Program overview:

Effective community relations can only be achieved when an organisation recognises its interdependence with other institutions. When the management recognises the many ways its organisation can impact the local community and the extent of reciprocal dependence, it will help to establish social balance. The practice of good community relations assists the organisation in securing its needs from the community, while it also provides what the community expects. Also, it helps to secure the company’s investments, increase sales of products, the value of stocks, and improve the general operating climate of the business

This program is designed to assist participants in acquiring in-depth insights and hands-on knowledge on how to best create shared value for communities and businesses alike.  It will not only dispel myths relating to community engagement but will also focus on how to manage community stakeholders effectively to ensure a ‘win-win’ and to prevent conflict whenever possible.

For whom:

This program is designed for Executives involved in strategic and operational functions, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Practitioners at all levels, community relations personnel, and Business Operations Managers. All Personnel involved in communications, business strategy, community relations, and governmental affairs will equally benefit from this program.

Learning objectives:

At the end of the program, participants will be able to:

• explain the role of organisations in managing community relations;
• discern the different areas of meaningful impact organisations can have in the communities;
• create meaningful stakeholder engagement techniques;
• analyse and report the impact and why this is important;
• develop stronger relationships with the communities where their businesses operate, which will likely contribute to the ‘social license to operate’;
• improve on brand image and business reputation via the application of methods and concepts learnt during the course; and
• create increased recognition by community stakeholders as a collaborative partner

Course Outline:

Day 1: Community Relations: Overview

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) vs. Community Engagement
• Understanding the Importance of Community Engagement
• Defining the Corporate Community Involvement Mission
• Identifying Key Stakeholders
• Stakeholder Expectations of Our Organisation
• Assessing Impacts and Pre-empting Risks
• Reputational Impact

DAY 2: Integrating community involvement into the business

• Integrating Community Involvement into the Business
• Environmental Issues
• Health and Safety
• Local Procurement
• Education
• Capacity Building
• Reputation Management

Day 3: Practical steps for community engagement

• Developing Engagement Programs
• Community-Driven Projects
• Social Contribution Projects
• Corporate Giving and Foundations
• Engagement Techniques
• Corporate Communication with the Communities
• Presenting our organisation to the communities we operate In Budgeting
• Practical Exercises in Community Dialogue

DAY 4: Crisis Management and Response Techniques

• Identifying and Conducting the Crisis Audit
• Performing a Risk Level Analysis
• Developing a Response Process
• Incident Management Techniques.
• Working through the Issues
• Establishing an Emergency Operations Centre
• Building Business Continuity and Recovery

Day 5: Fundamentals of dispute resolution

• Overview of the dispute resolution process
• Methods of dispute resolution, including:
  • Litigation, Arbitration, Collaborative law
  • Mediation, Conciliation, Negotiation, Facilitation
• The Negotiation Process
  • Dealing with Difficult Negotiations
  • The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system

Action Plan

• Improving what we do - action planning
• Negotiation case study

This course package includes: Course material in soft copy, Tea break, Lunch, City tour, and certificate of attendance.

A Core 1.5 laptop with the soft copy of the course material loaded with a carrying bag will be presented to the participants at the end of the course.

Note: Payment is either USD or the prevailing parallel market rate. We do not accept the government official rate.

Training Methodology: Lectures, discussions, exercises, case studies, and audio-visual aids will be used to reinforce these teaching/learning methods

Course Booking

Please use the “book now” or “inquire” buttons on this page to either book your space or make further enquiries.