We all read about the importance of trust in local government.
It plays a crucial role in council staff’s job satisfaction, supports councillors’ re-election chances, and fosters community satisfaction. When trust is present, the community feels confident that the council is managing its responsibilities effectively, reducing unnecessary scrutiny of day-to-day operations. This, in turn, allows councils to concentrate on achieving strategic goals. High trust in local government is almost a “Utopia”—an ideal state every council aspires to reach. Councils typically fall somewhere along a spectrum from low to high trust, although reliably measuring trust levels remains a challenge.
There’s a saying that councils operate at "the speed of trust." This captures how the level of trust within a council impacts its effectiveness and agility. So, if this is the goal, how do we get there?
There’s a saying that councils operate at "the speed of trust." This captures how the level of trust within a council impacts its effectiveness and agility. So, if this is the goal, how do we get there?
Building Trust Through Transparency and Efficiency in Local Government
Over many years, many articles, advertisements, and blogs have been written about how specific software will improve trust, and in most cases, they will improve it if used correctly. Still, they are always just a component of increasing confidence. Why? Because trust is earned in millimetres and lost in metres - councils must do a lot right to gain and keep it, all whilst doing very little wrong. Given the resource constraints of councils, this can be a challenging task and would no doubt be easier to achieve with unlimited resources.
An essential prerequisite for building trust is operational efficiency; however, efficiency alone may not be enough to foster the high level of trust that councils aim to achieve. Many believe that transparency is the single most crucial factor in building trust. Councils have numerous areas where they can enhance transparency, including:
Financial Results
Council discussions, such as meeting deliberations, including the rationale behind decisions and available options
Service Requests and status of these
Development or Building Applications (Consents) and status, including letting the public know of any that affect them
Strategic plans and/or future projects
Procurement processes
Access to relevant information promptly
An essential prerequisite for building trust is operational efficiency; however, efficiency alone may not be enough to foster the high level of trust that councils aim to achieve.
On top of these, there are numerous other processes that the community and stakeholders would like to see handled with transparency.
Envisio Strategic Planning - the Projects portal has been designed specifically for public sector organisations to help them address what matters most: visibility, collaboration, and transparent communication.
Enhancing Trust Through Engagement and Clear Communication
Another key factor in building community trust is making it easy for people to engage with council services, which can mean different things to different individuals. Some community members want the convenience of digital access at any hour, while others prefer in-person visits to council offices. Many also prefer communicating via email, phone, or social media.
Forcing the public to use only one of these channels without careful planning can erode trust. Councils should provide multiple options and thoughtfully guide the transition to digital services at a pace that maintains trust. The key with any of these processes is communication and constantly keeping stakeholders updated on progress and timelines, especially considering service requests, applications, queries, and payments.
Councils should provide multiple options and thoughtfully guide the transition to digital services at a pace that maintains trust.
Effective communication is critical to this approach, ensuring stakeholders are regularly updated on progress and timelines, especially for service requests, applications, queries, and payments. Communication has long been a foundational component of trust, encompassing both internal and external interactions. This involves timely and transparent updates on positive and challenging developments conveyed in accessible language without excessive jargon.
Importantly, communication isn’t just about telling people what you are doing —it also involves actively listening to the community and demonstrating that you have heard what they are telling you.
Resolve Meeting Management - our clients regularly see an increase in trust when council meetings are open and transparent in a timely manner.
The Power of Doing What You Say You Are Going to Do
I believe the most essential element to trust in local government is doing what you say you will do – execution!
This involves actively listening to the community and keeping them informed about the status of plans and projects that the council has committed to. However, many factors can disrupt these plans and projects, including:
Resource and resource mix constraints
Unforeseen events, such as natural weather events
Central Government intervention or inaction
Economic issues
Changes in priorities
These plans may only sometimes reach maturity in the timelines committed to, or they may be necessary during planning but later get deprioritised amid shifting priorities. For councils, the challenge is that trust erodes when commitments aren’t fulfilled, especially if there is no communication of that change. It’s equally important to communicate material elements such as costs and risks to maintain transparency and trust.
I believe the most essential element to trust in local government is doing what you say you will do – execution!
This may be a controversial viewpoint, as trust is an intangible concept that requires various elements to be effectively built. However, I believe that transparency about plans and projects and providing detailed information about their status and any changes significantly enhances trust.
As everyone knows, Redman Solution provides councils with Envisio Strategic, Project Planning, and reporting solutions, so we have seen the impact of this solution on the ability of councils to be transparent around the execution of their plans. As a provider of Resolve Agenda and Meeting Management Solutions, we also see an increase in trust when council meetings are open and transparent in a timely manner.
Envisio and Resolve are powerful tools that can enhance trust and significantly impact a council’s effectiveness and agility. And if we know that’s where we want to get to, it is an excellent starting point. Get in touch to discover more today.
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