{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Andy Morris, Transformation Lead, Coventry Scouts","standfirst":"Andy Morris, Coventry Scouts\u2019 County Training Manager and Transformation Lead, tells us about how knowing your audience and clear, friendly communication has helped his team deliver successful change in Coventry.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWith just over 800 volunteers, the City of Coventry, is relatively small county in comparison to others. As such, our volunteers aren\u2019t a stranger taking on a range of roles, so we can deliver great programmes to our young people. Our smaller size does have its benefits though. It gives us more opportunities to bring people together, to share messages and present information to encourage collaboration.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter Basecamp in 2022, where we learned about what changes would be coming, we decided that the County would take a lead on sharing the information. We formed our delivery team from those who already met regularly, had the right skills and the forward-thinking attitude needed to make a positive impact.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith our delivery team made up of the County Commissioner, a District Commissioner and our Media and Communications team, along with several other County staff, we decided the team would communicate directly with volunteers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe focussed on sharing what was relevant to each volunteer\u0027s roles, and this seems to have worked in our favour. \u00A0We communicated key information at County and District meetings, but limited the information shared at wider local membership roadshows. This meant key facts were kept in the spotlight and any shifts in timelines didn\u0027t change the overall message.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe believe that this helped keep people interested and have faith in the changes.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"Being such a small and reasonably compact County means that our members know and trust us, which helps when delivering our change plans. Being approachable plays a key part in keeping people positive and on-board.","attribution":"Andy Morris","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EDelivering change locally \u2013 how we did it in Coventry\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn late 2022, we gave what is probably best described as a soft launch, sharing key snippets of the plans on our social media channels and through the County and District newsletters. We also made sure our delivery team were available at events and activities to answer any questions and share key information.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2023, we started to ramp up our approach. We started with our County Conference in February, with Section, Group and District Teams, as well as the County Team joining us. The day was a great success, with our delivery team available and approachable to support our volunteers taking change forward.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMatt Cobble and Hamish Stout, volunteers leading on changes to the volunteer journey and learning, came along and delivered a comprehensive presentation. They explained how we\u2019re transforming our volunteer experience. We then followed the presentation with four workshops, which allowed for more focussed discussions.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFollowing the buzz of the County conference, our delivery team attended District and County meetings, where they shared presentations and had discussions with members. The numbers in attendance varied, but what we said always went down well.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ve continued to share what\u2019s happening, making everyone aware that they can find out more. We\u0027ve also been reassuring them we\u2019ll tell them what they need to know, when they need to know it. We\u2019re staying visible over the summer, making sure we\u2019re available at events, camps and at our activity centre.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EA challenge, and our solution\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen out talking to Districts, we had a bit of push back when we presented the introduction of Trustee Boards. A Group Scout Leader (GSL) shared a concern that his current Group Executive Committee might all leave now that they were becoming Trustees.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was actually a simple one to solve!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe explained that, although currently called Executive Committee Members, they are and have been doing the work of Trustees, even if they didn\u2019t realise it. He was quite happy to hear about the change and that things were becoming clearer. He was also glad that we\u2019d had a conversation to clear up the confusion.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeing on the ground with people, to answer their questions has massively helped us to keep people positive and on board.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA definite highlight took place in a Group\u2019s AGM when they asked the usual question of \u2018who would like to become a Trustee?\u2019 Much to the Group\u2019s surprise, four parents raised their hands and stepped forward to join the team!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey understood what being a \u2018Trustee\u2019 was and what it meant for them. Their feedback was that before, the words \u2018Executive Committee\u2019 had been off-putting.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA short summary\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s going well?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ECommunication, being available and responsive.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EKeeping the message alive and being able to talk with everyone, from parents and carers and young leaders to adult volunteers (including, but not limited to, Section Leaders, Young Leaders and Group Scout Leaders and Trustees).\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EBeing flexible with the approach \u2013 not everything needs to be a presentation or at a formal meeting.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s there to improve on?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur cleansing of data and updating Compass has slowed down a little. Over the next few weeks this needs to regain a bit of traction.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe want our members to engage with some of the project work at national level and be more involved with the journey.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ll be pointing them in the direction of the \u003Ca href=\u0022/about-us/testing-hub/\u0022 title=\u0022Testing hub\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETesting Hub\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/a\u003E and encouraging them to feed back on the changes.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMost pleasing bit?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe way that the changes have landed across the County is good. The people we speak to are positive about the changes and looking forward to seeing them put into action.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are you looking forward to?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe things that we\u2019ve been hearing about over the last few months is starting to be rolled out and being used, so the journey\u2019s becoming real. W\u0027re embedding our Volunteering Culture and seeing the new digital tools come into play.\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#f1f1f1","title":"","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019ve any questions about delivering change in your local area as a Transformation Lead, get in touch with the Scouts\u2019 Change Team at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:transformation.leads@scouts.org.uk\u0022\u003Etransformation.leads@scouts.org.uk\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDo you want to share your story? Get in touch with \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:transformation.leads@scouts.org.uk\u0022\u003Etransformation.leads@scouts.org.uk\u003C/a\u003E with the subject line, Transformation Lead Spotlight.\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#ffb4e5","title":"If you\u2019re a Transformation Lead leading change in your local area","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"15 June 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Volunteer Experience","url":"/volunteers/volunteer-experience/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Our volunteering culture","url":"/volunteers/running-things-locally/our-volunteering-culture/","newWindow":false}],"id":50436,"nodeName":"Looking to the future in Coventry","title":"Looking to the Future: Coventry","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/21072/scouts-volunteer-culture.png?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd28442cf0","caption":"Scouts Volunteer Culture","type":"png","size":1265756,"width":1917,"height":1077,"altText":"Three adult Scout volunteers set against a blue background"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Looking to the Future: Coventry","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"How knowing your audience and clear, friendly communication is helping Coventry Scouts successfully deliver change.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDQzNiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/june/looking-to-the-future-in-coventry/"}