Despite best efforts and a plethora of new media, communication remains an imperfect science.
Legacy media, such as Newspapers, television and radio, relied on readers and listeners for their success. In essence, the recipient chose to receive a communication. Consumers typically put trust in their local News room personalities to sort out the items of interest and import. It worked well, and in certain circles it still fulfills a mighty important role.
Much the same happens in the digital age, where people seek information, but the speed and efficacy of email, texts, tweets and updates from websites can be too voluminous to be reasonable.
Hours of a day can easily be wasted sorting through information of little consequence to discover a kernel of genuine intrigue.
There are a couple of examples noted in this week’s Advertiser, where the best of intentions did not quite measure up to the expectation of timely delivery of information. Those choices offer up contrasting elements of the communication puzzle.
In Rockwood, the largest settlement in Guelph-Eramosa Township, a pre-construction consultation meeting was scheduled for a date after the work commenced.
The town’s main thoroughfare will be closed for the next few weeks as upgrades take place, so a good understanding of the plan would have helped local citizens.
Certainly residents should have been better informed. Having received a note in the mail and been advised of an advertisement posted elsewhere, it would appear the communication strategy in this case was conceived late in the planning. And that happens through nobody’s fault, since typically the focus is on the road work rather than the impact of that road work on the community. It is a mind set worth correcting.
In Mapleton Township, another recurring theme in municipal circles played out there recently. Some residents felt uninformed after requests for service seemingly went amiss. Councillors Mike Downey and Jim Curry pressed for better dialogue, although a policy does exist. Mayor Bruce Whale has asked that the current policy be reviewed.
Without specifics in Mapleton, we suggest overly curious residents and also the body corporate need to embrace a standard that is fair without being onerous. Very quickly, customer service can take on a life of its own, costing a small fortune for the sake of what we suspect are rare examples of poor follow-up.
Oddly, communication, regarded as a two-way street in every other aspect of our lives, gets much tougher once politics are involved. Expectations are higher, demands are greater and theories abound about that great black hole called communication.
For us, paying attention is the best place to start.
