Adopted December 6, 2016
1. A director or any member of a SIRRA committee acquiring information on behalf of SIRRA and of interest to the board and membership will first and foremost provide that information to the SIRRA board.
2. The board will in turn decide, generally through Electronic Attendance in a meeting on the subject, whether there should be a release of the information.
3. The board, if it so decides, will direct the Communications Secretary to prepare an information release.
4. The Communications Secretary may request that those with the information prepare a draft of the release.
5. Prior to dissemination of the release, it will be presented to the board for review, comment and approval.
6. The Communication Secretary, or designate, will be responsible for publication and will decide which mediums (e.g., sirra.ca, listserv) should be used to relay the information.
7. Communications from SIRRA in electronic form, except to sirra.ca, will generally be done under the info@sirra.ca address, or other address as designated, in order that any feedback can be delivered to the board.
8. This protocol will also apply to correspondence both received and generated by the SIRRA Board, with the Board deciding whether the correspondence should be posted on the SIRRA website and/or SIRRA listserv.
9. The Board will endeavor to ensure all communications are dealt with in an efficient and timely manner.
Background for the SIRRA Board
Purpose of a Communication Protocol
A communication protocol ensures a clear communication path internally and externally, and defines the accepted processes for approval and dissemination of outgoing information.
Adherence to the Communication Protocol ensures the consistency of messaging and quality assurance in delivery to the intended audience. All communications made in the name of SIRRA are a reflection of the board, and as such all communication must appear to be professional in character.
Underlying the protocol is recognition by SIRRA that the membership prefers to receive communication in a packaged form, where context is of any issue is provided to them.
SIRRA Goals in Communication
There are a number of goals to be achieved through effective communication:
Provide the membership with up-to-date information
Provide transparency in the operation of SIRRA
Invoke feedback on issues of importance to the membership
Promote SIRRA to all as a worthwhile and effective organization to be a member of, whether a property owner or resident of Saturna
The SIRRA Context of a Communications Protocol
Reviewing SIRRA membership numbers over the past few years, and considering the marginally successful campaigns to increase membership, it’s clear that SIRRA has hit a glass ceiling in terms of membership numbers. It’s known that the membership could be much higher than it is.
The goal for SIRRA is one of both retention and recruitment. It would be nice if those who are members would immediately recognize the worth of the work being done by the association, and respond by willingly paying their dues, rather than having a significant number that need to be effectively hounded in order to get them to pay.
Similarly, in terms of recruitment, non-members need to know of the hard work and resulting value that SIRRA provides. The best avenue to achieve this is through effective communication to members and non-members.
People should want to join SIRRA because of the good work that it does for property owners, residents, and the community in general. Certainly the fees charged are not a barrier to membership.
Ambit of the SIRRA Communication Protocol
The protocol for SIRRA, at present, will primarily take into consideration the communication made to members of the organizations through its own media such as the SIRRA Yahoo! listserv, and to members and others through the SIRRA.ca website. As well, the protocol will apply to communication made through external media, and delivery to wider audience, such as The Saturna Scribbler.
The protocol will apply to dissemination of information that is important in nature and not time-critical.
Communications Secretary
The board will assign a director, or sub-committee, to the role of SIRRA Communications Secretary.
This assignment is parallel to that of many commercial organizations.
