Better Information Sharing in Local Authorities: The Mairie de Mauges-sur-Loire's Story
.svg)
How can you share information as effectively as possible in local authorities? That is the challenge taken up by the Town Hall of Mauges-sur-Loire. And its answer? Replacing its internal newsletter with Talkspirit, an enterprise social network and all-in-one platform.
Created in 2015, Mauges-sur-Loire is a new city born from the merger of 11 communes. Located in Maine-et-Loire, the Town Hall of Mauges-sur-Loire brings together staff with very varied jobs (music teacher, cleaner, gardener, nursery assistant, and so on), spread between the field and the offices.
Key figures:
- 18,000 inhabitants
- 350 employees
- 60 elected officials
Why did the town hall roll out Talkspirit? How do staff and elected officials use the platform today? And what benefits do they get from it? Here's what we discussed with Elise Roy, Communications Manager at the Town Hall of Mauges-sur-Loire.
From an internal newsletter to an enterprise social network
"Until now, our internal communication was limited to an internal newsletter published monthly on paper, written together with Human Resources and the General Management. We used it to share town hall news, to communicate about staff arrivals and departures, and to remind people of certain HR information”, explains Elise Roy.
That format, however, raised several problems. First of all, "The timing of the information was not right”: ‘hot’ news was often shared too late, creating a disconnect in communication.
"What is more, since the internal newsletter was only sent to department heads, we realised it did not always reach staff. The result: information sharing was not at all consistent from one department to the next", the Communications Manager continues.
To meet these challenges, the Town Hall of Mauges-sur-Loire decided to put an enterprise social network in place.
"The goal was twofold, because we wanted both to:
- ensure every employee has access to the same information at the same time, regardless of their department or building;
- be able to share information in real time (and not a month later, as was the case with the internal newsletter).”
Choosing a ready-to-use tool
The town hall chose Talkspirit, a ready-to-use internal social network that keeps evolving.
"The pricing was more competitive than American solutions like Microsoft 365. What is more, choosing Talkspirit meant we were sure we were investing in a tool that would not be obsolete a few months later. […] The bonus? It is French!”, reports Elise Roy.
Read also: [Practical Guide] Digital Sovereignty Explained for Organizations
Beyond its information-sharing capabilities, "Talkspirit has a collaborative dimension that struck us as very interesting", which was an additional selling point for the town hall.
Communication that was carefully thought through
"We started by testing the tool with about ten staff members who were involved in the project from the start. That helped us understand how to share information on the platform, and in particular how to use groups. From there, we created a usage charter for Talkspirit, along with a communication plan to inform employees of the launch.
Read also: 3 Key Actions for a Successful Talkspirit Launch
To make sure that all staff and elected officials received its messages, the town hall opted for multi-channel communication. "We ran a Talkspirit teaser in our internal newsletter and by email. I then prepared a video to announce the platform launch and explain how to use it. The idea was to make the communication as personal as possible, to show that we had designed the tool around its users.”
Launched in September 2021, the platform now has 270 users, both staff and elected officials.
Sharing information on Talkspirit
Today, the town hall primarily uses Talkspirit to share information with staff and elected officials, in several formats. Its news feed includes, among other things:
- posts with General updates (e.g. upcoming civil service exam dates),
- photo posts: staff out in the field (to showcase the activities run by the after-school service, or even to celebrate the birth of a lamb in the eco-grazing flock!),
- regular Polls, to ask staff for their opinion (for example, to have them vote on the name of a new swimming centre),
- internal job openings, to support internal mobility and employee referrals,
- short videos, to create interactivity (e.g. New Year greetings for the whole team).
Read also: 6 Best Practices to Improve Internal Communication in Local Government
Of course, information is not only shared in posts. "Day to day, employees and elected officials use chat more, especially for one-to-one or small-group exchanges", reports the Communications Manager. "It adds more responsiveness, which is greatly appreciated by users."
Groups, a must-have for internal communication
"Several groups were created to structure these exchanges, in particular:
- a general group bringing together all staff,
- a group for all elected councillors,
- separate groups for each department (culture, tourism, economic development, communications, etc.),
- further groups organised by committee, including elected officials and department heads,
- a group for Talkspirit ambassadors.
We also invited employees to create their own groups to facilitate smaller exchanges within each department", adds Elise Roy.
Towards more collaborative working
"Some departments are also starting to use Talkspirit to work together day to day. For example, the libraries regularly use the chat to exchange information about orders, or to ask colleagues for their opinion on particular topics.
For my part, I work in project mode with elected officials in a group called ‘Communications Committee’. That lets us:
- set the dates of upcoming meetings (via the calendar),
- track attendance,
- collaboratively prepare slides for presentations,
- hold meetings via video conference,
- share documents related to meetings in the drive.
For now, only a minority of us collaborate on Talkspirit. But we would like to grow that use over the coming months”, explains the Communications Manager.
Read also: Streamlining Collaboration in Local Government: The Town Hall of Josselin’s Story
Better cohesion across departments
"Since staff are spread across some twenty different buildings, many of them do not know each other. Thanks to Talkspirit, we have been able to break down silos between departments and build more cohesion. These days we really feel we are on the same wavelength.”
Beyond its unifying role, Talkspirit also helps showcase employees' work, and raises awareness of the different jobs within the town hall. "It allowed us to discover one another, and to reveal everyone’s talents. Today some staff have become real communicators, when before you never heard about them!” exclaims Elise Roy.
Talkspirit’s take on the Town Hall of Mauges-sur-Loire
Talkspirit is the ideal tool to meet the internal communication challenges of the Town Hall of Mauges-sur-Loire. Available on both desktop and mobile, the tool lets staff and elected officials share and access information easily, whether they are in the offices or out in the field. A revolution!
Everyone is now kept up to date with town hall news in real time, and can talk to colleagues from other departments without having to travel. As a result, information no longer flows only from the top down, and all staff can be included in the conversation.
But the town hall does not intend to stop there. "This year, our goal is to boost participation among staff and to develop collaborative working, by encouraging the different departments to work more in groups, to schedule meetings through the calendar and to co-edit documents together in OfficeNow", says Elise Roy.
*
* *
Would you like to know more about what Talkspirit brings to local authorities? Watch the replay of our webinar “Communicating and collaborating better in local authorities” to hear first-hand from the Town Hall of Josselin and the Town Hall of Mauges-sur-Loire about their Talkspirit rollout.
–
Author: Emmanuelle Abensur
