Divisional Strategy and Key Performance Areas
The Communication and Marketing Division strategy approach is focused on the engagement of stakeholders, the management of issues and engagement of the media. In this context, the role played by the Communication and Marketing Division is to help enhance the stature and reputation of Rhodes University among key stakeholders in a way that enables the institution to attain strategic and operational goals effectively and efficiently.
Stakeholder Engagement
The focus on stakeholders is essential as stakeholders influence or makes decisions that determine:
- student take up;
- staff recruitment and retention;
- favourable policy decisions;
- research partnerships; and
- funding decisions.
The Division plays an active role in ensuring through various stakeholder communication activities, that selected stakeholders know and understand what Rhodes is about, what it strives to achieve and how it is performing. The more knowledgeable key stakeholders are about institutional programmes and projects, the more likely they will support the institution in its endeavours.
This applies as much to the external stakeholders as it does to internal stakeholders. Well informed and engaged staff and students, are more likely to actively support and implement institutional plans and programmes, help to resolve challenges and device solutions.
Media Engagement
Since the large number of stakeholders that the University need to communicate with and engage make it impossible for meetings to be held with all stakeholders in any given year, it becomes imperative that the institution implements a strategy of communicating its programmes and projects, performance and achievements through the mainstream media. Further, the media and stakeholder community do have a need to know and understand what University does, how it spends tax money, and why it engages in certain programmes and activities.
The media is therefore important in ensuring and enhancing knowledge and understanding of institutional activities.
Issues Management
Stakeholders often vigorously debate issues that concern them in the media or take up such issues directly with the institution. The debate or engagement of issues directly or through the media can, unless actively and strategically managed, have a negative impact on stakeholder perceptions and on the institution. It is thus important that the institution proactively manage issues to avoid being impacted negatively by on-going stakeholder and media debates.
The Division plays an essential role in assisting the institution develop and implement effective issues management strategies. This approach assists in not only preventing and containing negative impacts, but also allows the university to intervene more intelligently and engage the issues in a way that allows it to influence and set the agenda on own and related issues.
