NEWMEDIA,COMMUNICATIONS&HUMANRESOURCESWORKSHOP

OCTOBER18-20,2015C L E V E L AND , OH AFOCUSONTHECUSTOMER

Fromcustomerrelationships,tonewmedia,tocrisiscommunication,tothenewgenerationsstormingintotheworkforce,theWorkshopfocusedontheprofoundchangesthataretransformingtollingagenciesandtheservicestheyoffer.TheWorkshopitselfwasdesignedtoallowalotmoreinteractionthantheaverageconference,openingthedoorforparticipantstosharetheirknowledge,experienceandchallenges.

NEWMEDIA,COMMUNICATIONS&HUMANRESOURCESWORKSHOP

TABLEOFCONTENTSExecutiveSummary....................................................................................................................3TheBestCommunicatorsBuildCommunity..............................................................................3SatisfiedCustomersDriveSuccess.............................................................................................4BuildingaFanaticallyCommittedWorkplaceCulture...............................................................4BigDataMeansBigResults........................................................................................................5CommunicatinginaCrisis..........................................................................................................6

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EXECUTIVESUMMARYChangewasintheairwhentheInternationalBridge,TunnelandTurnpikeAssociationhosteditsNewMedia,CommunicationsandHumanResourcesWorkshopinClevelandOctober18-20.

Fromcustomerrelationships,tonewmedia,tocrisiscommunication,tothenewgenerationsstormingintotheworkforce,theWorkshopfocusedontheprofoundchangesthataretransformingtollingagenciesandtheservicestheyoffer.TheWorkshopitselfwasdesignedtoallowalotmoreinteractionthantheaverageconference,openingthedoorforparticipantstosharetheirknowledge,experienceandchallenges.

ThisreportcapturesvoicesfromanimportantdiscussionthatiscertaintoechothroughIBTTAmemberorganizationsforweeksandmonthstocome.

THEBESTCOMMUNICATORSBUILDCOMMUNITY“Webuildinfrastructure.Wechangecommunities.Weleavealegacyforourchildrenandgrandchildren.That’swhatit’sabout.Thebridgeswebuildwillbehereforgenerations.Tollingisjustameanstoanend,soweneedtomakeitmoreobvioustopeoplethatthisisimportant.”

—JavierRodriguez,IBTTA2015PresidentandExecutiveDirector,Miami-DadeExpresswayAuthority

“Socialmediaistheknowledgeinfrastructurethathelpsthetollingindustrytellacompellingstoryaboutphysicalinfrastructure.Tollingagenciesworkhardeverydaytounderstandanddeliveroncustomers’needsandexpectations.Socialmediaisafantastictoolforlisteningtoourcommunities,buildingrelationshipsandshapingtheconversationinfavorofuser-financedtransportation.”

—PatrickJones,ExecutiveDirectorandCEO,IBTTA

Knowingyouraudience,messagingaccordingly,messagingconsistentlyandstayingtruetothebrandarefourofthemostimportantguidelinesforeffectivebranding.“Askyourself:whereistheaudienceandwhataretheytalkingabout?Findyourpeopleandmeetthem.”

—TylerMilligan,ManagingPartner,MilliganPartners

Firstandlast,communicationsisaboutbuildingcommunity—withcustomers,employees,decision-makers,fundersandahostofotherstakeholders.Socialmediaprovidenewpathwaysandtechniquesfortellingatollingagency’sstoryandengagingcommunityopinionleaderstotelltheirs.Butintheend,it’sallaboutfindingtherighttoolsandplatformsforeachtargetaudience—includingpeoplewhomaymakelittleuseofsocialmedia,mobileorevendesktopcomputers.

Socialmedia“isallaboutcommunicating,sharingandaddingvaluetocommunities.Andit’saboutasfarfromtraditionalbroadcastmarketingasyoucanget.”

—JeniseFryatt,SocialMediaStrategist,SmarterShiftInc.

“Onegoaloftheworkshopwastobringcommunications,marketingandhumanresourcesprofessionalstogethertodevelopanationwidenetwork.Asweworktoprovidegreatermobilitytoourcustomers,it’scriticalthatwespeakwithaunifiedvoiceinourmessagedevelopmentanddelivery.”

—BillCramer,CommunicationsDirector,IBTTA

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Thinkabouttheinformationyouragencyhastoshareacrossallaudiences,andmakethatthefocusofyourkeymessages.Whatcanpeoplelearnfromyouwhenyousaythisisn’ttheirgrandparents’tollroad?Doyouhaveacalltoaction?

—JohnO’Connell,SeniorCommunicationsCounselor,WorthwhileCommunications

Ifyourwebsiteorblogisthefulcrumofyouronlinepresence,socialmediaplatformsarethespokesonthewheel.That’swhereyoubuildcommunityandhuman-to-humanconnectionswhowillbegenuinelyexcitedaboutsharingandamplifyingyourcontentwhenyousenditout.(Thenyouretweettheircontentinturn.)

Thebestsocialmediacampaignspracticethe80/20rule—80percentofthematerialcomesfromoutsidesources,while20percentisyourownoriginalcontent.It’saprovenwaytodemonstrateyourownthoughtleadershipwhilepracticinggoodonlineetiquette.

Asolidsocialmediapresencegraduallybuildsprofileandcredibilitywithmediaandotherinfluencers.Acoupleofyearsintoitsonlinecampaign,IBTTAissuedablogpostthatwaspickedupbyaninfluentialBeltwaypublicationwithin24hours.

SATISFIEDCUSTOMERSDRIVESUCCESS“You’vegottobecreative.You’vegottobeconnected.You’vegottoshowpeoplehowwe’rerelatedandthevaluetheygetfromus.”

—RandyCole,ExecutiveDirector,OhioTurnpikeandInfrastructureCommission

Customerdissatisfactiondoesn’tusuallyhappenallatonce:Itcreepsuplikeapebbleinyourshoe.Acompanymightdisappointyou,thendisappointyouagain,andyougraduallystartlookingforoptionsthateventuallybecomeawholenewroutinethatleavestheoriginalrelationshipbehind.Forthecompany,regularfeedbackisthebestwaytotracksubtlechangesinsatisfactionthatcanshinealightonemergingproblems.Fortollroadsoperators,thisisbothadutyandanopportunity—adutytolistentoexistingcustomersandanopportunitytoattractnewuserswhoarerepeatedlydisappointedbyothermobilityoptions.

Managingcustomerexpectationsismoreimportantthanmeasuringcustomersatisfaction,sinceit’stheexpectationsthatdeterminesatisfaction.

TheCentralTexasRegionalMobilityAuthority(CTRMA)usedalonglistoftoolstokeepanopenlinewithresidentsaroundtheMoPacImprovementProject.Themenuincludedageocodedwebsitetodeliverconstructionupdates,aneighborhoodtreegiveawayprogram,anicecreamsocial,aSpotifyplaylistandapopularFacebookquiz.CTRMAevendistributedacarebagtohelpneighborsenduretheconstruction,completewithearplugs,antacidsand“aflashlightsoyoucanfindyourwayouttothebackyardtoswearatthecrews.”Thecarebagdistributiongeneratedseverallettersofthanks.

BUILDINGAFANATICALLYCOMMITTEDWORKPLACECULTUREYoualwayshearaboutthebootsontheground,thehighways,themaintenanceandtheengineerswithcreativedesignsforbridges.Youneverhearabouthumanresources,communications,orIT,but“youcan’tbuildaroadorpushsnowwithouttheunsungheroes.”

—GrindlyJohnson,DeputySecretaryofTransportation,CommonwealthofVirginia

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It’sincrediblyimportanttocelebrateachievementsintheworkplacebyhostingopenhousesorothereventstomarkcompanymilestonesandusingemployeefeedbacksessionstotellatollingagency’sproudhistory.Agenciescanbuildbondsamongemployeesbymakingtheworkfunwheneverpossible.

—LaurenHakos,TrainingandDevelopmentManager,OhioTurnpikeandInfrastructureCommission

OneofthemostannoyingthingsaboutMillennialsisthatthey’resoimpatient.Oneofthegiftstheybringtotheirorganizationsisthatthey’resoimpatient.Bykeepingallgenerationsintheconversation,organizationscanleanintochallengeandgetthegreatestbenefitfromemployeesofallages.

—JimSmith,TheExecutiveHappinessCoach

Thedynamicsarisingfromgenerationaldifferenceshavealwaysbeenwithus.There’snothingnewhereexceptthat,now,wecantweetaboutit.

Givenachoicebetweenhigherpayandflexibleworkarrangements,45percentofMillennialswillchooseflexibility.

Itcostsanorganization1½tothreetimesanemployee’sbasepaytoreplacethem.Butjobtenuresaregettingshorter,partlybecauseyoungergenerationsintheworkforcehaveneverexperiencedjobloyalty.

Reversementoringcanbeapowerfulexperienceforallconcernedandagreatbenefitfortheorganization.Anexampleisayoungeremployeehelpingamoreexperiencedcolleaguegetuptospeedontechnology.

TheClevelandCavaliers’corporatecultureisenshrinedin19statementsthatshapeeverydecisionandcustomerinteraction.Everyemployeegoesthroughaneight-hourtrainingprogram,theformatisupdatedquarterly—andthetrainingisdeliveredbytheowner.

—KerryBubolz,PresidentofBusinessOperations,ClevelandCavaliers

Effectiveemployeebenchmarkingcreatesopportunitiesforgoodperformerstobecomegreatandpoorperformerstobecomegood,sothattheorganizationasawholedoesbetter.

MostoftheresearchongenerationaldifferencessaystraditionalworkerswillacceptanorganizationgearedtotheneedsofGenerationXandMillennials—butthoseemergentworkerswon’ttolerateorganizationsthatrelyonolderbusinessmodels.

Externalcontractorsareanessentialpartofthetollingworkforce,andagreatmanyU.S.smallbusinessesclassifiedasDisadvantagedBusinessEnterprises(DBE)canbringtheirexpertiseandcreativitytotheindustry.Whenyouhelpasmallbusiness,theeconomygrows.

BIGDATAMEANSBIGRESULTS“I’mnotastatistician,butIdolovedata…Itcanhelpinformbigcampaigns,andbusinessdecisionsaswell.Itsavesmoneyinthelongrun.Theremaybeup-frontcosts,butovertimeyou’llmakethatreturnoninvestment.”

—MalikaReedWilkins,DirectorofMarketingandCommunications,StateRoadandTollwayAuthority

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Withtherightcustomerdata,tollingagenciescanallocateresourcesmoreappropriately,fine-tunetheirmarketingpriorities,offernimblecustomerserviceandoptimizeoperations.Whendataissegmentedbycustomersub-audience,itcanbeusedtoreinforcecustomerhabits,ortochangebehaviorbyencouragingashifttotranspondersormitigatingrush-hourvolumes.

TheStateRoadandTollwayAuthoritysuccessfullydifferentiatedbetweentwoaudiencesegmentsthatbothconsistedofyoungerdriversintheir20sand30swithrelativelylimitedincomes.Thesixpercentoftheagency’scustomerbaseintheYoungPotentialsgroupaccountedfor15percentofalltrips,withmoremiles,moreshoulderandreturntripsand50percentoftheirusageduringpeakhours.TheYoungUrbanDwellersweredemographicallysimilarandaccountedfor18.1percentofthecustomerbase,butonly4.1percentofalltrips.Thedifferencewasgeography:TheYoungUrbanDwellerswereconcentratedintheheartofthecity,sotheyhadlimitedneedforhighwaydriving.Thedetaileddatatranslatedintotargetedincentivesthatsuccessfullyreducedrush-hourvolume.

It’sagreatideatoinviteseniorexecutivestositinonfocusgroups.They’reoften“delightfullysurprised”atwhattheyhearandwalkawaywithanewrecognitionoftheworkthathastobedone.

Benchmarkingonlyworksifsurveysareconductedregularlyandeveryoneconsistentlyusesthesameinstrument.Otherwise,theresultswon’tbecomparable.

COMMUNICATINGINACRISIS“Thegreatestuninsuredassetofyourorganizationisitsreputation,”and“thecourtofpublicopinionisarguablythemostimportantcourtroomthatyouandyourdirectorswillface.”

—BruceHennes,ManagingPartner,HennesCommunications

Inacrisis,there’sadifferencebetweenexpressingregretandacceptingliability.Theadvicefromlawyersthattheirclientssaynothinginacrisiscaninflamepassionswithpeoplewhoarejustlookingforanacknowledgementandanapology.

Whenurgentnewsisbreaking,moreattentionisthelastthingyouwant.Thepurposeofcrisiscommunicationistomakeyourstorybetter,shorterandtomakeyourstorygoaway.