HOW TO MAKE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WORK FOR YOU

Hereafter are the 10 things to make Government Relations work for you.

1. Know that there are many ways to run a government relations campaign: Government relations encompasses a large range of activities, from passively monitoring legislation to actively advocating for a piece of legislation or a position. These activities can be done in a variety of ways, from a simple call to a legislator, to a full-blown lobbying campaign. An assessment needs to be made as to what makes sense for the company.

2. Understand the corporate benefit: There are many ways a company can benefit from government relations from increasing its knowledge about what’s happening in the executive and legislative branches of government to building its own reputation in the halls of power, finding solutions to business problems, correcting an injustice, expediting regulatory requests and taking defensive actions to competitors actions and procuring profitable government contracts, grants. Many companies have government relations departments and counsel. They are quite aware of methods to slow down government approvals to the detriment of their competitors. This may take the form of an investigation into the company or an inquiry into tax, environmental or antitrust issues. The desired corporate benefit must be determined before any government relations campaign is undertaken.

3. Know the elements of a good programme: Every government relations programme, no matter how large or small, needs balance, fairness and integrity to be successful. In terms of balance, it is critical that both sides of the issue are addressed or else positions and arguments will be dismissed as being too “heavy handed.” In terms of fairness, facts and figures must be accurate and reliable or the company will be viewed as an untrustworthy source. In terms of integrity, to put it simply, don’t do anything you wouldn’t want to read about in the newspaper the next day.

4. To capitalize on success, it is critical to understand the details of your programme: The relative strengths and weaknesses of the company’s position needs to be assessed. Research must be done on current law, pending legislation and the momentum or strength of any such pending legislation, including the number of sponsors, strength of the sponsors, party support, committees & leadership support. There may be natural alliances to your position and the formation of a coalition should be considered. Likewise, it is important to figure out who, if anyone, will lead an opposition.

5. Using Internet Government Relations Tools: It is important to be aware of and know how to use essential internet government relations tools. There are services that provide ongoing and comprehensive news and information on politics and policy and of course, never underestimate the importance of a Google search.

6. Integrate the programme with your corporate goals and objectives: It is essential to ensure that the board and management of the company is aware of the company’s government relations  programme and goals. While the CEO should have the ultimate authority on any programme, legal, marketing and public relations need to have a say. There must be unity in the message the company is conveying with what the company is doing in the trenches. Scheduling monthly or even weekly conference calls among pertinent players is key to keeping everyone up to date. The absolute worst thing that can happen to your programme is find out that someone from the company unknowingly undermined the company’s position.

7. Determine who has the ultimate authority and responsibility: Government relations is the station where all trains meet. It affects the actions of the CEO, General Counsel, outside Counsel, Marketing, Sales and Public Relations. There needs to be a point-of-contact in the company who will represent them all and interact with the government relations firm (if one is hired) and legislators.

8. Set up metrics to measure your success: If the company is monitoring, can it access information in a timely fashion? If they are advocating for legislation, has the law passed? If they have taken defensive action, have they successfully thwarted their competitors actions? Metrics can also be measured along the way If you’re meeting your metrics, things are going well, if you aren’t, the programme may need to be altered.

9. Adhere to Governing Laws: It is imperative that the company adhere to the laws governing lobbying activities.

10. Be Prepared: Always expect the unexpected. Always approach legislators and staffers with a one page position paper, written ask and follow-up request. Send a thank-you note, prepare to compromise, and remember, government relations is a marathon, not a sprint.