Becoming a confident communicator

Enterprising ways to boost engagement? Build a talented team, and bring the Government Communication Service (GCS) brand to life? Cabinet Office civil servant Hayley Higgins reveals her top tips to become a crack communicator.

As we kick off National Career Development Month (1-30 November), I find myself reflecting on my journey in Civil Service communications. From my early days as a comms officer in the financial services sector to my current role as Head of Member Strategy and Services in the Central Government Communication Service (GCS) Team, I've learned valuable lessons about compelling communication. Now I'd like to share my story and some insights I've gained along the way.

Big challenge: Communicating with 7,000 voices

When I stepped into my role at GCS, I confronted a daunting challenge: how to effectively communicate with 7,000 government communicators spread across various departments and agencies. Each with their own priorities, preferred channels, and communication styles. And many more experienced than me!?

Turning point

I quickly realised the key to success lay in truly understanding our audience. I dove deep into gathering insights and data, determined to understand what our audience thought of GCS and what they needed from us.

An early major project was revamping our GCS Newsletter. Initially, it struggled with a low open rate and low engagement. I knew we had to do better.?

OASIS framework: Our north star

Going back to basics, I turned to the OASIS framework, a Guide to Campaigns planning tool that has seen me through my government comms career.?

We meticulously worked through each step:

• Objectives: We clearly defined what we wanted to achieve with the newsletter.
• Audience: We analysed who we were talking to and what they wanted.
• Strategy: We reimagined our approach to content, design and proof-reading - knowing it would be read by eagle-eyed, professional communicators!
• Implementation: We put our plan into action, polishing it as we went.
• Scoring: We closely monitored our metrics to measure success.

Results were astounding. Our open rates soared to 80%, with click rates hitting 60%. It was a joy receiving feedback from our Chief Operating Officer, Gem Walsh, who wrote, "These newsletters are just getting better and better. The content is so useful. I actually enjoy reading them these days? - and always learn something!"

Expanding our reach

Buoyed by success, we turned our attention to targeting multiple channels. We revamped our GCS Calls, switching from Zoom to Teams following audience feedback. We grew our LinkedIn followers from 9,000 to 16,000 in under a year, then? ventured into Instagram.

Power of storytelling

As our channels grew, we faced a new challenge: how to bring the GCS story to life. We embarked on a journey to develop a new brand strategy, a prospect that proved both exciting and daunting. I found myself in rooms with senior, influential people, often questioning my own instincts. But I learned to trust my gut, back up my decisions with data, and assert my ideas respectfully. It was a growth experience that taught me the delicate balance between drawing on the wisdom of others and being assertive.

Dream team

Throughout my journey, I realised our success wasn't just about strategies and frameworks – it was about people - the heart of our success. Now I focused on building a team that wasn’t just skilled, but passionate and motivated.

We implemented a robust induction process, held regular planning meetings, and encouraged colleagues to lead projects and challenge themselves. Seeing them grow and ‘own’ campaigns like Learning at Work Week and National Inclusion Week felt incredibly rewarding.

Road ahead

As I look to the future, I'm excited about the challenges ahead. We're constantly learning and adapting our approach, whether it's exploring new social media platforms or finding innovative ways to engage our audience. One thing I've learned is that becoming a confident communicator is a journey, not a destination. It requires continuous learning, adaptation, and a willingness to step out of your comfort zone.

Lessons for fellow communicators

To my fellow civil servants, I offer these lessons from my experience:

1. Always start by understanding your audience. Use frameworks like OASIS to structure your communication efforts.
2. Be unafraid to try new channels and approaches but remain open to feedback.
3. Share compelling stories that bring your message to life.
4. Build and nurture a strong team – always the backbone of your success.
5. Above all, never stop learning and adapting.

Remember, effective communication is about finding the right words to bring your message to life. When you get it right, your audience will not only listen, but engage and act - the true measure of a confident communicator!