Strathcarron Hospice aims to inform, influence, inspire, engage and involve a range of audiences. To do this, Communications Manager Ailsa Herd has worked with teams across the hospice to build a storytelling culture.
Ailsa holds a 30 minute meeting every week, with representatives from each team in the hospice. The purpose of this meeting is to share stories and enable Ailsa to keep abreast of what is happening. The group has developed a case study process and the staff involved are now becoming ‘comms advocates’, identifying potential stories and promoting the process to colleagues.
Outcomes
Storytelling can have a significant impact. At Strathcarron, telling a range of stories about different aspects of the hospice’s work has led to donations, increased job applications and encouraged patients and families to benefit from the care and support from the hospice.
Facilitators, challenges and advice
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Key facilitators
It’s helpful to be on site and act quickly to respond to issues. For example, a recent job vacancy did not receive any applications. Ailsa was able to pop in on the relevant team, take some photos and ask staff for quotes about why they like their job. After these stories were shared, applications started coming in.
Having examples of stories that the hospice has already shared can be really helpful when you are talking to patients and families. It enables them to see that you will treat their experiences with sensitivity and respect, and gives them an idea of what to expect. Ailsa uses a partnership approach, working with people to tell their story as they wish it to be told.
Challenges
Some colleagues have raised concerns about when it is the right time to ask people about sharing their story. However, Ailsa has found that it is best just to ask them! Most people will be pleased that you are interested and will want to help the hospice.
Tips and advice
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Have the confidence to share what you’re doing – it may be ‘business as usual’ to you, but by ‘opening your doors’ you provide people with insight into the brilliant things you do. Most people won’t necessarily know about it.
Be strategic – think about how stories can be used to support your hospice’s objectives.
Consistency is key – have a steady output and reinforce your key messages.
Think about the purpose of your communications and how you can tailor your messages to suit different audiences. Repurpose your content - your story can be used across multiple channels to reach new audiences (for example internal communications, external newsletters, your website, stakeholder reporting, social media, local media and broadcast media). Use your own photography, not stock images – it will be much more powerful.
