Managing Constituent Communications
DO's...
- Do be proactive to reduce the volume of incoming constituent mail. Keep constituents informed through a comprehensive and user-friendly website and regular email and social media updates.
- Do assess the priority of mail in your office. It is counterproductive to assign mail a high priority and then fail to devote the resources to answer it appropriately.
- Do adopt the CMF Mail System, which enables an office to answer 85% of mail with pre-approved form letters in about one week.
- Do recognize that timeliness is of the utmost importance to constituents. A prompt one-page response is more desirable than a longer, more detailed response received several weeks later.
- Do treat mail backlogs as an office problem, not an individual staffer’s problem. It is the Member’s reputation at stake, not the staff’s.
- Do adhere to a consistent and timely process for the logging and coding of constituent interactions. Such a scheme will enable you to better track and respond to the needs of constituents.
- Do respond via email. More and more offices are replying to any constituent message (regardless of incoming method) with email if they have an email address on file.
DON'Ts...
- Don't ignore the expectations of constituents. Email has made people expect a faster reply and shorter responses.
- Don't discount the concerns of emailers. Most of them are just as committed to their issues as traditional postal writers.
- Don't view mail as simply something to react to. If you do, you will become a content provider instead of legislating, conducting outreach and district/state projects, and meeting the larger needs of constituents.
- Don't fail to establish clear mail policies. Consider: the purpose of responding; the quality of replies; desired turnaround; which mail to answer; Member involvement; the involvement of communications staff; and standard formats.
- Don't allow the Member to slow the mail approval process. When the Member regularly functions as a mail logjam, they must rethink the priority of speedy mail turnaround, or come up with a strategy to approve mail more quickly.
- Don't violate House and Senate rules governing mass communications and email — both solicited and unsolicited — which can result in Ethics Committee investigations, financial penalties, and harmful press coverage.
Details
Copyright 2020, Congressional Management Foundation
Paperback/Softcover: 312 pages
Publisher: Congressional Management Foundation; 17th edition (November 3, 2020)
ISBN: 978-1-930473-24-9
Dimensions: 7.5 x 9.25 inches
Pricing for Hardcopies
Price:
$25.00*
Bulk Price (10+ copies): $25.00 $22.50 (10% off)
*No charge for congressional offices. Please contact us at 202-546-0100 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
if you don't have a complimentary copy in your office.
