Let’s talk and listen

Business Development Manager Jennie Rivett looks at the importance of listening to partners, communities and clients to provide targeted support as the government finalises plans for a second covid-19 lockdown to run throughout November.

A few weeks ago, we saw Mental Health Awareness Day remind us all to talk and listen more to one another - the timing and message could not be better timed as we prepare for a second covid-19 lockdown.

Talking and listening to others, whether in your immediate circle or local community, is important for so many reasons, an element of life that has been amplified by the covid-19 pandemic. 

People have been isolated for extended periods of time and normal day-to-day living has completely changed; habits may have shifted positively or negatively, momentarily or for the long-term. 

We all have a responsibility to talk and share, to understand how people feel so we can provide the right support and solutions.

Conversing with others can provide an opportunity to explore people’s values, interests and behaviours.

It can also help to unlock the potential role of sport and physical activity as a vehicle to promote positive health and well-being. 

We can seek answers to our questions; what type of sport, where, when, who with, alone or with others, virtually or in person?

At London Sport we advocate taking the time to learn more about people, about communities and about life; to engage with individuals from different backgrounds and different postcodes.

We want to consult with Londoners to understand what motivates them, what stops them being active and crucially what drives their daily decisions on how to spend their time.

This consultation, essentially talking to people, is central to our day-to-day work and our Understanding Less Active Londoners segmentation research is a great example of this.

We use different methods to capture this information, from which to gather further insights, build programmes or strategies or just provide a greater knowledge to our partners about their residents or members.

From a research perspective we use surveys, interviews, panels or focus groups to talk directly to Londoners and capture rich information on certain topics - it may be face-to-face or online. 

We utilised some of these methods in a strategy project with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, where we delivered stakeholder engagement and consultation.

Through our more recent work in digital marketing, we are now able to reach Londoners like never before, utilising social channels like Facebook to understand activity preferences and patterns, such as our work on a Facebook Walking Groups pilot. 

Some of these methods are complex and require experts to deliver, however many are easy to do yourself.

Possibly the most valuable resource to London Sport is our team and extensive network. 

We are (virtually) on the ground speaking to our key partners such as local authorities, national governing bodies, community groups, clubs and the Londoners involved in them. 

We are constantly talking and consulting with our audience to ensure the work we deliver and advice we share is relevant and true to Londoners lives.

The consultation phase is critical, but often organisations do not commit enough time, or it gets missed entirely.

Time and time again we see great consultation at the start of a project but none throughout or afterward. Our challenge back to you is….do you talk enough; to each other and to your audience?

If you would like to learn how to consult more with your audience or need expert guidance, visit our Consultancy Hub pages for more information or contact Business Development and Partnerships Manager, Jennie Rivett.