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Branding: The Fairfax Story
As a service to its members, nacio.org features articles about successful departments, programs and services that we hope will inspire you to try new things. This month, we look at the Office of Public Affairs in Fairfax County, Virginia. We want to thank Deputy Director Debra Bianchi for taking the time to write the article below and for including some pictures. We'd love to feature your department or one of your award winning programs. Not all departments have the budget to be able to send someone to the NACo/NACIO meetings and seminars. But all of us can share a success story or two with everyone else. If you think these articles are helpful, let the NACIO WebMaster know. INTRODUCTION Fairfax County, located approximately 14 miles from Washington D.C., is Virginia’s largest county, covering 399 square miles with a population of 969,749 people. The county is governed by a Board of Supervisors composed of 10 members; 9 from designated districts and a chairman elected at large. The Board appoints the County Executive to administer the county government, which has an annual budget of $2.4 billion. The Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs (OPA) has 14 employees, an annual budget of $860,000 and provides communication support for the Board of Supervisors, County Executive and county agencies. In addition, 11 county agencies, such as Police, Fire and Rescue and Libraries, have information officers who function independently, but work closely with, the Office of Public Affairs. As the 21st century arrived, OPA began examining its direction and making changes to enhance its service to the community. During the past two years, the organization and operation of the office have been closely evaluated. The purpose of this business process redesign was to restructure the organization and function of the Office of Public Affairs to address:
Recognizing that OPA would be called on to meet these challenges without any significant increases in staffing or financial resources, the redesign focused on making the most effective use of existing resources while developing new communication programs, tools and strategies. NEW VISION AND MISSION The redesign process began by evaluating six critical areas of operation within the Office of Public Affairs: planning; resource management; public information; media relations; technology; and, most recently, emergency communications. OPA conducted a communications audit and satisfaction surveys to measure the effectiveness of our programs and services. The OPA director met with Board members and senior county staff as part of the evaluation process. As a result of this evaluation, over the past two years, OPA redesigned it operations extensively in the areas of planning, resource management, public information and emergency communications. Planning OPA initiated strategic planning in 2001 and, with input from the entire staff, developed new vision and mission statements to guide the planning effort: Vision: To be the information connection to Fairfax County government, empowering our citizens to make informed choices and improve the quality of their lives. Mission: To deliver effective, timely communication and information services to the public, elected and appointed officials, County agencies and the media with integrity and sensitivity. OPA also developed a workforce plan to guide our recruitment and training efforts in the coming years. OPA established a Leadership Team, made up of all staff members who had completed a six-day leadership training program offered by the county; and a Management Team, made up of all staff members who have supervisory responsibilities. The Leadership Team addresses long range strategic issues in the agency and the Management Team deals with day-to-day operational issues. The teams meet monthly to ensure that planning is an integral part of OPA’s operations. Resource Management One of the first steps in the redesign was to reorganize the staff to support the agency’s business areas. The 14 staff members were divided into three branches: Public Information: responsible for media relations, publications, communication support to 30 county agencies, Board presentations, special events, and supporting emergency communications. Administrative Management and Analysis: responsible for strategic planning, the agency budget, databases, purchasing, finance and personnel activities and technology and industry research. Information Systems: responsible for managing the content of the Web site and citizen e-mail, agency technology support, the County Information Desk in the Government Center and providing communication support to county agencies. In terms of staff development, staff members are encouraged to participate in training and join professional organizations that will enhance their professional development. The OPA hiring process was overhauled and a formal agency orientation was put in place to supplement the county orientation. Each new employee is assigned a mentor within the agency who they can turn to with questions or concerns. OPA also offers employees flexible hours and the opportunity to participate in the county’s teleworking program. The OPA staff participated in several Myers Briggs training sessions and other team building activities, such as a staff picnic and miniature golf outing. In addition to OPA personnel resources, other resources such as funding, equipment, office space and software were evaluated and realigned or enhanced to better support the agency’s mission. In 2001, OPA worked closely with the Department of Information Technology (DIT) to redesign the county’s Web site, www.fairfaxcounty.gov. DIT and OPA again convened citizen focus groups and conducted an online citizen survey to gather feedback on the new site and ensure it was user friendly. Citizens are also provided with easy access to additional county information via an e-mail link on the county’s Web site. The citizen e-mails come directly to OPA staff who coordinate the responses. The two main citizen information telephone numbers were consolidated from two different agencies into one main number answered by OPA staff to ensure consistent and timely response. All county agencies were given access to a computer database created and managed by OPA that provides instant access to telephone numbers for more than 900 county, state and federal services. OPA is responsible for coordinating about 150 citizen presentations annually that are requested by the Board of Supervisors. The process brings more than 1,500 citizens in direct contact with members of the Board through their participation in the regularly scheduled Board meetings. OPA also provides a listing of all public meetings in the Government Center lobby to increase awareness and provide opportunities for citizens to participate in their government. Work is in progress to provide this meeting calendar online. Media Relations Significant changes were made in OPA’s media relations strategy when the agency assumed the role of spokesperson for the county in January 2001. This was a significant shift in the role of OPA staff from directing media inquiries to the appropriate individual to responding directly with the requested information. This requires OPA staff, particularly the director who is the chief spokesperson, to have a much more in-depth and comprehensive knowledge of county issues and operations. To support this new role, a media paging system was put in place to enhance reporters’ access to an OPA staff person 24/7. OPA conducts a media update survey and the updated information is entered into an extensive database that allows users to sort media by type of media, area of interest, language, etc. It also allows OPA to tailor the distribution of news release by e-mail, fax and regular mail based on the reporters’ preference. To measure OPA’s success, an annual media satisfaction survey is sent to all reporters who have worked with the staff on three or more occasions. Recognizing that county staff may still be asked to talk with the media, the OPA director teaches a four-hour media relations course that is offered to all county staff on a regular basis. Internal Audiences OPA is responsible for providing public information support to 30 county agencies that do not have public information officers. To enhance this support, each OPA information officer was assigned as an information consultant to four or five county agencies. This allows the PIO to get to know the agency more thoroughly and staff members within each county agency now know who their “go to” PIO is within OPA. As a result of the new consulting relationships, OPA provided 3,794 hours of support to county agencies, including the Board of Supervisors, in fiscal year 2002. To evaluate our consulting relationships, an agency survey is sent twice a year to county staff who have worked with OPA staff. In addition, OPA created the Fairfax County Government Communicators (FCGC) and invited all county staff involved in public information to join. The group meets monthly for informal discussions and twice a year sponsors professional development seminars which are open to all county staff. OPA also provides considerable support to the Board of Supervisors by coordinating Board presentations, ceremonies and special events and publicizing county activities, programs and issues. To manage Board-related activities, OPA implemented a specialized software system that tracks all projects, special events and presentations. At the direction of the County Executive and to provide enhanced internal communications, OPA has begun the process of consolidating employee communications that were previously located in several county agencies. OPA staff will develop the internal communications program, with guidance from the county’s Employee Communication Board, which is now chaired by the director of OPA. The next step in this consolidation process will be to move the production of the county’s employee newsletter, the Courier, to OPA. As part of the enhanced internal communications effort, OPA launched a daily online newsletter in July 2002. NewsLink includes general announcements submitted by county employees, links to news articles about the county and quick links to news releases, event calendars, Board of Supervisor meeting agendas and even the cafeteria menus for various government buildings. Emergency Communications Following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the County Executive created a new position in the Office of Public Affairs – emergency information officer. Our proximity to Washington, DC and many national facilities, such as the Pentagon, increases the potential for emergencies in Fairfax County. The emergency information officer coordinates countywide emergency information and works with county, regional and national agencies to enhance our emergency communications. OPA established an emergency hotline to provide emergency information to county employees and citizens. The emergency information officer also works closely with the agencies, such as the Health Department, that routinely have urgent information to provide to the public. SUMMARY The Office of Public Affairs will continue its strategic planning effort during the coming year as part of the County Executive’s emphasis on leadership and high performance. It is anticipated that one of the major elements in our strategic plan will be developing communication tools to reach our diverse population that speaks more than 100 different languages. OPA staff will also be working with each county agency to develop a communication plan and will continue to explore technology tools to enhance communication and reduce costs. If you would like more information, please contact the Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs by phone at 703-324-3187 or TTY 703-324-2935, by e-mail at wwwopa@fairfaxcounty.gov or by fax at 703-324-2010. General county information is available at www.fairfaxcounty.gov. 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