I want my team to run the most effective digital communication operation of any government department.
I see no reason why we shouldn't. We have the people to do it. We have plenty of experience and expertise between us. And we have ambitious objectives.
We also happen to work in a Department that is doing fascinating work. And we have captive audiences - people who are passionate about health and care.
And because we are working in a period of significant change, there is a real imperative for us to inform and engage our audiences. Communication really matters, and digital communication seems particularly suited to the challenge.
So I think we should aspire to be the best. I don't think that means having the nicest looking website, or the most effective natural search strategy, or the most followers on Twitter. All those things would be nice, but they're not enough. I think it means consistently finding smart ways to use digital communication to achieve the things that we're trying to achieve.
Of course, if we want to be the best, that means we need to be better than BIS and DFID and the Foreign Office, and all the other departments that are running brilliant digital communication operations. How would we measure that?
I have a rather crude KPI in mind to measure our success this time next year. But I'm going to keep it to myself for the moment, because I'm about to do a little bit of work internally to develop a series of metrics to measure the effectiveness of our digital operation. I'll publish them here once I've done it.
15 comments
Comment by Kunal Kishore posted on
Dear Stephen,
It’s always good to read the best Digital mind at work. Interesting that you mentioned few govt. organisation as benchmarks but decided to keep the KPI a secret for now.
During such aspirations (of reaching the top) what’s more important – quality content publishing or audience involvement? Does this differ in govt sector and private sector? How different is it from digital marketing?
Cheers!
Comment by Stephen Hale posted on
Thanks Kunal. I'm not sure any tool or technique is more important - I think it's about using the appropriate tool to solve a given problem, whether that's through marketing, engagement, content publishing or anything else.
Comment by Kunal Kishore posted on
Dear Stephen,
It’s always good to read the best Digital mind at work. Interesting that you mentioned few govt. organisation as benchmarks but decided to keep the KPI a secret for now.
During such aspirations (of reaching the top) what’s more important – quality content publishing or audience involvement? Does this differ in govt sector and private sector? How different is it from digital marketing?
Cheers!
Comment by Stephen Hale posted on
Thanks Kunal. I'm not sure any tool or technique is more important - I think it's about using the appropriate tool to solve a given problem, whether that's through marketing, engagement, content publishing or anything else.
Comment by Jenny Poole posted on
Hi Stephen,
Bring it on! Healthy competition is good for us all. We were very impressed by your CoverIt Live webchat this week - now why didn't we think to use it like that?!
Best
Jenny
Head of Digital Engagement, BIS
Comment by Jenny Poole posted on
Hi Stephen,
Bring it on! Healthy competition is good for us all. We were very impressed by your CoverIt Live webchat this week - now why didn't we think to use it like that?!
Best
Jenny
Head of Digital Engagement, BIS
Comment by Paul Hosking posted on
Stephen, why not share your KPI's with BIS and other govt departments so we can all measure ourselves against the same standards? We could have a league table!
Comment by Stephen Hale posted on
With promotion and relegation? And a transfer system? Imagine it'd take a big money deal to prize you away from BIS now.
Comment by Paul Hosking posted on
Stephen, why not share your KPI's with BIS and other govt departments so we can all measure ourselves against the same standards? We could have a league table!
Comment by Stephen Hale posted on
With promotion and relegation? And a transfer system? Imagine it'd take a big money deal to prize you away from BIS now.
Comment by teamjanine posted on
It's good to know that DH has walked (or should I say pirouetted?) on to the Government's digital playing field. Well done and thank you Stephen.
Comment by teamjanine posted on
It's good to know that DH has walked (or should I say pirouetted?) on to the Government's digital playing field. Well done and thank you Stephen.
Comment by Ryan Edwards posted on
Hi Stephen, for the past year I have been leading on new ways of using Digital communicatons in my role at NHS Barking and Dagenham so I enjoyed reading your blog today and the approach you are taking. Would be great to pay your team a visit at some point to share best practice?
Comment by Ryan Edwards posted on
Hi Stephen, for the past year I have been leading on new ways of using Digital communicatons in my role at NHS Barking and Dagenham so I enjoyed reading your blog today and the approach you are taking. Would be great to pay your team a visit at some point to share best practice?
Comment by Stephen Hale - 13 measures of success for government digital teams posted on
[...] I mentioned that I wanted the DH digital communication team to aspire to run the most effective digital communication operation in government. [...]