AGENDA ITEM NO 10c

TRUST BOARD MEETING: 21 JULY 2010

FOUNDATION TRUST MEMBERSHIP/RECRUITMENT –

FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS PROPOSALS

1.0INTRODUCTION

The Trust communicates with the UHMBT Shadow Foundation Trust (FT) membership via more established methods such as newsletters and the Trust’s website, with recruitment methods similarly conventional (website, Shadow Governors, direct mail, handouts via various departments, hospital radio and posters/displays).

The UHMBT public membership is currently circa 5,750. When analysing the membership profile against the reporting requirements of Monitor, the Trust is shown to be under represented in a small number of areas, most notably:less than 40 years of age (particularly 16-24 years), the Lancaster Craven and Wyreconstituencyand various ethnic categories (NB the combined membership of the Mixed, Asian and Black ethnic groups is representative of the population as a whole). Appendix 1 summarises the age representation by constituency. The UHMBT Membership Strategy has set a target of 1,000 new members per annum.

This report seeks to update the Trust Board on progress to reduce areas of under representation, maintain the current membership and to discuss alternative methods of communication.

2.0UNDER REPRESENTATION ACTIONS SPRING / SUMMER 2010

Various actions have been undertaken to address the key areas of under representation, with consideration to the actual and perceived cost effectiveness of the communication methods.

  • “Just one” – Direct mail campaign asking Lancaster, Craven and Wyre members to sign up at least one other person (completed)
  • Further Education – promotion for Health and Social Care students and faculty members to join (completed)
  • Charities – promotion of FT member leaflets in their outlets (underway)
  • Clubs – promotion of FT member leaflets to their club members (underway)

To date, we have recruited 88 new members for the Lancaster area through the “Just one” campaign. As a direct mail campaign the results are acceptable. As a campaign to members, it is disappointing, possibly highlighting our lack of contact with members to build relationships.

3.0RECRUITMENT

Many of our established communication methods have produced positive steady results, successful areas in the last 12 months for recruitment have been:

  • Staff on temporary contracts (385 recruited)
  • Leaflets in community areas of the hospital (81 recruited)
  • Outpatients staff handing out information (161 recruited)

Sending out recruitment leaflets with patient appointment letters has not been successful; this will be further reviewed to understand why.

Whilst it important that we increase membership, particularly addressing areas of under representation, we must be mindful of ensuring that the existing (and new) membership is communicated with in a variety of personal and non-personal ways to ensure that they feel engaged and informed – as well as realising the benefits that we have ‘sold’ them. There is a danger of growing the membership base to meet targets, whilst not ensuring that we have recruited a membership which wants to be involved and also to ensure that we do not lose members at the expense of growth. There are many alternative methods of communication; the notable ones highlighted in this report (appendix 2) have been presented based on feedback from staff, research of the communication activities of other Trusts and organisations, together with feedback from our Shadow Council of Governors.

4.0PROPOSED WAY FORWARD

The proposal is to move forward in the current year by holding ‘surgeries’ in each constituency area, showcase our services through events at each hospital, establish and promote a Facebook community, hold an online debate via a ‘forum’ and establish online feedback questionnaires. A strategy and delivery plan will be written for each activity, the absence of this process has been highlighted by social media practitioners as one of the key reasons for organisations failing to successfully implement tools such as Facebook.

We have begun to review existing marketing activities and have incorporated feedback from a recent communications workshop with members of the FT Communications Group, which includes the Shadow Council Governors, they include:

  • Consider a Shadow Council of Governors section in New Horizons,
  • Reformat promotional materials to further enhance the perceived benefits of becoming a member,
  • Reformat the membership form to encourage all personal details to be completed,
  • Reclassify campaign codes for more in-depth analysis of response -v- expenditure,
  • Carry out an exercise to obtain/update email addresseson the FT Membership database,
  • Further expand the FT section of the Trust’s website.

PHIL WOODFORD

MARKETING MANAGER

APPENDIX 2

ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF COMMUNICATION

Surgeries

Personal communication between Shadow Council Governors in their constituency areas. The public / existing members can drop-in to share experiences and ask questions about the Trust, provide feedback etc. Surgeries could either be held at a UHMBT hospital or in the community such as a church hall, community centre, etc.

The Shadow Governors would need briefing and support on key issues, with training on how to document and respond to concerns / comments raised.

Events / Road shows

Events are a positive way of engaging with current and prospective FT members. They provide the opportunity to showcase services and developments to the membership.

Events provide an opportunity for the Shadow Council of Governors to hold a members event to showcase particular aspects of the Trust, with the involvement of patients and clinical staff. Many Trusts have found success with this model as a personal way of communicating with the membership, encouraging members to recruit and enabling members to see ‘behind the scenes’ of their local hospital.

Promotion of events and administration can be costly and time consuming. There is an opportunity to further engage with the membership through the recruitment of event volunteers.

Social networking

Social media is the term commonly applied to online resources (Facebook, Twitter etc)that allows users to share information, experiences, opinions, imagery and enter into online discussions. Social media is not to be confused with Social Marketing, which is a discipline in its own right, where social media may be used as a method.

[1]Although Facebook initially appealed to the young, now the fastest growing demographic is those at least 35 years old and the majority (more than two-thirds) of Facebook users are out of college.

Commercial organisations have realised the benefits of setting up their own social media sites such as Facebook, as they provide a public facing way for people to communicate. For users of Facebook and other social networking sites, the format is familiar and controlled by a large extent by the provider of the networking site, rather than the people communicating by it. By answering in real time, and openly, organisations have a way of bolstering their connection with their customers and enhancing their reputation.

It is important to remember that all of these sites need to be managed, libel and other laws still prevail, and managing a social networking page and allowing offensive information to remain viewable could be seen as an endorsement of the comment by the organisation. In the context of hospitals, there are issues of people posting patient information – either as a member of the public or staff. It is also time consuming to manage such resources, as they require as much input as other forms of communication to ensure daily monitoring and response, in addition to the time and cost to promote that that the resource exists.

[2]The Department of Health Informatics Directorate has issued guidance: blogging and social networking. This information, together with other NHS and Trust policies and guidance would need to be incorporated into the Foundation Trust Membership Communication Strategy.

Facebook

Facebook is a tool which allows people (causes, companies, charities etc) to have their own internet presence within the Facebook community. The person/cause ‘owning’ the page can decide who can and cannot see their page. It also allows real-time communication on a one-to-one basis, or as a group.

How do organisations make it work for them? Many use it as a means to start a debate on a subject, rather than posting their own opinion, this helps them provide an insight into a topic. Many use it as a way of recruiting members totheir cause, launch a product, make an announcement etc.

Appendix 3 provides relevant examples of Facebook uses by various organisations.

Twitter

The Twitter service lets you send a 140-character message, or "tweet", to a website (Twitter) where anyone can read it, though it will only be sent directly to those who have chosen to "follow" you.

What would we use Twitter for? Twitter provides the opportunity to provide an immediate update on a topic, including a picture / hyperlink.

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust quote via theFT Network online forum that they have 1,200 followers on Twitter.

Blogs

A blog could be seen as an online diary allowing regular updates. Blogs allow more detail than say a Facebook message or “Tweet”. There are dedicated blog sites; however. they can easily be incorporated into an organisations website, including the opportunity to publish elements of the blog to other sites (Facebook, Twitter etc).

Blogs are often seen as personal and from the person, rather than a corporate / PRupdate. A popular use from organisations is a blog from say the Chief Executive, allowing people to have an insight into the workings of their organisation.

Examples of organisations using blogs on their websites:

  • The Christie NHS Foundation Trust (Chief Executive’s Blog)
  • Nursing Times
  • NHS Northamptonshire (Chief Executive’s Blog, Diary of a now… non-smoker!, Losing weight at work etc)

Debates / Forums

An online forum creates a message board where likeminded people can enterinto discussion and debate about a subject. They have grown in popularity over the last decade, creating virtual “forum leaders” for products and brands. If you have a medical condition, there is usually a forum for people with the same condition to meet virtually, ask questions, discuss issues, etc. The same is true of most other products / services – companies have started to realise the benefit of forums, allowing members, without providing any endorsement, to have an open discussion, with moderators (usually volunteers) ensuring any rules are adhered to. This feedback is potentially valuable, providing a customer / patient view of a service.

Part of the research for this paper was conducted using the Foundation Trust Network online forums, they have a communications section, allowing members of the Network to view previous topics and conversations and post new questions and comments.

Online polls / Questionnaire

A method to receive very quick feedback to a question(s). Visitors to the online poll, accessed via a web link / page on a website can answer questions, in the same way they would a paper questionnaire. Usually polls are ‘embedded’ onto a website using software from a third party company. They would be promoted using traditional methods, in addition to social networking sites where the person receiving the message would simply need to click on a link to access and complete the questionnaire, providing immediate, low cost feedback.

Most commercial online tools also include subscription packages which include analysis tools. Polls / Questionnaires can either be accessed through password control or open to all visitors.

SMS

SMS stands for Short Message Service – it is a way of sending a small amount of data to a mobile phone. A picture message service is also available.

To use features such as a poll/question via SMS, systems are available that allow messages that can be responded to, analysed and reported on. For example “Reply YES or NO to [question]”. UHMBT has a service which allows outpatients to request that they are sent a text reminder for their clinic appointment.

APPENDIX 3

Examples of Facebook pages

BAAF – Used the post to bring a news story to the attention of members (1107). Allowed discussion to take place and for BAFF to post a response. / Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (324 followers) – used to update followers on news stories and a more light-hearted approach using Twitter and an iPhone to post images.
BAAF – Asked “friends” of them to comment on the type of information they would like to see featured.
/ Cumbra Partnership – Being used to encourage people to run for a Council of Governors position.

[1] The Licensing Journal, January 2010

[2]