes which lead to better decision making; and our communication skills allow us to engage positively with anyone and everyone.

However, having a variety of skills and extensive knowledge also means that it wasn’t until this month that we reached that Eureka moment of discovering what exactly our niche is.

Eureka!

Last week I was invited to a briefing meeting at a Further Education College in South East London to discuss how HVM might be able to help develop and manage an employee engagement survey testing how their 700 staff feel about their work environment in times of change. When selling HVM’s skills set I heard myself say:

‘We take a holistic approach to engagement’

I explained that we wouldn’t just turn out a survey. That we would start an engagement process with the commissioning team to fully understand:

• What it is they need;
• What the strategic context is in which the College operates;
• What actions have been taken since the last employee survey;
• And how they engage with staff generally to ensure we get it right.

I also said that we would like to involve employees in the design of the survey and identify ambassadors who would spread the word that this is an opportunity  for everyone’s voice to be heard. As a consequence we submitted a proposal comprising the design and management of an employee engagement plan in the context of the survey, as well as the design and management of the survey itself.

Hit the nail on the head

This Eureka moment hit the nail on the head. Henrietta and I simply don’t believe in top-down approaches. It’s not up to us to decide what’s the best approach to engage with audiences or communities. It’s up to the communities themselves, whether staff, library users, visitors of natural heritage sites, local residents who are affected by a particular issue, or voluntary agencies and businesses advocating their own causes and interests.

Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight some of our recent projects to give you a more in depth flavour about our core idea. In the mean time, do let us have your views on effective community engagement processes and dialogue. What works for you/ doesn’t work for you? What experience do you have of involving communities/ user groups throughout to arrive at better solutions?

New to community engagement and dialogue or keen to brush up your skills? Do check the Resources section on our website for guidance sheets and checklists.