Advanced communications and advocacy

As trained volunteers, Workplace Representatives (WPRs) carry a large responsibility to defend and protect members’ rights and benefits. WPRs are, by definition, member advocates, and effective advocacy requires excellent communications skills.  

Setting clear goals and establishing a strong, effective key message will help ensure you are communicating information successfully.  

Setting clear goals

An important part of advocacy is determining how to clearly communicate your goal to an audience. Goals that are too broad or vague will make communication more difficult and will likely be difficult to achieve.  

A clear, achievable goal should be SMART:  

Specific – What, exactly, are you aiming to achieve?  

Measurable – How much will be achieved and how will you know if/when it has been achieved? 

Agreed-upon – Do all involved parties agree? Is everyone working toward the same goal?  

Reachable – Is achieving your goal realistic given the time and resources available to you?  

Time-bound – When will you have achieved the goal?  

Developing a strong key message  

The first step in developing your message is to make it strong. A strong message resonates with your audience. It considers what all parties involved want and identifies the place where their visions and values can overlap. 

For example, if you are developing a message when assisting a member with a workplace accommodation issue, you might consider: 

What does the member want?  

• To be heard and respected; and  
• To have their accommodation needs met. 

What does the manager want? 

• For the dispute to go away; 
• For the workplace to function well;  
• To avoid any accommodation- or disability-related liability; and  
• To avoid conflict with higher levels of management. 

Once you have considered what each party wants, you can determine the place where their visions and values overlap: 

• A respectful, more efficient workplace; 
• A good working relationship between the employee and manager going forward;  
• Having the employee functioning at 100% again; and  
• Ensuring the Human Rights Code and collective agreement are upheld.  

Developing an effective (and strong) key message   

Once you have developed a strong key message, it is important to be able to condense your message into one or two clear sentences or phrases. When done well, this provides clarity and focus to the message, and makes it easier for the audience to remember.  

To create an effective message, you should: 

• Know your message – Do research, make notes, work with the member to agree on your SMART goals, and practice your message.  
• Consider non-verbal messages – Facial expressions and formal or informal postures (arms crossed or uncrossed, eye contact, sitting casually or sitting up tall), will all have an impact on the listener, just as their response will have an impact on you. 
• Think about your audience – Who are they? What is their knowledge of, interest in and experience with this issue? Do they know who you are and understand your role? 
• Contemplate pitfalls – Take time to consider and address potential pitfalls and develop answers to difficult questions. 
• Review and refine the message after interactions – What worked? What didn’t? Why? 

If you have any further questions about communication skills, we encourage you to contact a Workplace Advisor.