The Case for Strategic Communications in Road Management

Synopsis

Good Road Management Communication Strategies Matter

Personal Communication Skills

The ability to write and speak with others around us really matters, regardless of our social situation, cultural background, age, sex or creed. In terms of important life skills, it should be right up there with breathing!

Good communication skills will either hold us back or provide us with much greatly opportunities and status, increasing significantly, our power and influence with others.

Good communicators are far more likely to become successful, whatever field they work in. The road sub-sector is no different. Any organisation operating in this sub-sector should have a consistent and ongoing road management communication strategy.

Organisational Communications

But what is true of individuals also holds true for organisations. Road Management Organisations also need to establish and maintain good road management communication strategies.

One of the main constraints to better roads in many countries, is a failure to effectively communicate with external stakeholders, about the issues facing the road sub-sector and how it operates. This requires a good road management communication strategy to be in place: properly planned, implemented and resourced.

The Dominance of Technical Know-How

Many of those working in road management, come from a technical or engineering background. This isn’t surprising: the most obvious problems we face often require the sorts of skills and knowledge acquired through engineering and technically based educational courses.

For example, specialised, technical or engineering knowledge and experience is required in many areas of road management. This includes policy development; network planning; assessing the feasibility and impacts of new infrastructure; and the design, construction, procurement or management of road works. In particular, many of the information management systems required to manage these assets require technical know-how. These technical needs will only grow as the demands on our roads increase and technological innovations offer us new and more sophisticated ways to manage our road infrastructure.

Poor Communications Hold Back the Roads Sub-Sector

But technical skill alone will never be enough. To the contrary, in many countries, the main constraints to better roads are not a shortage of technical expertise, but from other ‘softer’, non-technical constraints.

One of these is a poorly considered or implemented road management communication strategy with external stakeholders. Under such circumstances, is it any wonder that road users, the general public, finance ministries, politicians and the business community have almost no appreciation about the issues facing the road sub-sector and how it operates?

The roads sub-sector and all those working within it, suffer from the consequences of this poor communication skills by road management professionals, at both a personal and organisational level. Even at the most senior levels of road management, (where such skills are particularly important), there is often a failure to appreciate the importance of better road management communication strategy. Perhaps this is because many of those leading the sector have been promoted from a predominantly technical background, where the importance of these skills have never really been understood, appreciated, taught nor learned?

The Role of Senior Leaders and the Skills Required

I recall a good example of this from about 20 years ago. I was being interviewed for a position as the chief executive for a national road authority in an African country. The interviewers (who included the Permanent Secretary for the line ministry) were keen to ascertain my technical capabilities and experience, covering such matters as road design and ongoing construction contract claims.

These were certainly useful skills for an individual leading a national road organisation. But there appeared to be very little appreciation that these are actually not the most important skills required for the position. The organisation already employed many professional engineers who were highly competent in these areas.

Instead, a chief executive’s role should be to address ‘high level’ strategic issues. The role requires someone who can formulate a clear vision and direction for the organisation; and then communicate these aims and objectives to the staff and to external, non-technical stakeholders in the wider community.

As a key representative of the sub-sector, the chief executive needs good presentational and communication skills, as well as keen political antenna. He (or she) should not be focussing his limited time on technical issues. Instead, he should be delegating these to the professionally trained experts within the road organisation. That is what they are supposed to be employed to do.

So an essential component of all these leadership requirements is an ability to communicate effectively, whether in writing or face-to-face. Failure in these core competences significantly weakens the road authority, (as was borne out by subsequent events in this particular example).

The Consequences of Poor Communications

This example seems all too common. Very often, leaders in the roads sub-sector complain that their needs are not understood by political leaders; funding is wholly inadequate; and/or they are unfairly criticised for the poor performance in their sub-sector, even though these are caused by problems and deficiencies over which they have little or no control.

For example, road authorities in the UK have recently been criticised (once again) by road user groups, for their failure to maintain many of their roads[1]. However, chronic, long-term underfunding (and its unpredictability) earmarked for road maintenance, is the underlying cause of this problem. This is controlled by the central government’s Treasury (Ministry of Finance) and is subject to unpredictable, wider political events.

This is a common problem in many other countries too, where the road agencies end up as the ‘fall guys’ for the failures and poor decisions made elsewhere.

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[1]    See https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/pothole-breakdowns-are-on-the-up-rac-breakdown-data-reveals/

The Benefits from Better Road Management Communications and Public Relations

Instead, road organisations need to protect their own positions and ensure that accountability for these problems is properly directed at those who are actually responsible for their cause. A particularly powerful way to do this is for road agencies to develop a road management communication strategy, consisting of a coordinated programme of consistent and targeted communications, explaining the long-term damage resulting from these external constraints. This helps to build a greater understanding and support for road agencies and those working in this important field.

However, focussing only on funding shortfalls is not sufficient. Road agencies also need to describe other challenges faced by the road sub-sector. These include political and policy implications, legal and regulatory challenges, and public sector procurement and employment constraints. For who is better placed to fully understand and appreciate these issues than those who work in this sub-sector?

A proactive and informed road management communication strategy helps to engender a broader and better appreciation and debate about these issues. Over time, this should encourage more informed (i.e. better) decision making by external stakeholders.

So the onus very much lies with those leading the roads sub-sector. Those in this sector need to clearly and consistently explain what their organisations require and why. Importantly, they also need to describe the consequences for the wider community from the decisions made – whether good or bad.

Transparency Matters

However, they also have an obligation to be transparent about what their organisations are doing with the resources that they receive. This means being able to account clearly for the decisions made (including possible options) and actions taken. Such transparency requires organisations to deliver on their promises, but in the longer term, this is a powerful way to build trust with road users, the general public and the political masters, (who will also be under pressure to account for their decisions to support the sub-sector).

Organisational Communication Requirements

An effective road management communication strategy at the organisational level really matters: it can make an enormous long-term difference, both in the delivery of better road services and to the reputation and quality of work for all who are employed in this sub-sector.

Organisations need to devote a small but adequate and consistent proportion of their resources towards developing and delivering a consistent and positive image about what their organisations do. This requires employing a few specialist public relations specialists (and supporting technical and administrative support staff) to ensure that this task is undertaken. This small communications or PR Unit should be accountable directly to the senior management in the organisation.

Personal Communication Skills are the Foundation

But achieving a better road management communication strategy also relies on individuals having strong personal communication skills, and this brings us back to where we started.

Personal communication skills involves being able to speak with others effectively (both in the real world and increasingly, online); and an ability to express effectively ideas in writing, (whether in emails, reports or other forms of communications media).

Future articles will focus on these vital personal and professional life-skills.