Communications at Enemalta

On August 6, The Times published my letter that stated:

"Being a public and strategic entity, Enemalta must be more publicly accountable and should have a more active communications strategy than it has today. Enemalta cannot communicate to the public when we have a crisis or electricity cuts; there must be a continuous flow of information and communications to inform the public and the economic stakeholders."

On August 8, The Times reported a briefing session with the press held by Enemalta Corporation chairman Tancred Tabone. During the press conference, Mr Tabone gave details of the financial performance of the corporation and referred to the importance of communications. He was reported saying:

"Enemalta, he said, was on a mission to change the public's perception of the corporation and rectify its image, which was often only associated with bills, power cuts and the digging up of roads. It intended to beef up its customer care service and would be addressing its shortcomings."

Mr Tabone also deemed unacceptable the fact that consumers could not get through to the corporation in case of a power cut.

While maintaining that in such cases it was physically impossible to cope with the thousands of consumers who called, he said Enemalta would be introducing an automated response system that would provide the necessary information.

Improving customer care and communication with the public was a priority for the corporation...

I am very pleased that Enemalta Corporation has started thinking on its communications strategy. I disagree with the way it is being done. For such a big corporation to have an effective communications strategy, it requires:

¤ a thorough analysis of its strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities [SWOT analysis];

¤ an effective programme of change management;

¤ the building of a customer-friendly environment and a new model of customer relations management [CRM];

¤ the drafting of its corporate social responsibility charter, declaring its values and mission statement towards the community at large;

¤ a holistic communications strategy that may include educational initiatives, safety education, open days for the public, public seminars, etc; and

¤ a continuous internal training programme for the corporation's employees.

I strongly believe that for such an extensive programme to succeed, Enemalta requires a professional consultancy firm that will act as a facilitator in the changing dynamics required to bring about a new customer-oriented culture in one of Malta's most strategic entities.