Yes, that’s a pretty blunt headline. But as a community engagement professional who lives and works in a regional area, I know that sometimes blunt is the best way!
All stakeholders – not just the regional ones – will appreciate honest, upfront communication that demonstrates genuine goodwill, establishes credibility, and makes the best use of everyone’s time.
However there are pitfalls along the way that can put a stop to the relationships and dialogue we’re looking for, no matter how well-intentioned our engagement process is.
In this spirit, I’d like to share the top 3 mistakes I see people make when attempting to engage with regional communities. And keep in mind that I’ve learnt a lot from my own engagement mistakes – no one’s perfect! However, we can learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others.
Mistake #1. Refer to people or places by the wrong names or pronunciations.
Using the right names for people, places and groups is an easy and effective way to build credibility and goodwill in a regional community.
Get it wrong, however, and you’ll risk insulting people, or reinforcing stereotypes of ‘fly in/fly out’ visitors who haven’t made the effort to understand the community.
It’s essential that you have a locally-based contact (not Google!) who can advise you on how groups and individuals like to be referred to. Some examples:
- Are you working with primary producers? How do they like to be referred to? Different commodities will have different preferences. Beef producers usually prefer ‘grazier’ instead of ‘farmer’. Sugar and horticulture producers may prefer ‘grower’. And in some regions, they prefer to be known simply as ‘producers’.
- Don’t treat the official maps or reports as your single source of information. On a map it might look like your target audience belongs to ABC Town, but actually they think of themselves as citizens of XYZ.
- Are you working with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people? What name does their group prefer to be known by? It might be different from their Aboriginal Corporation name or their Registered Native Title Body Corporate name. Would some individuals like to be addressed as ‘Uncle’ or ‘Aunty’ as a sign of respect?
- Learn how to pronounce names like a local. (Anyone from Goondwindi or Launceston knows what I’m talking about!) And it’s essential to make the time to pronounce Traditional Owner names properly.
Don’t be upset if, despite your best efforts, someone corrects you on your terminology, pronunciation or assumptions. It’s happened to all of us at some point. Thank the person who corrected you for helping you out, and reassure them that you’ll get it right next time. People will appreciate that you made the effort even if you get it wrong.
Mistake #2. Assume regional residents will be freely available to attend engagement events, as there’s usually not much happening.
Make no mistake about it – people in rural towns are BUSY.
A lot people wear many hats and have multiple roles that take up a huge amount of time and energy. Some examples I’ve come across:
- The corner shop owner is also a local government councillor, an accredited horseriding instructor, and a volunteer with the Country Women’s Association, while helping to run her family’s farm.
- The local community centre coordinator has a second job as a police liaison officer, while volunteering his time to coach footy after work and on weekends, mentoring young people, and running an outdoor cinema on Friday nights.
Adding to this everyday busyness, at certain times of the year the social calendar is full of popular events that people plan to attend well in advance. For example, winter in western Queensland is the prime time for rodeos and other shindigs. People are also busy in the lead up to winter, either working extra hard on their property or business to ensure they can have a few days off for upcoming events, or putting in long hours as part of the event organising committees.
To maximise your chances of engaging these busy people, find out:
- When the busy times are for the local community during the year.
- What other organisations are coming to town at the same time as you.
- Whether you can join up your events with the other visiting organisations.
A good person to ask is the local council’s community development or recreation officer (if they have one). TAFE colleges, health services and state/regional sporting bodies are just some of the regular visitors to the regions, and it’s worth seeing if you can join your events together to take advantage of people’s interest and the fact that they’ve come into town (or ‘up the street’, in my local parlance!)
It might look quiet, but it’s a hive of activity
Mistake #3. Doing all your regional engagement online because travelling to the region is ‘too expensive’.
It’s hard to build a relationship with a community if you don’t ever set foot in it.
Visiting in person as part of your engagement process, even just once, is worth the time and the money. It generates a huge amount of goodwill if it’s done right and gives you a feel for the community that you can’t get via Teams or email.
For some stakeholders, meeting you in person is the only way they will get comfortable with you. This is particularly true for communities where there is a history of conflict, mistrust, or where you are working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who will appreciate an informal yarn with you to build a relationship before jumping right into business.
Online engagement can work well once you have met stakeholders in person and built a relationship with them. Your local contacts will be best placed to advise on the internet speeds and IT equipment available. Some areas are well-served (check out the Julia Creek Smart Hub) while others may struggle with low internet speeds or lack of meeting rooms with videoconferencing capabilities.
Time and budget are often underestimated during a community engagement process. But if we want to avoid the mistakes above, it’s essential that we take the time and the effort to get our regional engagement right.
Looking for a review of your engagement approach for a regional Queensland project? Book a free 30 min chat with Renée.
Read more about Renée’s community engagement experience and tips to build trust in stakeholder working groups.
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