Transformation, Engagement and Communication
Elysium EPL’s Transformation, Engagement and Communication Practice provides services which enable projects and organisations to succeed through targeted communication and engagement.
Key to these services is development and implementation of strategic communications strategies. These strategies enable transformation within organisations by influencing stakeholders and increasing awareness of and support for policies, plans and projects.
The Elysium EPL Transformation, Engagement and Communication practice includes specialists across:
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communication
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stakeholder engagement
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government process
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media and issues management
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multimedia
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graphic design
The Case Study
Elysium EPL’s Transformation, Engagement and Communication Practice was engaged by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) to provide strategic communication and media advice and day-to-day support while their office was understaffed.
The
Challenge
The engagement with ASBFEO commenced during 2021 lockdowns, when their staff (and ours!) were working from home. A brand new Ombudsman had joined and wanted to take his strategic vision for ASBFEO forward; however the agency had lost its media and communication capability through staff attrition and secondments, at a crucial time for COVID-affected small businesses and when key agency documents were due for release.
The role of Elysium EPL’s Transformation, Engagement and Communication team was to quickly fill the skill gap in ASBFEO’s media and communication team, but also provide them a strategic perspective to their communication and stakeholder engagement at a time where necessity had led the agency to predominantly being reactive.
Our
Comprehensive Solution
The first step was to confirm the problems that needed to be solved for ASBFEO and what ‘good’ looked like (the outcomes sought) to effectively support Australian small businesses. Our Strategic Communication team then determined the best way to re-align ASBFEO’s media and communication capability to support this, which involved developing processes, detailed planning and generating products. Elysium EPL’s Transformation, Engagement and Communication practice team are experienced communicators with a range of skillsets. This enabled them to provide a full package of strategic communication to ASBFEO – not only to manage their websites, social media channels, newsletters, media releases and speeches, but to plan for how and when these should be done and released.
For each project or topic, the team worked with the Ombudsman and his policy team to determine the strategic intent, undertake an analysis of stakeholder drivers and needs and then develop an effective communication and engagement strategy in support of it.
A highlight was working with the ASBFEO policy team to plan and execute release of ‘The Show Must Go On’ - An interim report into the insurance crisis facing Australia’s amusement, recreation and leisure sector. Effective engagement with key stakeholders and significant metropolitan and regional media coverage was achieved, raising awareness of the issue and obtaining support for the proposed solution.
Elysium EPL’s Strategic Communications consultants are a well-balanced team of great human beings who all have different but complementary core strengths. They provided a comprehensive outcome for us, with no sense of competition or ego. They worked effectively with our staff, gave us fantastic support, were agile and flexible, and were invested in our success.
I’d rate them 14 out of 10.
From the Hon Bruce Billson,
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman
The
Enduring
Value
The ultimate achievement was crafting and delivering a ‘live’ communication and engagement strategy for ASBFEO and handing it over to the new media and communication team so they could take ownership of it and drive it going forward.
The strategy defined the communications outcomes to support ASBFEO in its aim of making Australia the best place to start, grow and transform a business. It included key considerations, key messages and the best way to leverage communications in support of the agency’s aims. The team also contributed to the ASBFEO Strategic Plan, which fed into the communications strategy. This fitted into the repositioning, redefining and re-branding that ASBFEO was in the process of undertaking. Processes for developing effective communication strategies and ‘war gaming’ were included, along with a 12-month content schedule.
It was through a demonstration of empathy that the Elysium EPL team assisted the ASBFEO media and communication team – by integrating with them, listening to them and obtaining their insights and expertise, gaining their trust, and providing strategic guidance. As a result they did themselves ‘out of a job’ in the best possible way by setting them up to successfully do it on their own.