A community up in arms about a cycleway in Nelson. 5% of this hospital redevelopment budget wasted in the UK. $20 billion of mothballed or delayed projects in Australia - enough to build 50 state-of-the-art hospitals.

When we hear those stories about the costs of not engaging, it makes us wonder...

Why do organisations choose not to engage?

In this article, we're going to expand on the six most common objections we hear. Think of this as a cheat-sheet for navigating these objections when they crop up in your organisation or broader community.

“We’ve got too many other things to do.”

Every organisation has a rhythm. Weekly meetings. Monthly updates. Quarterly reports. Yearly plans. We create these to hold us accountable to what we’ve promised to do.

The problem is these planning cycles can prevent you from finding time to listen and engage with the people who matter most.

So how do you overcome this barrier?

By reminding people about the value of engagement. Tie your project back to the key benefits.

Decision-making that people understand and support. Longer-lasting outcomes supported by your community of interest. Actions achieved in partnership with your key stakeholders. Whatever is most relevant in your situation.

Or you can share some horror stories about what happens when you ignore your communities and stakeholders. Google “consultation” and your sector and you should find something pretty easily.

“Engagement is expensive. We can’t afford it.”

This objection is based on a comparison with consultation, which is often the usual way of doing things. This is where your organisation defines the problem, comes up with a solution and asks your community what they think

Unlike consultation, engagement is not a one-off activity. It’s not just about the particular topic in hand. It’s also focused on building an ongoing capability of the community which your organisation can work with again in the future.

Consultation doesn’t leave the public in a better state than it was previously; but engagement does. 

You need to stop thinking of engagement as a project-related cost. It’s more accurate to think of it as an investment in building an ongoing asset that should generate benefits long after your initial investment.

“We can’t afford to lose control of the conversation.”

This objection is common.

Your work is important. You’re passionate about what you do. And you’ve worked hard to be in a position where you can make a difference. So you do everything you can to promote positive stories and shield your organisation from criticism.

But that negative thinking is out there anyway.

People are spreading their views on social media. At the golf club. At the marae. Anywhere where their crowd will listen.

Here’s the thing. By engaging, you can often increase your control. You have the chance to shape the conversation. You can share data and context so people’s conversations are based on facts.

By engaging openly, opening you’ll hear from more than just the same few loud voices who usually pipe up. And that will result in better decisions and more buy-in.

“It’s our responsibility to make these decisions. And we've already got the data.”

You may well have access to data showing you where the problem lies. But that doesn't mean you have a monopoly over the solution.

If you want to avoid the horror stories of bad engagement, you need to listen and work with the people who will be affected by your decisions and projects.

In our work with Marlborough District Council, we’ve helped to get 0.5% of their population actively working together with the Council on the biggest priorities for the region. Imagine if 0.5% of Auckland had a positive and constructive working relationship with the Council. That would be 70,000 people. What if that was 2%? That would be 280,000 people working constructively together.

"Oh yeah I didn’t even think of it."

Community engagement is quite a new profession - relatively speaking. This means often public officials are not trained to think of community engagement. They are focused on getting their project - and community engagement sometimes doesn’t enter the picture until it’s too late.

Or sometimes people will be scared of engaging, as it’s new for them. But we encourage people not to let their skills or knowledge hold them back. Engagement is still developing as a profession and skillset, and the only way to learn is to get stuck in.

If you are looking for training, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best training providers here on our website.

The other alternative is to turn to some experts for guidance or management of your process. If that sounds like a more reasonable option for you - that's where we can help. Let's talk.

“People are busy; we shouldn’t bother them with this”

We heard this objection from somebody working in a community organisation we were working with. Out of curiosity, we asked:

Have you asked people how they’d like to be involved?

They hadn’t.

People can always say “no” when you ask the question. The very act of giving people a chance to be involved shows respect and builds trust.

Before you decide not to engage, ask some influential people to see whether your community is hungry for engagement or not.

Don’t let these objections hold your organisation back

As this article illustrates, you have many barriers to good engagement within your own organisation - let alone out there in the real world! If you feel held back by these objections, you may benefit from one of our fixed-price engagement design options to get your organisation on the same page.